Category: Design

The Office Group is a design-led workspace provider that houses a diverse community of businesses and individuals. Today, they have over 20 established buildings across central London, Bristol and Leeds. Members can decide whether they want to work from a private office, virtual addresses or collaborative coworking space.

We spoke with founder Oliver Olsen, about connectivity, convenience and how space managers can create a healthy, vibrant lifestyle for their members.

How did you imagine an open office when you started TOG, and how do you see the social workplace as representative of a new model of work?

The Office Group Co-CEO Charlie Green and I we were spurred to set up in business based on the desire to get out of the corporate world and create offices that were markedly different to the industry standard.

In all of our various workspaces, we strive to create a sense of community and collaboration. This is important as businesses are becoming more fluid in the way they operate. For example, the use of freelancers and temporary staff joining for short-term projects tends to be more agile and with flexible working hours, remote working, and the rise of the sharing economy there is a growing need to find expertise and advice quickly.

An effective workspace should make it easier for members to find out about each other and thus connect. The person you might need on your next project could be sitting in the same room as you.

Please describe the design of your space. Why are aesthetics and atmosphere so important in today’s workspace?

Olly Olsen

One of the main reasons we wanted to create our own workspaces was that we couldn’t see any offices out there that we would want to work in ourselves.

Our spaces are designed to be comfortable, vibrant, light, and all styles of work. We display artwork from local artists and create bespoke art pieces for each building that reference the history of the building or area.

The look and feel of an office space is important simply because employees spend so much of their day at work. The environment has such a big impact on individual well-being, productivity and creativity that you have to have this in mind at every stage of the design process.

How did you realize what type of space design nurtured productivity?

We learned from our own backgrounds in the industry, and we took as much from the bad things as we did from the good. We work with top architects, interior designers, furniture suppliers and a skilled in-house property team who receive feedback from our members and building managers when it comes to considering the design of a new space.

In your opinion, how has the development of these open spaces influenced the culture of work?

Open coworking spaces have proved that work doesn’t have to mean a traditional 9 to 5 office-based role. They have in turn show that a social, open workspace makes any type of work possible. Many of our members work in teams that are spread throughout the globe, but they are able to work seamlessly through conference calling, Skype and Slack.

Who usually joins the Office Group and what services do you offer them?

Our Community includes everyone from solo freelancers to multi-national blue-chip companies and every type of business in-between. We’re particularly popular with start-up tech companies, creative agencies, recruiters and design firms.

What are the challenges of creating a productive workplace for freelancers?

Today, high-speed wireless internet has allowed start-ups and smaller businesses to be more agile than ever and also allows then to work from anywhere. Therefore, our biggest challenge is to provide an environment that offers real value over and above free workspaces or working from home. We believe that the key to this value is people.

Despite the many ways for business people to connect with each other digitally, what we see is a real desire for real human interaction amongst our members. Our Community Managers get to know all of our members, and help with anything they might need and connect them to others that they might be able to work with.

It seems that larger companies are steadily gravitating towards social workplaces, why do you think that is?

Companies are beginning to realize the importance of social interaction with organizations, both from an employee happiness perspective and from one of innovation. They understand that new ideas can be sparked by the ‘water cooler’ moments and cross-department chats.

Many companies are actively designing their offices in a way that encourages employees to meet, chat and create the ‘eureka’ moments. Today, rather than packing the most offices possible into a building, we’re seeing an emerging trend focused on leisure spaces and open workspaces.

How are the expectations of the modern workforce different from previous models? How does the Office Group address these modern needs?

The view of what an office should be has changed dramatically in the last 5 years. People no longer look for 4 walls and a door, rather they want a space that is light and flexible to suit the changing needs of their business. Most people want a space that looks good, feels good and helps their team be productive.

In addition to this, the way we work is changing. Digital technologies are disrupting almost every industry as well as creating entirely new ones overnight. We need to ensure that our spaces meet the needs of these new ‘digital employees’ and caters equally to those who demand flexible space, like a meeting room for an hour, a desk for just a few days a week, or even just a business address or phone number.

Kursty Groves Knight is a woman of many talents, the author of “I Wish I Worked There! – A Look Inside the Most Creative Spaces in Business” also holds double masters degrees in engineering and industrial design. When Kursty first started writing her book back in 2008, there was very little information about the social workplace, thus she dedicated her work to exploring the link between physical space and creativity.

