Inscape Files for CCAA Protection / Gensler hired Disney's former head Imagineer to lead experience design / Korn Ferry To Cut Staff, Reduce Office Footprint / Year Of Recovery For NYC Office Market Ended With A Whimper / Starbucks CEO Requires Corporate Employees To Return To Office At Least 3 Days A Week / Post-Pandemic Offices Are Becoming Ghost Towns on Mondays Now, Too / Rising costs will oblige more companies to offer flexible working / People prefer flexible to hybrid working according to new poll / Balancing Open Design And Acoustic Privacy / Vocon’s Debbie Donley On Balancing Professional and Personal in Office Design


The Working Space
Monday, January 16, 2023

Industry News

Inscape Corporation, a publicly-held corporation, and office furniture maker, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, announced Friday that the company and its subsidiaries, Inscape Inc. and Inscape (New York) Inc. have initiated proceedings in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (aka "CCAA"). Effectively, what today remains of the company, will likely be broken-up and sold off as pieces. And oh, by the way, the company terminated all its employees Friday.
Bucher is a long-time furniture industry professional with sales, marketing, and business development leadership experience at both small and large manufacturers, as well as at a large Steelcase dealer. Bucher joined Formaspace in 2017 as Executive Vice President of Sales and was promoted to...
Bob Weis is a storyteller. He has written screenplays and books during a long career in the entertainment industry. But the stories he creates aren't limited to movie screens and printed pages.
 
Recently, Bob joined Gensler to lead Global Immersive Experience Design and take the firm’s design innovation to the next level, expanding its commitment to reclaiming human experiences in the spaces and places where we live, work, and play. In his new role, Weis will collaborate with Gensler’s global leadership platform to envision and bring to life unique experiences for clients across a variety of industries where the firm is immersed — from entertainment, lifestyle, hospitality, retail, sports, mixed use, and cultural institutions to wellness and workplace.
Consulting firm Korn Ferry will reduce its employee headcount and shrink its global office footprint, spending between $45M and $50M to reduce underutilized office space and dismiss some of its workforce, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The plan was put in motion Jan. 11, and the company expects to complete it by the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

South Florida's office market continues to defy gravity, with leasing records falling from Miami to Palm Beach. Direct asking rates spiked by over $1 to $57.18 for Class-A and B space in Dade County.
High availability rates and a slow end to the year have thrown a cloud over New York's office leasing environment as a whole, but the top end of the market is still experiencing significant activity. A total of 23.2M SF of office space was leased in Manhattan in 2022, a 14% increase over the year before, per CBRE data. The volume was weighed down by a slow end to the year, a familiar theme in other sectors of the market, as would-be tenants put deals on hold amid a gloomy economic climate.
Despite economic uncertainty fueled by a wave of tech layoffs, questions about hybrid work and aggressive Federal Reserve hikes, Atlanta's office market ended 2022 on a high note. 
 
Metro Atlanta companies absorbed 485K SF of office space in the fourth quarter, the most of any market in the country, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Features

There is an opportunity to reinvent the office building model by creating places to work that foster memorable experiences. To hit the bullseye, we must consider a Venn diagram of “space,” “interaction,” and “expectation” and embrace mixed use, connect floors, and provide amenities. ESG, wellness, and biophilia are key to unlocking sustained value. Now is the time to rethink the traditional model and focus on human experience design.
There was a curious addition to a 2016 report on the Top 10 Technologies Driving the Digital Workplace from tech researchers Gartner. It wasn’t a technology at all but rather a slightly obscure office design concept that originated in Hamburg in the late 1950s, but which tells us a lot about how we work in the 21st Century office, according to Gartner.

Workspace News

The era of hybrid work has created an acoustical conundrum for offices. Once bemoaned for the cacophony created by workers chattering and clicking away in their open floor plans, offices are now facing a different kind of issue with noise: There’s not enough of it.
 
