Modelling a new infrastructure.
Offices for a new age.
Raphael Gielgen, Trendscout Future of Work Life & Learn,Vitra, n the many conversations I have had on my travels around the world, one question keeps popping up. What will the offices and workspaces of the future look like?
A glance back in time
The office experienced its last stage of evolution in the 2010s. At that time, prototypes for a new, huge-scale work architecture were emerging in Silicon Valley. This concept of a “supercomputer for physical interactions” was implemented in much of the world before the pandemic struck. And when that eventually came, nothing could remain the same as before.
The end of an era
During the pandemic I met Dror Poleg. He is an economic historian, author, and speaker who focusses on the future of work and urban environments. His insights are published regularly in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, NBC, Bloomberg, and other media outlets. Dror Poleg has looked at the current status of knowledge-based work and where it is carried out really like no other:
“We’ve been building the world around the office. Office buildings have dominated our skylines and determined the character of our city centres. The workplace has determined where we live, how far we commute, and how much time we spend with our family and friends. The office also shaped the lives of those who were too young - or already too old - to work. During childhood, school served to prepare us for an office routine. During retirement, our pensions were secured with the help of calculable dividends from long-term office leases. The office is more than just a space. It embodies an economic system, a stage of technological development, and a specific time. This time has passed. The office will not just disappear, but just like the farms and factories before them, it will lose its hold on our way of life and our environment”.
Dror Poleg’s quote emphasises the profound changes going on in the world of work. It paints a picture of an office that was once the fulcrum of professional and often also private life. It underlines the need to adapt to new circumstances and to seize opportunities presented by these changes. This transition marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new phase, but what actually defines this phase? What are the driving forces behind it, and what can we look forward to?
A new age
The fourth industrial revolution that lies ahead of us will provide some great opportunities for companies (whether that be start-ups, family businesses, or DAX corporations), universities, and also for the public sector. Whereas in the past, technologies and their implementations entered our lives quite slowly, today we are faced with extremely dynamic and rapid developments.
For creating the “markets of tomorrow” to meet society’s most important needs, a proactive approach and stronger strategic planning is required. This demands the participation of all actors involved in value creation and in the life cycle of innovation and future markets. The driving forces behind the economy and the future of our work will be the markets of the future; the infrastructure of which is yet to be designed.
The infrastructure of a new age
Ultimately, the development of a corporate campus, headquarters or office building will be about turning an idea or vision into a reality that people can inhabit, experience, and enjoy. This reality is about much more than just constructing functional buildings. It will be about creating environments and places that evoke emotions and which will have a lasting impact on the success of the company, people's work, and people's lives.
In the age of remote work, digitalisation, rapid urbanisation, and sustainability; all of those involved (whether they be companies, users, architects, project developers, or owners) will face some major challenges. This will be to create aesthetically pleasing, socially meaningful, and economically attractive environments. Creating the infrastructure for the markets of the future and thus tackling the major national, regional and global problems will require a strong spatial localisation and infrastructure that fulfils every wish. The TOYOTA WOVEN CITY, the IP.AI Campus in Heilbronn or the Center for Climate Solution on Govenors Island in New York are examples of this.
Modelling a new infrastructure
The fourth industrial revolution will fundamentally change office work. The potential for future markets associated with this will be enormous for companies. A closer look at the driving forces behind tomorrow’s markets will reveal how dynamic the changes will be for our economy and society. This transition will also demand newly designed spaces, whether they be neighbourhoods, offices, or campus areas, which are not just opportunities for knowledge-based work, but which also represent the basis for sustainable growth and social progress.
co-creation
While co-creative experiences have become an important foundation for value creation, the question arises as to how attractive working environments can be created that promote dynamic routines and co-creation for future emerging corporate & customer communities. It will all be about developing an understanding of how the physical space of the office architecture supports the business model, developing customer insights, and rethinking workflow beyond standard routines. The design of attractive work environments for promoting co-creation and dynamic routines will be crucial to fostering the knowledge-based work of the future. It shall allow companies to remain innovative, develop customer-focused solutions, and increase employee efficiency and satisfaction.
