Coworking Demand Heats Up As Supply Lags / Here's What JPMorgan's Head of Global Real Estate Sees As the Future of the Office / New Study Indicates That Demand for Satellite Offices May Be on the Horizon / Office Leases Are Shrinking In Size And Length / Tech Industry U.S. Office Leasing Falls to Lowest Share in 5 Years / Companies still have way too much office space, and they can't sell it / Meet Flex Space’s More Chaotic Cousin: Gray Spaces / Hybrid Works Best When It's Close to Home / Art in the Workplace Improves Employee Well-Being, Study Finds

The Working Space
Monday, November 14, 2022

Industry News

David Arena, JPMorgan Chase's head of global real estate, has his work cut out for him: Create a sense of timeless wonder at the office for the largest U.S. bank's thousands of global clients and employees.
 
Comfort and ease of use can be even more important to employees than the fact that the skyline-changing, 60-story tower is designed to be powered by a hydroelectric plant, making it New York’s largest all-electric skyscraper. And there's plenty of opportunity to provide comfort at 270 Park Ave. in Manhattan, expected to be home to up to 14,000 bank employees across 2.5 million square feet once completed in 2025.
 
Arena believes the next big change in the office will be centered on the once-lowly office chair. Not only is the design of the building important, but office furniture at the headquarters will be designed to support the human body — with chairs that support the head and neck, Arena said, like a customized gaming chair.
 
"You watch, there will be a revolution around chairs in the next two years," Arena said.
Coworking spaces now span more than 120 million square feet across 5,800 locations in the US — but supply is still falling short in many major cities, according to new data from CommercialEdge.
WeWork will close 40 locations across the U.S. in search of cost savings after another tough quarter. The locations were singled out for closure because they didn't meet the company's design criteria, were obsolete or were in a market with "oversupply," WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani said Thursday.
Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters Meta's dismissal of more than 11,000 employees Wednesday is the starkest indicator yet of a reckoning in the tech industry with ripple effects into the economy and office market in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Office workers have made their sentiments known that they prefer hybrid work schedules and shorter commutes, and that's driving demand for satellite offices. A recent Unispace study found that over 60 percent of workers surveyed are choosing to split their work between home and the office in lieu of coming to work 5 days a week. On top of that, 79 percent of workers surveyed expressed that they would be happier to return to the office if the office was only 5-10 minutes from their home.
The story of flex space office operator Knotel's rise and fall has been well-documented and is a somewhat cautionary tale for real estate startups. Knotel was a one-time unicorn valued at $1.6 billion, having raised about $560 million in funding between 2016 and 2020.
You don't have to go home, but you probably won't be staying in the office full time. The total impact of the pandemic on the office market is becoming clearer, and the takeaway is an ever-shrinking footprint combined with shorter average lease terms than in 2019.
If your dealership sells mainly to the Tech industry, look out. The tech industry's share of U.S. office leasing fell in the first half of 2022 to its lowest share in five years, but the industry is still a formidable force in the office market, according to a new CBRE report.
In the UK, Made.com has officially entered administration (aka Bankruptcy), with high street retailer Next acquiring its brand, domain, and IP.
A few things we know about corporate real estate: it’s a focus of cost-cutting for companies, but it’s also probably the last asset you want to sell now in a soft market.

How soft? According to Elizabeth Ptacek, senior director of market analytics at commercial real estate information and analytics company CoStar, there is currently 232 million square feet of surplus commercial real estate up for sub-leasing. To put those numbers into perspective, Amazon’s HQ2 is 8 million square feet. Even more telling, the 232 million square feet is twice the level of surplus from before the pandemic.

This article was originally published by Allwork.Space. Office vacancies have plagued landlords since the pandemic single-handedly escorted professionals to their homes. Since then, the office industry has never looked the same. A recent report from workplace software company Robin Powered showed that 46% of businesses are using only half — or less! — of the office space they own or lease.

Features

The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a significant societal change: the move toward hybrid work and a fundamental rebalancing between our lives at work, at home and how the two interact.