“There is such a thing as too quiet,” says Benjamin Sachwald, senior vice president for acoustics, noise, and vibration at the environmental engineering firm AKRF.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is mandating workers to come back to corporate offices at least three days a week in an effort to boost camaraderie and productivity. The coffee retailer is the latest in a wave of companies that have begun enforcing stricter hybrid work models.
Most offices have been relatively empty on Fridays for a while, and as my colleague Emily Gallagher recently reported, and the continued adoption of hybrid work has only made it worse. But the post-pandemic office has added another emptier day of the week, Monday, according to a recent report by Density, a space analytics firm.
A new poll from MHR claims that people appear to prefer flexible to hybrid working. It suggests that a greater proportion of employees would prefer to work in the office with flexible hours (51 percent) than work from home with structured hours (41 percent).
Remote work was regarded as a novelty before the onset of the pandemic. Then, it quickly became the norm for most office workers.

Now, employers are pushing workers back into the office as they lose money on their empty office spaces.

But many workers aren’t so eager to give up their new way of life, and will look for work that will continue to allow them to work from home or their destination of choice.

Hybrid work has largely been relegated to knowledge workers. But it could come for those on the frontline soon.
As increasing numbers of companies are requiring employees to return to the office for 3-5 days per week, they are running into the buzzsaw of what one of my clients called the “Four Horsemen of the Required Return to Office” — challenges with resistance, attrition, quiet quitting, and diversity.
Two thirds of UK businesses believe offering flexible working to their employees is crucial if they are to successfully retain and attract talent, according to a new report. Businesses don't believe they cannot compete on salary alone and are instead offering flexibility to stay competitive.

Design

All signs are pointing to the fact that the modern office needs to become more experiential to survive. What strategies can designers and architects learn from more dynamic, participatory and sensory forms of placemaking in order to make the change? We look at three strategies the workplace could borrow from urban planning, gaming and theatre.
These days, workers can take it or leave it. But companies, if they're going to have office space, better have space that adds value to whatever the company's mission is. Or why else bother? That's what Vocon is all about.
Workplace wellness is more important than ever as people return to the office and transition from their home work environments to spaces that may not offer the same flexibility. A recent global study by Human Spaces found that 33 percent of people consider the design of an office as part of their decision to work for an organization or not.
Offices can boost employee productivity and retention by creating an appealing space.
Ancelmo Perez of Nadel Architects explores the benefits of a mixed-use environment for owners, tenants and their employees. Design is constantly evolving to meet the needs of human beings as we inhabit modern ways of life.

Trends

Flight to quality is an inescapable term in any conversation about the office market these days. The trend of companies favoring higher-quality office buildings certainly seems to be playing out in many office markets in the U.S. and internationally, especially in Manhattan.
Recent events have clearly demonstrated that in order for the office to remain viable, we need to start thinking about it differently. The number of people not returning to the office underscores its potential shortcomings and that we need to bring the workplace into alignment with the rest of our tools and technology.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could see into the future? If the last three years are anything to go by, the future of work is fluid and can rapidly change.

The effects of COVID-19 have certainly had a profound and lasting impact on work and workplace. Hybrid and remote work has sky-rocketed, productivity has increased, new roles have emerged. But will they remain?

Latest Products

Through firmly believing that design is about choice, Davis has recently invested in redeveloping its materiality and finishes program. The result is an impressive palette of powder coats, wood veneer finishes, laminates and leathers that coordinate together and thus establish the captivating Davis Color Story.
9to5 Seating welcomes innovative active seating solution HÅG SoFi to its popular quick ship line @NCE. The HÅG SoFi is a mesh back, ergonomic and highly customizable chair designed for tasking, conference or collaboration spaces. The HÅG SoFi combines two market drivers in a single product: clean aesthetics and groundbreaking engineering.
Allseating has unveiled the Rühe collection. Rühe, a winner of the 2022 GOOD DESIGN® Award, is a minimalist, understated, and multi-range seating collection that was envisioned by award-winning industrial designer Mike Shields, Principal of Studio3.
Inspired by the staying power and classic design of Indiana Furniture's popular Gleem Seating line, Gleem+ was designed for high-traffic and multi-use areas, as well as patient management, to bring lasting comfort and style to a wide range of spaces, including Healthcare and Educational environments.
It looks like we're inching back towards cubicles. Designed for Casala by Kateryna Sokolova, Wallstreet is a minimal, modular space divider created for open plan offices, waiting areas, and any other spaces you might need to divide up. Using as much – or as little color – as you like, it allows you to adjust your space to your needs while designating personal borders.
Copenhagen-based industrial designer Mario Martinez created this Una table, which features a top made of cast aluminum. It's a shame the underside will never be seen (aside from assembly; the unit arrives flatpacked). The functional ribbing is as beautiful as the top is minimal. 
Maharam announces a new collaboration between Dutch designer Bertjan Pot and the Maharam Design Studio, beginning with the introduction of two woven upholsteries, Twist and Shake, and two rugs, Hustle and Floss.
I have no idea if this product is even real, or is what you actually get if you order one, but I thought the design was interesting. A company you've never heard of called MavunoGlobal is flogging this handy-seeming folding storage cabinet all over the socials, with the suspiciously low price of $14 a pop, a purchase limit of three units, and what seems like an artificially low stock indicator.
Palmer Hamilton LLC partnered with NOOK to launch the NOOK Huddle pod as part of Palmer Hamilton's product lineup. The NOOK Huddle pod complements and extends any space's functionality. With seating up to four people, it is perfect for collaboration and individual needs.
Introducing Prism, the twenty-fourth woven textile designed by Paul Smith in collaboration with the Maharam Design Studio. A study in color blocking, Prism reflects Paul Smith's interest in reinterpreting classic apparel motifs through idiosyncratic applications of hue and scale.

