Architect 2016-01

The
Evolving
Office
In the new landscape
of work the role of
the designer is more
critical than ever before.
Four experts weigh in.
BY DREW HIMMELSTEIN
The office used to be where you went to do
your job. Today, between smartphones, laptops,
and high-speed wireless around every corner,
employees have come to expect—and even thrive—
with more autonomy. But too many employees
spending too much time away from the office
can come at a cost to important things like
collaboration, innovation, speed, and creativity.
Quite simply, people work better when they
work together.
In this climate, what does it mean for
workplace design to keep pace with the evolving
needs of both businesses and employees? Offices
should to be places that people want to be in,
where they’ll do their best work, and where they’ll
grow. In addition to being beneficial to workers,
such environments help organizations attract top
talent and inspire high-caliber performance.
In order to explore how the design world
is adapting to this changing landscape of work,
Herman Miller recently spoke with four experts to
gain their perspective on where workplace design
is headed. We asked Carlos Martinez of Gensler,
Yves Béhar of fuseproject, Amanda Stanaway of
Woods Bagot, and Greg Parsons of Herman Miller
about how they respond to the changing nature of
work and the crucial roles that design and designer
play in its future.
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