We caught up with Kursty to find out more about her work, and what she is looking forward most at the upcoming Social Workplace conference.

Hi, Kursty. How did you become interested in social workspaces?

I started off as an industrial designer, so the creative process was always really interesting to me. I was working with a company called ?What If!, and dealing with a lot with topics focusing on capability and innovation culture, which combined my varied interests. Thus, I began thinking, “there is something missing here” and the designer in me was itching to examine the human side of work through the lens of space design.

Do you think the topic of space design is now at the forefront of the discussion concerning the future of work?

Yes, and I find it fascinating that it has become such a major talking point when it comes to discussing the future of work. At the moment, we are at a crossroads and we are seeing all of these current trends and influences coming together and creating a perfect storm of, technology, collaboration, and physical space.

Today, we have a whole new awareness as to how we work, whereas before the topic was of very little importance. Previously, people just went to their desks and had no expectations that their workspace should even be interesting.

How have our attitudes towards work changed since you started writing your book in 2008?

What I started writing my book in 2008 and there was nothing else out there, apart from some books like Creative Office, but even those were mostly driven from the designers perspective. So when I pitched my book, I knew that there was a whole world of information out there concerning office space that was outside of just designers talking to other designers. I decided to focus on how to bring together the topics of design, creativity and innovation from the users’ perspective.

Would you say that corporations are starting to catch on to the concept of social workspaces? If so, why is that? 

Kursty Groves Knight

Yes. I think that more and more traditional businesses are looking towards contemporary work models to find inspiration and new examples of how to do business. Almost all of the workplace models we see today are focused on the social aspect of work culture, as collaboration and creativity are now acknowledged as essential for innovation.

Many of these companies are also increasingly aware of the competition coming from startups, which don’t need to utilize the traditional levers that large organizations have always used, such as well-established distribution channels, brand awareness, or even sheer volume of employees. More than ever, small, agile business are more connected, and bigger companies are seeing this as the inevitable future of how networking will be done. This change is also reflected as a physical manifestation of the shift to a more social workplace.

Do you think that these larger companies sometimes misunderstand the Social Workplace? Meaning, do they try to create their own, without fully understanding the origins of the movement?

We do see that a lot. What I see the most is companies, usually driven by real estate challenges, who look at agile working and think, “oh, lets do that”. They realize something is going on in coworking that attracts people, and they try to cut and paste elements from the movement without considering the whole picture. Some companies may create an open space to enhance collaboration, or even to save money, but there is often a lack of understanding of what the community actually needs.

Do you think that the emergence of the social workplace influenced the current real estate market?

Coworking and social workplaces have had a big impact on real estate. Property owners are seeing that open workspaces are in fact a very lucrative business model, which can potentially deal with many of their previous problems, such as rising costs and empty space.

For example, in Silicon Valley some of the large campuses are now moving downtown because coworking has shown them that they don’t necessarily need these massive open plan offices filled with desks. Work today is much more flexible and moving into more intimate established shared workspace is just as financially viable and doesn’t leave one with the feeling that they are in a factory.

Why are events like the Social Workplace Conference so important in regards to understanding the future of work? And what are you expecting to gain from this year’s conference?

The Social Workplace conference is a macro version of itself. The most powerful aspect of these conferences is the act of bringing people together from diverse backgrounds, but who share common interests. At the upcoming conference in London, I have invited some people from a youth marketing agency, who are set up to help big clients to understand the needs of young people today.

The conference will give organizations like these an important opportunity to learn from people who are much more established, and that goes both ways.

Oliver Marlow, designer, Creative Director and co-founder of Studio TILT, has “always been fascinated in the way people interact with space”. Oliver looks at the ways in which organisational “dynamics play out and how design can help or hinder the way people can come together.” As the co-organizer of the upcoming Social Workplace conference, we spoke with Oliver about how the emerging social workspace is influencing today’s work culture.

Hi Oliver, why was it important to you to co-organize the Social Workplace 2015 conference?

Coworking is now the workplace zeitgeist, but we have also been involved in coworking for 10 years, long before it had a name. Today, we recognise that it is the perfect time to come to together to look at how Coworking 2.0 might look.