Ability to Adapt
In the economy of the future, work processes will transform both rapidly and relentlessly. For achieving the best results efficiently and effectively, teams will constantly have to collaborate adapt to different routines. Change is an unavoidable reality for the life of any company. It allows a company to adapt to new circumstances and improve its productivity and value creation. This requires not only a propensity to adapt to changing requirements, but also an ability to create different spatial and functional configurations and update technologies without significantly disrupting the overall work environment. Through the creation of flexible, technology-supported workspaces, companies can survive in times of constant change and create some real momentum.
Eco-friendly Architecture
Eco-friendly Architecture represents a bold commitment towards energy and environmental conservation in the design of the constructed environment. It aims to minimise the negative impact of buildings on the environment through an efficient and moderated use of materials, energy, developmental areas, and the nature in general. We can develop and run buildings whose contents and results not only run seamlessly alongside the natural environment, but whose constructed design and operating systems also take into account local ecological and global biosphere-related processes. Eco-friendly architecture is a holistic approach that is not only intended to minimize negative environmental impacts, but which also improves people's quality of life while providing economic benefits to boot.
Spatial Experience
A building is much more than just a building. It is a rich and diverse spatial experience composed of carefully designed compartments that complement and contrast one another. In this sense, architecture represents a spatial experience and communication. Today, in the age of remote working, this quality can be achieved through physical, virtual, or hybrid realities. The architecture and spatial experience must therefore convey a feeling of a place where employees can happily work together creatively and with full commitment during the week.
Machine Minds
Robots are no longer just science fiction, and have now become our colleagues. Within an increasing number of professional activities we are now confronted with autonomous and learning technologies. The increasing emergence of new innovation in the field of artificial intelligence, facial recognition, robotics, and natural language processing, far-reaching change in human-machine interaction is being brought about in the workplace. What has been common practice in industrial manufacturing and architectural model-making for several years is now reaching into more and more areas of work. The integration of robots and autonomous technologies into office buildings is an important step towards increasing the efficiency, productivity, and innovation capacity of modern working environments.
Extended Realities
The reality of tomorrow’s work is virtual. The proliferation of the metaverse and Web 3.0, the popularisation of NFTs, and the commercialisation of VR and AR hardware have raised new questions about the potential of our workspaces. More and more architectural firms and software companies are devoting themselves to the design of virtual workspaces. Today, virtual spaces appear to be an even better investment than the traditional real estate market. The question is no longer whether augmented reality technologies will prevail, but how they can be optimally integrated into our business processes and workspaces.
Cluster Economy
Innovation will become the norm, and learning will constitute an integral part of our daily “working” life. Connectivity will be a key and crucial driver of economic growth and prosperity. Clusters will arise through connectivity, and not through neighbourhoods or physical locations. Designing a complex network with flows of goods, services, people, ideas, and capital means thinking in broader contexts. Proximity will greatly improve interactions between economic actors, collaboration, and work efficiency compared to the old office models.
CONCLUSION
The spatial dimension of work will provide exciting opportunities and challenges for the future. Organizations that make optimal use of such potential and adapt to new working realities will be successful in an increasingly homogeneous, globalised, and digitalised world. The world of work in the near future will be dramatically different from the one we are familiar with today.
The real estate industry is on the threshold of a real revolutionary change, and driven by global changes and technological progress, completely new opportunities are arising. Flexibility, sustainability, technology integration, and community involvement are requirements that will arise from the needs of a changing society.
CODIC has set itself the goal of adopting a definitive position as a leader here and is bundling in the program 5YN3RGY the influential factors described above, thereby carrying out pioneering work in the development of new value-based standards for real estate investments. This is based on a deep and profound understanding of the world of tomorrow.
