Technology has become a big part of today\u2019s global society and it\u2019s not hard to see why;\u00a0smartphones and other portable devices have become so integrated into our lifestyles that\u00a0they have changed the way we communicate with one another. Now that we can stay connected anywhere and at any time, it has enabled us to work flexibly, effectively changing the physical workplace environment and working culture. Open-plan layouts have become popular to accommodate a hot-desking policy, supported by co-working spaces such as project areas and informal meeting areas.<\/p>\n
Sustainability<\/strong><\/p>\n As\u00a0society has gradually become more aware of its impact on the environment, there has been a continuing shift towards achieving sustainable design. Maximising natural light, incorporating nature themes, repurposing existing buildings and using furniture made from sustainable and recycled materials are some common examples of this trend found in workplaces. Most recently, technology has helped to take this further \u2013 <\/strong>employees at The Edge in Amsterdam can control their own light levels<\/a> using an app on their smartphone. And at Alphabeta, workers can cycle straight into the building<\/a>, encouraging green commuting while bringing cycling into the work experience.<\/p>\n \u201cMost people ditch their light-hearted, spirited nature for a more professional representation of themselves at work\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Vibrant wall graphics, astro-turf flooring, gaming areas and an 87-ft spiral slide were just some of the playful elements in an office that I once visited whilst at university. Five years later, this trend of playful design remains popular; companies realise that it brings greater comfort and happiness, fosters creative thinking and breaks down social barriers among employees. In today\u2019s competitive business world, playful design also helps to express company culture and an employee\u2019s sense of identity. At National Grid\u2019s office in Warwick<\/a>, internal partitions built by colourful pipes playfully reflect what the company does while an interactive exhibition upstairs invites both staff and visitors to learn more about the company\u2019s history.<\/p>\n To get more insight into how design trends and the process of design has changed from a designer\u2019s point of view, I asked<\/strong> Terry Gunnery<\/strong>, director at Strategy Plus London,\u00a0for his views on the subject.<\/strong><\/p>\n Sarah: How has the process of design changed?<\/em><\/p>\n Terry: Technology was very primitive in the 80s; much of the design was drawn out using drawing boards and only then were PCs just starting to come in. AutoCAD enabled the delivery of projects to speed up and become more efficient, saving time and money for both designers and clients. It was being used as a production tool rather than a design tool.<\/em><\/p>\n Although we still continue to use the RIBA design stages today, projects have a higher demand for delivery now that we\u2019re so connected via emails and portable technology\u00a0\u2013 <\/strong> everything is instant and we need time to design. There\u2019s also more competition; initially there were more architectural practices than specialist companies such as DEGW (now Strategy Plus at AECOM) because interior design wasn\u2019t deemed fashionable. Now there are many more specialist practices, contractors and furniture designers that we are competing with.<\/em><\/p>\n Frank Duffy, one of the DEGW founders, was influential in how buildings are now designed; he brought modern concepts and flexible ideas to the profession.<\/em><\/p>\n Sarah: Is sustainability going to get more or less important in the future?<\/em><\/p>\n Terry: Sustainability should be more important. Thirty years ago, the thinking was there but sustainability wasn\u2019t always incorporated into projects as there was no \u2018driver\u2019 for it. This wasn\u2019t always the case however\u00a0\u2013 <\/strong> we completed a project for BP\u2019s office in London, where we incorporated reclaimed timber floors, tables made with recycled coffee cups and\u00a0recycled furnishing fabrics.<\/em><\/p>\n Sarah: Do you think technological progress is going to slow down or speed up, and what does that mean for how it’s incorporated into design?<\/em><\/p>\n Terry: Technology will speed up, although it\u2019s a double-edged sword for designers. It has allowed us to create more sophisticated concepts, such as what you might see in a typical Zaha Hadid Architects project; however, it should be used to realise design and not to design\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>finding that balance should enhance creativity.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe world of work has changed profoundly in the last 30 years and it will continue to change over the next 30\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Having read a lot about this subject, and particularly after my conversation with Terry, it seems\u00a0certain that flexibility is going be a key theme in the workplace design of the future. It\u2019s been suggested<\/a> that while technology continues to provide more and better flexible working possibilities, the workplace will gradually become a network of places and people, rather than one set location. Will meetings become holographic? If so, does this mean our work will all become virtual?<\/p>\n If sustainability is going to become ever more important, with further expectation from governments, businesses and consumers alike, buildings will need to be designed to be durable, ergonomic and flexible, so that they can be readily used for other purposes. Writing for Green Building and Design<\/em>, Brian Barth says, \u201cThe most successful workplaces of the future are those that do not pretend to know what the future will bring, but are designed to adapt to changing conditions\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Although some may shudder<\/a> at the thought of playful design in the workplace, designers now use this trend in a more refined and personal approach to convey the client\u2019s heritage and values to employees and visitors \u2013 for example, vintage artefacts and graphics were used to decorate Coca-Cola\u2019s London headquarters, bringing to mind their brand\u2019s long history.<\/p>\n Playful design, as mentioned earlier, helps to express a company in a competitive business world. Now that networking tools provide prospective employees a wider range of opportunities, the relationship between the employee and employer has been reversed\u00a0\u2013 <\/strong> \u201cculture and engagement are critical tools in attracting and retaining talent,<\/a>\u201d says Tom Brialey in Workplace Insight<\/em>.<\/p>\n While more Gen Y and Millennials \u2013 <\/strong>the generations who can relate and adapt best to today\u2019s office trends \u2013 <\/strong>begin to dominate the workplace,\u00a0 I believe that we\u2019ll see these themes continue to develop and influence the future of workplaces.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of my colleagues recently asked me this question, and it certainly threw up some interesting answers. Design is defined by\u00a0a changing society, but I think the reverse is also true:\u00a0throughout the years, design has challenged society and proposed new solutions and concepts. Since I graduated in 2014, these key trends have continued to influence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":370,"featured_media":2583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1956,1955,87,146],"yst_prominent_words":[2283,2288,2258,421,2312,383,2266,1219,632,2299,2261,2274,2314,2264,1872,402,2303,2279,452,946],"class_list":["post-2582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-buildings-and-places","tag-design","tag-sustainability","tag-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2582"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/aecom.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Sarah-Bowen.jpg\")
<\/a>Sarah Bowen is a graduate designer at AECOM\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Strategy Plus<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>practice in London.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n