What’s your definition of the Social Workplace and how is it representative of a new model of work? 

Oliver Marlow

The social workplace returns to effective human needs. It is a shift from space defined as a “container” to space as an “enabler”. It looks beyond the monumentality of working environments to something more fluid, humble, connected, inspiring and healthy.

What does a social work environment offer that a traditional one does not?

The characteristics of a social work environment are associated with high innovation potential and with creating a user-centred language of space and use.

Social workplaces are designed based on how surroundings affect mood, behaviour and the ability to create. They allow for a flexible space that can be used to gather varying stakeholders together.

Please describe how your “codesign strategy” influences workplace interactions, productivity and the overall dynamic of Studio TILT. How did you realise what worked best?

We design together, with people. We enable space to create experience and community, as well as identity. If you do this well, you can create an atmosphere in a place that people want to belong to and where you can thrive.

Codesign for me is the essence of the social workplace. It enables a community of workers to explore and understand their needs in order to work together more effectively, with joy and also with purpose.

Is the social workplace becoming more widely accepted?

The conversation around the impact of the physical environment on workplace behaviour has grown over the past few years. This has been aided by the changing nature of the way we work and the increasing importance of creativity in many industries. However, there is still no resource that is either extensive or conclusive specifically around building environments for creativity. We are at the beginning of this journey.

What are some of the challenges of creating a productive workplace for freelancers?

Freelancers work for themselves, but they need to work together to survive. By being part of a community of work a freelancer feels connected and supported. This model will be the norm in the years to come, and the design challenge is to find ways to allows others to join such a community. It shouldn’t matter where you come from: different sectors, age groups, skills sets, organisational experiences.

How are the expectations of the modern workforce different from previous models? How do you address these modern needs?

I think expectations today are towards a more profound need. Work is so all encompassing that the work-life balance is now the work-life integration. The key design factor is one of convergence. The modern workforce needs so many more physiological needs met within their place of work. This will only continue.

As a designer, I address these emerging needs by looking at ever more ways to layer the functions of workspaces. I look how to mix different types of spaces and create environments that feel convivial and rewarding to be inside. This convergence of spaces is leading us back to an understanding of how the mix of civic, commercial and leisure spaces are all an integral part of our everyday lives.

The OpenWork Agency was founded by David Walker and Drew Jones about a year ago. David graduated from business school at UT Austin and has been a serial entrepreneur his whole career. Along with Dusty Reagan, Cesar Torres, and John Eric Metcalf, David founded Austin coworking space, Conjunctured in 2008. Drew joined the team in 2011, and has an academic and consultancy background, in addition to experience teaching Organizational Behavior in business schools and consulting businesses in the areas of corporate culture and leadership for 15 years.

Today, OpenWork has collaborated with various partners on specific projects, most recently Liz Elam of Link Coworking and GCUC. The platform aims to promote an open work philosophy and offers tools to large enterprises that will enable them to learn how to manage their cultural resources.

Hi, Drew. How did you make the transition from starting off as the first coworking space in Austin to being a global platform? And why did you feel that transition was necessary?

OpenWork is the vision David and I developed for bringing the design and ethos of coworking to big companies who were re-thinking their workplace strategies. Our recent work with real-estate developers has kind of been by accident, though it is keeping us busy. Our goal in the long term is to work with large firms as they incorporate more of an open work philosophy for managing their cultural resources.

From the beginning, being a part of the flow of two coworking spaces (SHIFT and Conjunctured) it became clear to us that this (i.e. coworking) is the most organic work arrangement that humans have yet devised in a post-technological society. Freedom of choice, autonomy, and the opportunity to form communities of one’s own choosing, transforms work from being all about other people’s imperatives to being about authenticity and dignity.

While a bit idealistic, at OpenWork we would like to bring this to as many organizations as possible, especially those firms where the flow of work currently is defined by needless hierarchy and toxicity.

What’s your definition of the social workplace, and how is it representative of the future of work?

I think of the social workplace as the intersection of spaces with policies that empower people to work according to their own rhythms. In that humans are a social species, we seek out sociality as a central, though not sole, context in which to get work done. This is why Activity Based Work (ABW) is, I believe, so important.

