The future of Open space

How can we determine the form that the office of the future will take? The easiest way to do it is to assume that it will give employees the opportunity to perform their daily duties in the most efficient manner possible. Work stations, informal spaces, meeting rooms, focus rooms, phone booths are all types of space designed to support people in their daily work. When there is a wide choice and a variety of different types of space everyone will be able to find area spot that suits their needs at the time. The number of square metres per work station should be high. Much higher than in a typical ‘old-school’ style office. It simply doesn’t make sense these days to create a new office without a large proportion of informal space. With flexible office space, permanent work stations assigned to a single employee have become a thing of the past. The number of desks is less than the number of employees, as a result of changes in the work culture.

Reacting to change

Does all of this herald a workspace revolution? Or is it basically just adapting to the new circumstances? In which case, does it instead represent the evolution of office space?

To answer this we need to consider a few of the factors that have given rise to these changes. One crucial factor has been the development of mobile technology and, more specifically, of wireless internet connectivity. This has allowed people to work almost anywhere, even allowing them to change their locations several times a day. Another very important element has been how companies’ working practices have evolved, including how they will now frequently change the personnel of their design teams, as well as also how little time is now needed to exchange information regardless of the distance. Companies that do not keep up will eventually cease to exist.

The conclusion seems obvious: technology has changed the way we work. However, these changes are not significant enough to speak of a revolution. Companies are structured in a similar way to how they were ten years ago. We still work at our desks and meet in conference rooms of varying sizes. There are exceptions, but they still seem to be rather minor. We build rooms divided by plaster walls with fixed electrical and HVAC installations, just as we did in the past. What has changed is how many different areas we have. They are now more friendly and equipped with modern projectors, screens and video conferencing equipment, while being managed through a room booking system.

The most revolutionary change has been that workstations are no longer assigned to a single person. However, this style of working doesn’t suit every company and it depends on the type of work being done. Of course, it has its advocates, but and at the same time there are also many who are sceptical. Currently office space is one step behind the technology and is lagging behind modern global trends. It needs to catch up quickly.

CCC’s head office in the Metropolitan office building in Warsaw

Offices of the future

So what will the future office actually be like? Its shape will be determined mostly by technological advances, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. The other factors behind this transformation will include changes on the labour market, a different approach to the design process, sensors and data analysis, remote working, greater collaboration with co-working companies and demographic changes. The use of augmented reality and virtual reality are also major factors that are now shaping new trends in future office design.

This tech revolution started with what is commonly known as artificial intelligence but is also called machine learning. The development of this field is likely to lead to many professions becoming obsolete – especially those that involve the repetitive processing of data. A good number of people in accountancy and call-centres can be replaced with customised software. In the next stage of the transformation, software will start to replace more professions, such as computer programmers and architects, which will have a dramatic impact on many sectors.

Such changes could completely transform company structures. Due to the high speed of technological change, such structures will have to continuously evolve. This could result in difficulties when planning long-term company strategy. We will be forced to revise our thinking about space and how traditional, ‘old-school’ office layouts function. If we are unable to predict how companies will be divided into departments or say how many employees there will be and what tasks will be performed within an organisation, then how can we plan the use of office space?

Skanska’s Polish HQ in the Spark complex in Warsaw

Creative space

The solution is to take on a new approach – to adopt a new type of creative office space without a rigid structure. Action needs to be taken to meet the specific requirements for creative office space to foster the development of a company. Additionally, the rising number of remote workers and the way they communicate with their company will influence the number of workstations.

Companies need to put together design teams that are diverse, varied and flexible. They should consist of people of different ages, origins and professional experience. In order to meet such requirements, an office should be as flexible as possible as well as easy to modify. This will allow office space to be arranged to suit a company’s current structural needs.

Such a model requires mobile rooms, portable furniture, wireless connectivity and multimedia, all of which should be managed via a software system using sensors.

Adapt or die

One effective set-up is for co-working and corporate space to co-habit in the same building, because co-working space is a resource to be drawn on for future growth – as well as a wonderful field for new design ideas. This raises the question of how to manage and evaluate how necessary change is for such adaptable spaces. New technology has come up with an answer: sensor systems and analytical software that can track changes and processes. This data can be analysed by AI in real time to suggest the optimal solutions for a company. All the collated data, such as that from the space itself, will be subject to detailed analysis to ensure that the work environment is optimised. The main issues of remote working and how employees communicate with each other can be resolved through VR and AR, which enable meetings to be held in virtual rooms. The main feature of the modern office will be that it changes and adapts to our needs, in contrast to the offices of today in which it is the employees that have to adjust to their working environment. Offices will become places where companies can develop, instead of where repetitive daily tasks are performed. They will thrive like healthy living organisms, evolving to respond to changes and changing needs when they arise.

But is everyone aware of the changes to come? Clearly not. Treating machine learning as if it were just any other technological innovation could turn out to be a big mistake. When technology makes many professions obsolete, an upheaval always follows – and this will not just be a technological but also a social revolution. For such areas of human activity as offices, there is no other course but to adapt to this. n