Interesting ideas on how the changing workplace is influencing the design of work space.
Rows of cubicles with stationary desks. Fluorescent overhead lighting. Numerous private offices. Central climate control. Meeting areas with long tables. Does this sound familiar?
These are hallmarks of the traditional workplace, where private- and public-sector employees alike have spent 40-plus hours each week for decades. It’s a familiar layout, yet it’s one that’s also bland, uniform and largely uninspiring. However, it’s also a design that’s on the way out as work preferences and needs continue to change and inspire new office designs.
While these new designs are commonly being implemented in the private sector, some local governments are also introducing them into their renovated and new work spaces. In doing so, they’re finding benefits in a change of office culture and atmosphere.
Part of this design shift is due to generational change. The workforce is becoming more technologically savvy as Baby Boomers continue to retire and more Gen Xers and Millennials enter the workplace, says Peter Barsuk, government and industry leader and principal for global design firm Gensler. “What that’s doing now, is it’s causing us designers to look specifically at the way people work,” Barsuk says.