Companies such as Veldhoen + Company have pioneered a model of working wherein all members of a firm- beginning with the CEO and other senior leadership- forego a private office, and thus work among ‘everyone else.’ This removes the physical hierarchy inscribed in office design.

Also, and quite importantly, in ABW office, employees don’t have to come into the office every day, but most still choose to come in. Given that they are not coming in to nest in a fixed space with pictures of their family, what they seem to be turning up for is the social atmosphere. That is, they are attracted to the community more so than the physical status of a posh ‘office as perk’. This is why, despite all of the innovation that happens in the US, ABW is so slow in coming here. Our deep-rooted individualism is hard for folks to abandon.

The Open Work agency introduced a series of “work/ social” concepts, can you please elaborate on what these concepts are, and how you developed them.

Our work/social vision is a workplace software platform- Nomatik– that has so far not taken off at all. We lack the capital and skills to develop it in house, so it is just sitting on the shelf at this time. However, we would like to be able to offer clients a tool that enables a mix of full-time employees, and freelancers/contractors, to find each other and meetup to work and share resources wherever they are- whether that is at a coffee shop near their homes or at the office. Ideally, in the long run, we’d like to help create a platform where freelancers can plug into this too, as a pipeline of projects and career support as well.

Please describe the design of OpenWork Agency, and why the look and feel of a space is so important.

Since we closed Conjunctured, OpenWork is a virtual company. We work out of several different coworking spaces here in Austin- Link Coworking, Orange Coworking, and Patchwork Austin. As for the importance of design, it is critical to making sociality and collaboration possible, hopefully probable. We work with an architecture firm in our client work so that we have professionalism in how we advise in the planning and designing process.

I would add that designing policies is as important as designing spaces. A business can have the most awesome spaces in the world, but if employees are locked into Theory X policies then the space is just pretty furniture.

How did you realize what type design thinking nurtured productivity?

For us, Design Thinking is a kind of systems thinking. In my book- The Fifth Age of Work– I start with that question: If a designer were put in charge of HR and facilities management, what would she/he do? This starts with taking much of the ‘stupid’ out of work, such as unnecessary commutes, cubicles, 40 hour work weeks, 50 week work years, mindless reporting and controlling processes, etc. From there, the challenge is to physically design the spaces in a way that supports how humans naturally interact with one another. Of course, this is no one way. Philosophically, our point of view is inspired by the work of architect Christopher Alexander and his books- The Timeless Way of Building, and A Pattern Language.

How has the development of open work spaces influenced work culture?

Drew Jones

So far it is really hard to tell. There is a big difference between those legacy companies who redesigned their spaces to be “cool”, but don’t actually change any of their policies regarding employee choice and flexibility.

On the other hand, when you look at the offices of companies such as Yelp, LinkedIn, Airbnb, Facebook, Google, Rackspace, etc., open and flexible cultures precede and define the spaces in the first instance. One of our biggest goals, and challenges, is to see how the open design (of coworking) can transform the culture of a large, conventional, legacy company, over the long term. We are in conversation with a few companies that show a small appetite for this, but we’ve yet to really dig in and have a go with this type of client.

What does a social work environment offer that a traditional one does not? Do you think that more corporate entities respond better to a social/work environment? Why?

An open/social work environment offers choice, flexibility, and autonomy. Sadly, the operating system of most American public companies is all about control, centralized decision making, and shareholder value. The idea that young knowledge workers can (and should) come and go as they choose and work when and where they choose, is sadly just an annoyance (and possibly a new cost) for people locked into the culture of shareholder value returns. I am convinced that, if firms actually implement open policies in conjunction with open spaces, then their people will be more engaged, energetic, and productive. People just need to be set free to get to this point.

How are the expectations of the modern workforce different from previous models? What are the current expectations, and how do you address these modern needs?

A combination of technology and the rising generation of Millennials is transforming just about everything about work. So much of what happens in offices, still, happens because that’s the way it’s always been done. Given that firms and employees no longer have much of a mutual commitment to one another, the whole calculus of work is changing.

Workers know that they are likely just passing through, doing some work here and there on their way to the next one. For their part, companies need to acknowledge this, and respond by allowing workers (full-time and freelancer) to work in ways that work for them.