For more than two years, many of the world’s workers have been carrying out their jobs effectively from the comfort of their homes — so, where does this leave the office?

Industrial design isn't something that immediately comes to mind when one thinks of the North Fork. As a rural community with entire organizations dedicated to maintaining century-old character and charm, the word "industrial" doesn't really factor in. 
 
Ascalon’s portfolio — which includes brands like Restoration Hardware, Design Within Reach and Stylex — has been focused on furniture for office spaces.
In terms of workplace design, resilience means choosing, installing and maintain equipment, furniture and technology that is functional, it should add to the workplace experience, aid and abet productivity. And it should last too – be sustainable too. Ideally we all want things to last. But for how long? The days of an office remaining the same way for years and years are long gone.

Workspace News

Ah, the coveted corner office. Before the pandemic turned our way of working upside-down, the corner office was the classic beacon of success, a synonym for upper management. For years, corner offices were the most desirable real estate in the workplace, with more privacy and grander windows that provide the best views the space had to offer. They also sent a clear message about the commanding status of the person whose name was embossed on the door. But now that hybrid work has taken over, the glimmering status symbol is rapidly losing its luster.
Elon Musk in his first email to Twitter employees said remote work would no longer be allowed and that they would be expected in office for at least 40 hours per week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
If the office was just a little bit closer to home.

A Unispace report showed that 79% of employees admit they would be happier to return to the office if it was just five to 10 minutes from home.

Productivity is still being measured for remote workers, but now with surveillance software.
“Digital nomads” have gained popularity in the last few years, with the number in the US up 131% from 2019. The pandemic sparked more people to leave the US and inspired even more to consider it. More talent is seeking to shape their work to fit their life, not the other way around. Moving to another country—to be closer to friends or family, experience a new culture, or fulfill a lifelong dream—is one way people put themselves first.
Marriott International HQ building, Bethesda, Maryland Marriott International is rolling out a brand of apartment-style accommodations in North America that will target longer-term travelers who are able to take their work with them. The company calls the new brand Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy, and it emphasizes that the brand will be distinct from Marriott's existing extended-stay options.
It may seem obvious that looking at an artwork is less depressing than staring at the sad gray enclosure of your office cubicle, but now, there is research to back it up. A new research study found that for 69% of participants, having “interesting and visually striking art” at the workplace contributes to their well-being. Only 38% of participants said they are currently satisfied with the atmosphere of their workplace.
Coke and Atlanta. Nike and Portland. Amazon and Seattle. It used to be that corporations were indelibly linked to their hometowns. But with the rise of remote work, the fabled “company town” may be going the way of 9-to-5 office life and the brick-and-mortar headquarters, impacting not only the identity of companies and their cities but factors like the local tax base, corporate support for community institutions and the makeup of local politics.
Offices seem to be divided on whether desk-bombing is good practice in the workplace. Desk-bombing is the act of unexpectedly approaching someone at their desk to have a chat. Some workers welcome it as it can be more efficient than emailing, others think it's disruptive. 

Design

Employees’ workstyles have changed more in the past two years than in the previous 20, according to a new report about office space utilization by CBRE.

Momentum was found with including larger workstations, fewer private offices, more use of desk-reservation systems and a greater emphasis on shared space and amenities are trending positively today, with 90% of respondents saying they now routinely gather utilization data – be it access-card swipes, Wi-Fi logins or occupancy-sensor data.

If employers want their employees to feel excited about coming to the office, the amenities must rival and transcend the comfort and convenience they have curated in their home offices.

Trends

For numerous reasons, younger workers have been painted as the most resistant group to going back to in-person work. But the data seems to be pointing in the opposite direction. A joint survey conducted by economists from three universities (Stanford, University of Chicago, and ITAM) found that fewer than 25 percent of workers in their 20s who have the ability to work remotely on a full-time basis actually want to do so.
Many people work from home at least part of the time and use the office as an organizational hub for culture and connection. Working from other locations known as “third places” has also gained ground as being “normal” for many people in all kinds of roles—and employers are now seeing the benefits those spaces offer.