Other News

Going beyond helping users outlining a letter, ChatGPT could single-handedly take massive amounts of data and compile an organized Excel sheet, or take natural language prompts and create email templates with a few clicks.
Interior Define has entered into a legal process akin to bankruptcy, an “assignment for the benefit of creditors” or “ABC.” In simple terms, Interior Define as a legal entity—along with its debts—will be dissolved (the company has since posted an explanation of the process on its Instagram account). But prior to entering into the ABC, Interior Define found a buyer to purchase its intellectual property and take over stewardship of its brand: e-design platform Havenly.

Trends in Commercial Projects from Around the Globe

2BOLD created a welcoming and homey headquarters for Circular that encourages employees to want to come into the office.
 
Circular is a network for hiring tech talent. Designed specifically for in-house recruiters within fast-growing tech companies, it is the go-to recruitment network for finding talent. It also works the other way round, providing every recommended candidate with a guaranteed first-class job-seeking experience.
Spencer Place sums up the resiliency and nervousness of the Dublin office market right now.

A gleaming modern office complex owned by U.S.-headquartered investment giant Blackstone, exclusively let to global cloud-based software company Salesforce and overlooking Dublin’s increasingly slick North Wall Quay, it manifests the incredible growth of the Irish capital’s commercial real estate sector over the past decade. It highlights both Blackstone and Salesforce's belief in the long-term prospects for the city.

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.
Find the best Contract Furniture Industry jobs and hire the best talent.
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Indoff is expanding and in need of experienced outside sales professionals in your area. Indoff Offers: 50% commission on the gross profit - This is a straight commission position, and right now Indoff offers 70% commission for your first year with us.
TGEG Seating a Southern California based seating company is searching for independent sales representation. The territories available currently are Nevada, Northern California, and Arizona.
Global Furniture Group, a leader in the workplace, education, healthcare + hospitality furniture industry has an immediate career opportunity for a Territory Manager for Richmond, VA. This candidate will increase awareness and interest among dealers, designers and end-users of Global’s brand, product and capabilities. 
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.
NDI Office Furniture LLC, one of the nation’s largest stocking office furniture importers and distributors, is seeking an individual or group for Sales Representation in the South Florida territory. NDI is based in Nashville TN with warehouses in FL, AL and TX. We utilize our own fleet of trucks and drivers to provide industry-leading service to our customers.  The successful candidate may be either an employee or an Independent Representative.
WIELAND is a leading provider of patient room and seating products to healthcare facilities across the country. We are seeking a sales professional to represent our healthcare products Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Alaska. Our continued growth provides significant income potential for the right individual. This is an employee position with full benefits. 
Baresque, a leading supplier of architectural acoustical solutions for the hospitality, contract furniture, commercial and healthcare markets, is seeking an experienced Project Manager - Furniture to join our team in Garland, Texas. This position will be work directly with our customers and is responsible for interpreting architectural intent. This individual will also work closely with our design team, customer service department and third party fabricators. Excellent communication skills and a high attentional to detail are essential.
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