The good news, for both sides of the equation, is that if firms allow young knowledge workers to drive this process, it not only works for the workers but is also, via the cloud, mobility, and a much-reduced real estate footprint, it can also be good for firms as well.

Amanda Gray

The coffee break has been a staple of the workday since the early days of modern industry. Office spaces soon became ornamented with automatic coffee machines and afternoon coffee orders became a daily ritual.

Yet, these breaks were often limited, to ensure that workers weren’t spending too much time away for their desks.

Today the tables have turned. More traditional companies now realize that social concepts, like the communal workspace, actually boost employee productivity and coffee culture is a major part of this. Grabbing a latte is no longer just something workers do on their break, but rather a vital part of a productive workday.

Offices around the world are now jumping on this trend, rapidly moving away from placing emphasis on hours worked and focusing more on socializing in order to promote communication and collaboration.

Have a Cup of Corporate Coffee

International office design experts, Steelcase, recently published an article titled “Real Work”, where they explored companies that are currently integrating alternative spaces into their official workspaces. They highlighted the fact that being productive is no longer limited to the desk, but can also take place while grabbing a coffee with colleagues.

It is important to remember that these office cafés are not like the ones around the corner from your house, but actually considered to be another type of office. The creation of the workplace coffee shop is a result of blending “first place” and “third places” to create a “second place” that gives “employees access to environments that offer employees the relaxed amenities of home”.

The “Real Work” article made reference to several examples of alternative workspaces, including Google’s latest endeavor the Coffee Lab. The author paid a visit to Google’s latest addition to the London campus, describing it as a “neutral territory, perfect for meeting outside vendors or partners”.

Creating added value through First, Second and Third Spaces 

Betahaus, Berlin

Betahaus, which first opened in Berlin in 2009, and has since expanded to Barcelona, and Sofia, is a prime example of a contemporary collective office that has created added value through various qualities derived from alternative spaces.

By combining the “best aspects of a Vienna-style coffee house, the library, home office and university campus”, Betahaus offers their members a workspace that encourages both social interaction and productivity through architectural diversity and alternative workspace.

In fact, when you enter Betahaus Berlin, your first impression is their café. The multifaceted space that leads to the upper floors, where the official “coworking” is happening, is always buzzing with people talking, working on laptops and enjoying a freshly cooked meal. One gets the impression that just as much work is being done over a cup of coffee as it is over a computer in the quiet meeting rooms.

As the workplace changes, things that once seemed counter-intuitive, like working in a noisy coffee shop, are now being reconsidered in the professional landscape. Now more than ever we realize the importance of employee wellbeing as well as the benefit of developing alternative workspaces.

Amanda Gray

Eduardo Forte completed his studies in Law and business management, while simultaneously developing his skills in marketing and management. He is the co-founder of Betahaus Barcelona, an open space that offers passionate professionals the opportunity to develop themselves in a creative and inspirational atmosphere. Eduardo will be speaking at this year’s Social Workplace conference, and gave us a glimpse into what it’s like to run a space catered to the “new coworking class”.

How does Betahaus Barcelona define the social workplace?

For us, it is a place where people can have access to an inspirational atmosphere filled with individuals from various backgrounds. For example, Betahaus currently has 200 members from 40 nationalities. This diverse community not only allows people to expand their business contacts but also gives them the chance to share and find others that are also passionate about what they do.

For us, to have “big numbers” (big community) means that we can increase that chance. You could meet someone that might be your next partner, client, friend, crush or love of your life.

What types of members chose to work at Betahaus Barcelona?

We are a big space in terms of members (+200), thus we have many profiles. Overall we attract international and open-minded people that have chosen Barcelona due to their lifestyle. Our members range from creative professionals (designers, illustrator, etc) to entrepreneurs and startups. We also have an in-house workshop, so we attract many makers and product designers that want to build their own prototypes.

Betahaus Barcelona is pretty focused on design. Why are the look and feel of a workspace so important?

Eduardo Forte

We worked really hard to design our space that provides the best working experience possible for our members. One of my co-founders, Pedro Pineda, is a designer and he is also in charge of developing and improving the concept of the experience you will get when you become a member of Betahaus.

The design is not only about having a nice and comfortable chair, or hip meeting room. It’s primarily about developing something that is useful and shaped for the user. Overall, the design aims to improve your working experience in general.