Latest Products

HBF announced the launch of the Tyler seating collection. Designed by HBF Design Studio, Tyler is a new expression in executive seating that fuses a timeless form with forward-thinking elements.
Form, function, and endless options for configurability - the Hari Collection packs a punch in a striking silhouette. Hightower is introducing Hari, a seating collection designed to be configured to meet your needs and style. 
Sportswear brand Reebok and design studio Eames Office have released a trio of trainers that evoke the patina and colouring of the moulded-plastic chairs pioneered by Charles and Ray Eames. Named the Reebok x Eames Classic Leather Fiberglass Pack, the collection of trainers was directly informed by the distinctive fibreglass chairs the design duo created in the 1950s.
Austrian design studio March Gut has created a modular storage system as a "simple and stylish" solution for stowing bicycles in the workplace. Designed by March Gut in collaboration with photographer and racing cyclist Jürgen Grünwald, Urban Wood Systems (UWS) Base places bicycles at the centre of the officespace in a bid to encourage more workers to decarbonise their commute.
A much greater emphasis has been placed on employees' physical and mental wellbeing and comfort in the office. These themes which were present on the agenda at this year's Orgatec fair. Have a look at these eight furnishings which prioritize workplace wellbeing.
During her time working in the design studio of Jin Kuramoto, Taiwanese designer Chialing Chang designed and prototyped this unusual Maki easy chair: "Through folding, bending, rolling the foam material, a simple yet symbolic shape is naturally formed, which becomes the seating area and the backrest of the easy chair. Maki can be used to work, rest, meet and wait - as a lone icon or together in different formations under the modular system."

Other News

Ukrainian software engineer Vitaly Pushkar has created a blog to peek into the workstations of hackers all over the world. You will not find any Matrix-like 9-display rigs with stacked keyboards and neon lights, though. Or any Architectural Digest-worthy zen workscape living in a Silicon Valley’s unicorn paradise. There’s nothing in Hacker Stationsbut the refreshingly mundane, the distillation of function-over-form, just raw simplicity taken to the limit by the spartans of engineering. These people don’t give a damn about design trends. And we love it.

Trends in Commercial Projects from Around the Globe

Sony Music Entertainment's United Kingdom branch has unveiled a multi-storey headquarters and new recording studio by MoreySmith that puts employees and artists first.
In the city of Wiesbaden in western Germany, a disused power station sits on the bank of the Rhine. It might make for great housing, or could even be transformed into a cultural site-London's Tate Modern was repurposed from a power station-but local zoning laws prohibit those applications for the industrial site. So the site owner commissioned German architecture firm 3deluxe to work up some design proposals to turn the building into office space.

Upcoming Industry Events

NeoCon 2023
June  12-14, 2023 | Chicago, IL
 
NeoCon has served as the world’s leading platform and most important event of the year for the commercial design industry since 1969. A launch pad for innovation—NeoCon offers ideas and introductions that shape the built environment today and into the future.  

National Ergonomics Conference & ErgoExpo 2022
November 8-10, 2022 | Paris Las Vegas Hotel, Las Vegas

National Ergo 2022 returns November 8-10 bringing the Ergonomics community together for the industry's longest running conference and trade show. Learn from the Nation's top Ergonomic and Safety executives with over 40 educational sessions, keynotes and workshops.  

Milan Design Week 2023
April 18-23, 2023 | Milan, Italy

Milan design week is the biggest annual design event in the world and takes place from 17 to 23 April 2023. The week includes the furniture fair Salone del Mobile, which takes place at the Fiera Milano exhibition centre and is the largest event to take place during the week. The selection of fringe events collectively named Fuorisalone also takes place across the city.

hd expo+conference
May 2-4, 2023 | Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

HD Expo + Conference is the largest hospitality event of its kind in the country, showcasing the latest products, services, and innovative developments from the industry’s leading manufacturers.  

