At Hawkins\Brown, whoever the project is for, a local authority, a higher education client, a commercial developer, or our own studio we always promote an activity-based model supported by technology. What do we mean by “activity-based model”? We try very hard to understand how our end users work and provide the right setting for them to carry out their daily tasks, in a way that is most comfortable for them. This might include quiet pods for focused working, large desks for team working, collaboration spaces -big kitchen tables or high back sofas – and social spaces that spill out from a tea point.

For these spaces to work well and efficiently a certain amount of technology needs to be seamlessly integrated into the layouts. This will allow users to communicate virtually with their colleagues who maybe working on a different floor of the building, from home or from abroad. Space booking systems are also useful devices for ensuring workspace gets used efficiently when companies are operating on a hybrid working model, and staff can be confident that when they come into the workplace, they can find a place to work at.

In more commercial developments especially the refurbishment of former corporate headquarters type buildings, more and more clients are looking to enhance and invigorate ground floor receptions and atria with a rich mixture of amenities. These can include cafes, gyms, yoga rooms, health and wellbeing rooms, and co-working spaces. The aim is to create a sense of community especially when a building may be multi-tenanted. A good example of this is at the award winning ‘Here and Now’ building in the Thames Valley Park outside Reading. We transformed two former Microsoft headquarters buildings into a modern sustainable workplace which offered its tenants great facilities and, through the use of natural materials and planting, a connection to the wider landscape of Thames Valley Park beyond.

Emphasis was given to providing the very best cycle facilities, sports and wellbeing facilities, and this was included in the refurbishment. Spaces were included which would allow for communal activities like pizza making or flower arranging after hours.

When we design co-working spaces, we again try and provide a wide variety of workspace typologies, from standard shared offices to open plan desking to individual pods. The proportion of these are driven by the business case of the provider but are changing all the time to respond to the market. At Greenside House, a co-working space for Clockwise in Wood Green, north London, the market was about providing a convivial and lively work environment for self employed individuals who wanted to move away from working at home. A large café at Ground Floor animates the façade, and the look and feel is more tuned to local working professionals and self-employed locals sick of being stuck at home, than the more traditional tech junkies of younger generations typically found in co-working spaces. In a more recent project for Clockwise, Mountbatten House, in Southampton, the demand was for more small-scale cellular offices and pods.

This approach of activity-based working is just as relevant for our local authority clients, who are keen to attract their staff back into the office with professional facilities, good integration of IT and AV and a wide range of social and collaborative amenities. By promoting a range of working environments and encouraging staff to vacate their desk and meet a colleague in an informal meeting space or tea point or café, space can be used much more efficiently, and the overall estate can be rationalised. Small scale meeting pods and zoom rooms are proving to be far more popular than the traditional committee rooms.

In the Life Sciences sector, a similar approach is just as relevant. Researchers and scientists now work in a much more collaborative manner, spending less time in labs and more time in write up areas and offices, testing and sharing ideas. They require the same range of workspace configurations and social spaces as everyone else. Flexibility is key as teams come together to research specific topics but often for short spells of time and then they may well reconfigure and need slightly different set ups to support their work as their research develops. Often, they are partnering with other research institutions across the globe and the seamless integration of IT and AV into the workspace is important. The identity of their reception is equally important, – providing a space that contrasts and forms a warm and professional environment to meet their visitors or colleagues in is a feature in all our Life Science projects.

As our commercial clients are continually challenged to provide flexible, affordable, adaptable and sustainable offerings to tenants, we as designers are always looking for ways to add meaning and substance to a scheme. Each development needs a strong identity that will help foster a sense of belonging for its tenants. The provision of a range of amenity spaces as well as floorplates that will support smarter ways of working helps generate a sense of ownership and community. Amenity provision needs to align to potential tenants’ personal aspirations, whether it is a healthy lifestyle, making friends within the workplace, finding more creative outlets through evening craft clubs, or connecting with the outside through access to external roof terraces and sports facilities, screening areas or allotments.

Our larger clients who may own extensive estates are now looking to share access to amenities across a neighbourhood, allowing tenants to use a gym or co-working space on their way into work rather than landlords having to duplicate the provision across a series of buildings. We are also seeing a move to more hybrid buildings which offer workspace, hospitality and social space in a seamless manner.

These are exciting times to be designing workspace, where a stronger emphasis is placed on how we design for peoples needs, their interactions with the community and a healthier and more sustainable environment.