How have open workspaces influenced the culture of work

I think these social spaces opened up more possibilities for workers because they offer members the chance to meet other profiles that they wouldn’t typically encounter in a traditional office.

In a coworking space, you’re in touch with people that don’t necessarily share your skill-set, thus you have the chance to open your network and develop a much broader vision of your own work, and that definitely changes (in a good way) the way you will work in the future.

Do you think that larger companies are now looking to join open workplaces?

I think that’s not 100% true. I think that small to medium-sized companies are much more open to social workplaces. It’s very complicated for corporations to change the way they work because they’re big and less flexible. Also, large companies are a community within itself, so the question is: How you put a community inside another community? It wouldn’t really work. But what we will start to see is larger companies and corporations will we send small teams to social workspaces to gain inspiration, or understanding about what is happening in the startup and freelance ecosystem.

What are the challenges of creating a productive workplace for freelancers?

There are many challenges! But I think the biggest challenge is how to create a mixed environment where everybody feels comfortable and can adapt to their workflow. When you are dealing with different profiles, the various work styles don’t necessarily fit together, so you need to find the way to make them come together. That’s the biggest challenge.

Flywheel Coworking is a space based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They define themselves as an innovation space, where entrepreneurs and other professionals can come together to work, meet and collaborate. In addition to building a dynamic community for their members, Flywheel is also currently exploring ways in which social workspaces can connect with more conventional corporations.

We spoke with Flywheel’s community manager, Jennifer Berg, to find out more about why traditional companies are gravitating to more open workspaces.

Hi, Jennifer. How do you view an open office and does it represent a new model of work?

An open office is a workspace that while designed to be a productive atmosphere, also encourages communication and socialization. It is easy for people to assume that an open office comes with plenty of distractions, but what we’ve noticed is that the variety of spaces and people within our space help to keep people motivated. When the majority of people in the space are working and focused, you really don’t want to be the only one who isn’t!

What would we see if we walked into Flywheel?

Our space is about 11,000 square feet, with plenty of work space options. In addition to open desk space, we also have enclosed offices, meeting rooms, and soft seating throughout the area. There’s also a pool hall, which includes a pool table, dart board, coffee and beer bars, which is adjacent to our quarter-scale basketball court.

Why is space design important for productivity?

The design of the space is so important because of the options it provides to our members. It’s essential that people realize that our coworking space does not tie you down to one specific location. Instead, it gives you the opportunity to move around throughout the day, and try out new and creative workspaces.

What kinds of members typically join Flywheel and what services do you offer them?

We have a variety of members, ranging from entrepreneurs/solopreneurs/startups, to consultants and freelancers, to professionals who work for established companies but have the opportunity to work outside the office. All memberships include Wi-Fi, free coffee and water, free beer on tap. We also offer an allotment of free meeting room hours each month, as well as a discount on the hourly rate for anyone who exceeds their allotment in addition to free (or heavily discounted) admittance to our events, classes and other programming

In your opinion, how has the development of social workplaces influenced contemporary work culture?

I believe that it helps to foster a new type of creative atmosphere, where regardless of your background or experience, you want to jump and help where you can. I’ve watched people meet here at Flywheel, and within two or three days, they are collaborating or even just helping out with thoughtful advice or ideas. It’s rewarding to see how much people want to help other people, even if they’re just new acquaintances!

What does a social work environment offer that a traditional one does not?

It definitely offers a creative atmosphere. It also gives an opportunity to network and learn more about other professional areas. It’s wonderful to watch new members interact and learn about professions that they never even knew existed!

Today we see larger companies/corporations gravitating towards social workplaces, why do you think that is?

I believe that it’s due to the fact that it gives their employees more variety, whether it’s in their physical desk location, or with the people they interact with throughout the day. In my opinion, variety keeps people focused and motivated, and helps reduce the risk of boredom/lack of focus.

Does Flywheel have any corporate members?

We do. We have corporate partners (similar to sponsors), as well as members who have chosen to come and work out of Flywheel. With the members, most of them have the opportunity to work from home/remotely, and have found that they aren’t as productive in their home offices, or prefer being around people.

Why do you think that they chose Flywheel and do they feel a more social work environment has contributed to their success?