Clerkenwell Design Week 2023
May 23-25, 2023 | London

Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, making it truly one of the most important design hubs in the world. To celebrate this rich and diverse community, Clerkenwell Design Week has created a showcase of leading UK and international brands and companies presented in a series of showroom events, exhibitions and special installations that take place across the area.

Orgatec 2024
October 22-26, 2024 | Cologne, Germany

Orgatec is the International trade fair for office and property equipment. Held in Cologne, Germany.

Industry Briefing

Kimball International Wins Two Innovation by Design Awards from Fast Company
Kimball International has won two Innovation by Design Awards from Fast Company. Now in their 11th year, these awards recognize the world’s leading efforts in design and Kimball International is proud to be recognized in two categories. EverySpace, by the Kimball brand, received an Honorable Mention award in the Workplace category and Ezzeri, by the Interwoven brand, received an Honorable Mention award in the Health category.

Steelcase Named Silver-Level 2022 Veteran-Friendly Employer by Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
Thanks to the work of an internal business inclusion group called Steelcase Salutes, the company is one of 61 silver-level employers in the state and in the top 15% of all Michigan businesses to earn the award, which recognizes the organization’s work in becoming a more welcoming and inclusive workplace for veterans.

XLR8 Commercial Interiors Now Representing Acoufelt in Southeastern United States

Acoufelt announced a partnership with XLR8 Commercial Interiors as independent sales representatives managing relationships throughout the southeastern United States. XLR8 covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas with five market managers and Principal Scott Eddy.

Logiflex Supports Impacted Dealers
"Logiflex was shaken by the impact of Hurricane Ian in Florida. This region is particularly important to us, as some of our representatives and dealers are based there as well as being the first region to which Logiflex owes its expansion on American soil 25 years ago. To help the victims, we are making a $10 000 donation to our dealers that were affected the most. Our local Florida rep, Bison Contract, will help us distribute the money in person and share Logiflex's compassion. Together, we take action."

FSR’s Smart-Way Wall Raceway Receives NECA Showstopper Award
FSR Smart-Way Wall Raceway received an NECA Showstopper Award at the recent NECA 2022 Convention and Trade Show. The Smart-Way Wall Raceway was one of 26 winners evaluated by panel of expert judges from a pool of 150+ candidates featured at the annual Showstopper Showcase.

BCFA rebrands to shape the future of commercial interiors
Commercial Interiors UK, is to be the new name for the BCFA – the UK’s largest trade association representing the commercial interiors sector. Its 250+ members represent leading manufacturers, suppliers, and designers – all shaping inspirational commercial interiors internationally. The rebrand comes after an in-depth strategic review.

Ultrafabrics debuts biophilic-inspired booth at BDNY

Ultrafabrics will be exhibiting at Boutique Design New York as the brand continues to lean into innovation in the post-pandemic hospitality design market.

This year's booth is inspired by the notion of connecting people to nature using biophilic design, a creative approach that incorporates natural elements to provide respite and joy for users in the built environment. 

Ultrafabrics will debut a hospitality-focused color palette of dynamic tones that influence mood, calm nerves and create an overall connection to nature.

Find the best Contract Furniture Industry jobs and hire the best talent.
Dear Stephen, I'm an internal recruiter with one of the major office furniture manufacturers. We have built out a very large internal recruiting department over the last two years. I dare say - I think our department is as good as any contingency recruiter out there!
Serve as main contact to all lab reseller partners for training, education, website development, regional sales visits and sales meetings and support of all client project pursuits.
The Sales Account Manager oversees existing and new customer sales activities assigned by the Director of Sales & Marketing. The ideal candidate will possess an enthusiastic and entrepreneurial spirit for selling. Self-starter with the ability to pioneer, cultivate, and grow sales.
Barbican Architectural Products enters it’s 35th year of business looking to find the right partners for it’s Architectural Wall Division. Organizations should provide an established network of Architects, Interior Designers, General contractors and end users. Due to the overwhelming response and the utilization of our Architectural Walls, we need solid business partnerships to support the growing demand.
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