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Ten years ago, coworking and shared workspace was barely on the radar of the design world. Now, design is increasingly a core part of workplace design and a growing topic of conversation among workspace operators.<\/p>\n
GCUC UK<\/a>\u00a0panelist Kathryn O’Callaghan-Mills is Creative Director at Area,<\/a> which is part of the Fourfront Group<\/a>. I spoke with her about the future of workspace design, how people-centric spaces will become the norm, and the importance of using data to determine workspace layout and design. Here are the highlights of our conversation.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t lose touch with designing\u2014we\u2019re all very creative souls and that allows us to keep in touch and keep designing constantly.<\/p>\n It really has taken its own path. In my opinion, the nuts and bolts come down to empowering people to be able to work how they want to work, function how they want to function, and build their relationships, because everybody is so individual. I think it\u2019s fantastic that workplace has become less rigid\u2014it\u2019s become people-centric.<\/p>\n With the well-being aspect, which is huge at the moment and will be for many years, people are the center. The space is becoming the home from home and the people are the heart. People are your biggest asset\u2014they\u2019re your most expensive asset as an employer, so it makes sense for all the well-being and health and nutrients that make those people better to be at the heart of any kind of design.<\/p>\n The things we feel are quite original at the moment, like bringing in lots of biophilia to the workplace, and living elements integrated into design, will become the norm. At the moment, it\u2019s quite attractive and exciting. I see it like the electric car. When they were first released, it was very interesting. Now, as time has moved on, we have electric buses, and we have electric cabs coming into London. We\u2019ll take that type of path with the biophilia and well-being.<\/p>\n For instance, take sit-stand desks. That used to be quite an expensive thing to put into a space. Now, fortunately, there\u2019s so much range and scope on the market that it\u2019s no longer a big hurdle to overcome. You have more choice and you have more competition on the market so you get better value for your money.<\/p>\n We\u2019re very fortunate to have a large range and breadth of various clients. Our coworking speciality has been wonderful for us. Coworking design is built on relationships, and with coworking booming, and our operators taking on more and more space, our relationships have grown and become absolutely fantastic. Everyone we work with is very individual and different, which is fascinating, from a design point of view.<\/p>\n Location has a lot to do with that, as well. You\u2019d be amazed as to where the properties are being developed. The location could very much dictate the route of design we go down with the same client but in a different area in London.<\/p>\n Absolutely. We recently finished a project with Campfire in East London that has a very unique flavor to it\u2014it almost has a Hong Kong-esque feel running through it, which is something quite magical. Then we have more executive spaces, and they\u2019re all very different flavors of design.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve put quite a lot of thought into this question. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to try to imitate someone else\u2014say, to look at Google and other big brands and try to do what they\u2019re doing\u2014to put what they\u2019re doing into your space.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t start designing around the brand\u2014that individual operator and what their values are and what their USP is\u2014you\u2019re going to lose the soul of what that design could be. You just have to stick true to your own values and the design then bounces off those values.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an absolute privilege to be involved and to be on a panel. We\u2019re thrilled at that aspect. I can\u2019t wait to hear people speak and just take the little golden nuggets of information away. I want to hear where people believe everything is heading, and tapping into everyone\u2019s knowledge base.<\/p>\n It\u2019s such an exciting facet of our market that has just grown tenfold over the last couple of years. It\u2019s the gift that keeps on giving that nobody quite knows what direction it\u2019s going to go in. It will be a fascinating experience to be engulfed in that for two days.<\/p>\n It\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s almost like a movement in design, as well. You can look back and see what was achieved 10 years ago, then look at what\u2019s happening now. It\u2019s very exciting to be part of it and to be successful in it, as well, because it is a very, very competitive facet of our market.<\/p>\n In terms of where workspace design is heading, we\u2019re very much tunneling down more data-driven routes, as well. We have an internal workplace consultancy called 360<\/a>, which does all the data that influences our designs. When I see workspace trends and where it\u2019s going, operators and employers require more data, these days, in order to be able to compare and contrast how the space is being utilized.<\/p>\n It\u2019s basically data of how the space is being utilized. For instance, if there\u2019s an open plan setting, we have motion sensors\u2014not a camera or recording\u2014just to detect whether there are humans in that space.<\/p>\n You can work out, over a month or so, whether that space is actually being utilized, or whether that space would be better utilized as a different function within the space. It just gives the operator data to make a proper decision as to where next to invest. That\u2019s very much where we\u2019re going as a design firm.<\/p>\nCat Johnson: As creative director at Area, what do you spend most of your time working on?<\/h2>\n
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Kathryn O’Callaghan-Mills: At Area, we\u2019re still very operational. My duties as a creative director range from teeing the team up and overseeing all the projects that run through the studio, but also working on the larger, strategic projects.<\/p>\nTen years ago, I don\u2019t even think coworking was on the radar of the design world. Now, shared workspace design is increasingly a core part of design offerings and at the forefront of what people in coworking are talking about. What have you seen in the last few years?<\/h2>\n
The wellness aspect is really interesting to me, as someone who works in a coworking space. From a design perspective, what are some of the things you see being put into place that are more human-centric? What do you think the future workspace might look like?<\/h2>\n
Will you tell me a bit about Area\u2019s work in coworking and shared workspace?<\/h2>\n
The industry is growing so quickly that spaces really have to differentiate, and design is a big part of that\u2014not only nicer spaces, but what people prefer, what type of space they want to be in.<\/h2>\n
So in an industrial area, the space may have more of an industrial flavor?<\/h2>\n
How can design best be used to differentiate spaces and help strengthen a workspace brand?<\/h2>\n
The upcoming GCUC UK in London is the European debut of GCUC. Are you looking forward to the conference? What do you hope to get out of it?<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s a powerful thing that the coworking movement is pushing this workspace industry forward, but it\u2019s also building the road for the future of work. It\u2019s an exciting time to be around this industry. I imagine that, as a designer, it must be exciting to be giving face to an industry.<\/h2>\n
Thank you, Kathryn. Is there anything you\u2019d like to add?<\/h2>\n
What data do you look at?<\/h2>\n
Join us for GCUC UK<\/a>, the European debut of the world’s largest coworking conference series.<\/strong><\/h4>\n