With the corporate partners, they see this as an opportunity to not only be supportive of the professional and entrepreneurial community in Winston-Salem, but also as a way to show how their services can beneficial to a variety of professions.

Vasakronan is easily the biggest property owner in Sweden. With approximately 10 billion Euros worth in properties, which are primarily rented out as office space or shopping centers, the real estate giant is home to the majority of companies in the country. Yet, rather than conjuring up an image of bleak cubicles rented out to just anyone, Henrik Eriksson, head of workplace strategies and tenant advisory, is very well aware of the importance of design and flexibility when it comes to meeting workers needs.

As the population of digital nomads increases and the traditional office is undergoing a significant transformation, Eriksson is looking for ways to create spaces where the CEO of a company and a freelancer can work side by side with the feeling that both their needs are perfectly met.

Hi Henrik. As a major player in the property business, how do you see the relationship between a traditional office space and the “social workplace”?

I believe that the more traditional corporations or businesses are starting to see that the future of business is no longer how they once understood it to be. They realize that there is important knowledge and rich pools of resources available in open-source workspaces where people communicate easily, and even collaborate if they want.

Vasakronan

When I attended the Coworking Europe Conference in Lisbon last year, I really saw a divide between those who were working from the heart and those individuals that saw coworking as a business opportunity. Neither approach is wrong, but I think that both models are naturally drifting towards one another and they need to find a way to work together.

How does Vasakronan play a role in the development of Social Workplaces?

We would definitely like to be a thought leader. As the largest landlord in Sweden, our properties are focused on space where people flow, such as office spaces and shopping centers. Where people flow revenue can be made, if it’s done well.

The role of the landlord can be very important, and we know that coworking spaces face difficulties with that, especially when it comes to paying rent. If you do it right implementing a social environment into the workplace can increase flow, productivity and revenue.

Do you see yourself more as a facility, a service, or a hospitality provider?

We are definitely a facility. We are a landlord that provides office space that is functional and flexible.

What kind of tenants do you typically have in your workspaces?

I would say that we have around 80 percent companies and 20 percent freelance tenants. There are people who are looking to lease property in the best location to start a franchise, and also those who are working on projects, which focus on community and sustainability.

As a landlord, have you observed changes in the way people want to work?

Overall we can see that not only businesses are becoming more agile, by encouraging their workers to work in more non-traditional spaces, but also that society on the whole is becoming more agile. In Sweden we just at the beginning of this transformation, but I am sure we will see more of these areas hosting digital nomads.

To what extent is Vasakronan different from any traditional office environment and how does design play into that?

We are very different in the ways in which we think about space, which absolutely plays a big role. I am a firm believer that stimuli in the physical environment can result in positive cognitive changes.

Headquarters of Vasakronan, Sweden

There needs to be space for socializing, relaxing and also productivity. There are some companies that make money by fitting out an ideal working environment, but at Vasakronan we do not like to base our design on current behaviors because they change so much over time within a space. We like to see what works, and then adapt to their needs over time using the space.

What kinds of changes have you seen from workers?

We have seen workers using space in ways we didn’t predict. We may have thought, “okay, this is a sitting/relaxation area”, but people are actually much more active and social in this space. At Vasakronan we apply design thinking, which follows the line of: make a prototype, see what works, who reacts how and to what, and take it from there.

We make a lot of changes to space using furniture. That is a lot more coast effective, rather than moving walls, for example.

Are freelancers an important client for you? What are the challenges of creating a productive workplace for workers today?

In an increasingly digital and knowledgeable society, yes, freelancers become more and more important.

When I think about the challenges of creating a productive and attractive workplace, I think about nightclubs. In Stockholm we have 2 or 3 nightclubs, which are still in their original state since the 1980s, but the rest have completely changed or closed down. It is hard to maintain same concept overtime and keep people interested. For me, it is the same with business.

Can you please explain?

For example, the manager of a club must be aware of what people want, subsequently providing relevant content, while also making it accessible and interesting. New and growing businesses must also do the same. For example, we see that the event market is becoming more explicit. Gong to a conference used to be a break from work, but now people really have the urge for serendipity, and simultaneously realize that they can capitalize on these events.

We are moving out of a time where people do things simply for monetary gain, but who also realize the importance of social capital.