Our friends at YES! Your Exceptional Space, are still in a phase of cautious optimism, planning the Return to Office and the Hybrid Workforce. Their recent blog post, “Solving for ‘Flex’ – Planning for the Hybrid Workforce”, highlights a number of findings and data points that have them looking to the long view, where the transition to hybrid work models will take years to perfect, not weeks or months.
We’re pleased to share this guest post written by Natalie Akins, Interior Design Editor with Innovative Building Materials. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevailing trend in commercial office design was to open up spaces to create a more inviting work atmosphere. While creativity and collaboration are undoubtedly optimized in open floor plans, the pandemic reminded everyone that, in addition to the periodic need for privacy, some measures must be taken to provide social distance and ensure employee wellness.
"Inclusive Design Principles are about putting people first. It's about designing for the needs of people with permanent, temporary, situational, or changing disabilities — all of us really."
– InclusiveDesignPrinciples.org
Our friend Wendy Spreenberg, founder of YES! Your Exceptional Space, recently wrote a blog post that discusses her viewpoint on the coworking and flexible workspace industry and the cyclical nature of consolidation. In her post, Wendy states:
"...our (coworking/flexworking) industry follows a predictable cycle, allowing us to respond with new ways of enabling people’s best work..."
Until recent times, never has there been a moment in history that has truly and repeatedly turned our world upside down – on so many levels.
The global pandemic and the civil rights movement continues to put us through the ringer with what feels like weekly (and sometimes daily) shocks to the heart, head and body. It’s highly likely this topsy-turvy state will continue to be our ‘current normal’ for a while longer, as much heavy-lifting must be done to develop vital vaccines, dismantle racism and rebuild entire social systems.
Learn more as we aim to navigate these historically significant circumstances in the context of the workplace – one thing for certain is that we are entering a new and exciting era of transformation.
While the idea of a personal work bubble might sound sci-fi surreal, the reality is that from here forward, it’s more paramount than ever for workplace design to address how people perceive and experience personal safety and wellbeing, through visual and physical cues in the work environment.
Read on for a baker’s dozen ideas for office design and employee wellness ideas for post-pandemic reentry.
Designing and moving into a new office is a big deal! And like many things in life, workplace transitions are often more complex than we think they’re going to be. But take heart! We’re here to help you avoid costly mistakes. Read on to learn about 3 pitfalls you’ll want to avoid during your office transition.
Originally written by and posted on VIDA Co-working’s blog, this article focuses on the unique design approach being applied in a collaboration between VIDA and ctrl+shift+space. This office will be the first of many co-working spaces being created by and for women professionals who desire to Make/Life Work. Give it a read and you’ll see how VIDA supports how real people will actually use and engage with the environment.
Allyson Strowbridge is principal of ctrl+shift+space, a Portland-based workplace strategy and design firm with a client list that includes Zapproved and Technology Association of Oregon.
In response to its rapid growth, Sightbox, a Portland-based technology company that offers its members a new way to experience vision care, recently embarked on an expansion and remodel of its current office space in downtown Portland. Doubling its square-footage, two Portland workplace strategy and design firms, ctrl+shift+space and Studio 7 Design, collaborated to infuse Sightbox’s culture into the 25,000 square-foot project, while also ensuring the company operated successfully throughout construction and installation.
When designing a flexible workspace, what essential elements do you need?
For this question we reached out to design expert Allyson Strowbridge, who with her firm, ctrl+shift+space, has years of experience helping companies of various sizes and industries design the best-fit workspaces for their respective needs. For most of the clients she’s worked with, that means creating a more flexible workspace.
Human-centered employers understand that behind every great company, product, service and tool are great employees. Therefore, they work toward keeping their most valuable assets — their people — motivated, engaged and happy. While the environments in which we work are just one piece of the workplace culture conundrum, they represent a pretty large piece of the puzzle.
