Designing offices for resilient companies

It has been three years since Covid-19 arrived in Singapore, significantly impacting how we live and work. Last year saw a shift back to pre-Covid norms as 100% of employees were allowed to return to the office. This runs counter to employee preference, as a UOB survey found more than 80% of respondents preferred some form of flexible work arrangement.

Organisations have had to rethink how their office is designed, with 69% of occupiers surveyed by CBRE revisiting their workplace design standards during the pandemic. American architecture and design firm NBBJ has been at the forefront of this, having worked on high-profile projects such as Senja Close EC Amazon’s 3.3 million sq ft campus in Seattle and Samsung’s North American headquarters in Silicon Valley.

Robert Mankin, head of workplace design at NBBJ, says the firm’s work on Hana Financial Group’s headquarters in South Korea was unique as it was one of the first offices to be designed after the pandemic hit. “We often say that the pandemic didn’t create new workplace trends so much as it accelerated those that were bubbling under the surface for years,” he explains.

The goal for Hana was to create a restorative environment where people can leave the workplace feeling better than when they arrived. This is reflected in the office design, which features a 12-storey “ribbon park” and a central atrium that offers a variety of spaces for individuals and teams.

Mankin: A future office puts more emphasis on flexibility, human-centric design, holistic workplace experiences and designing for the community (Picture: NBBJ)

Addressing the needs of employees was crucial for the design and Bloomberg points out that providing spaces to cater to different needs, is a key building block of office design. This makes their time at the office more meaningful and productive, especially in a post-pandemic world.

Given the multi-generational nature of today’s workforce, Mankin stressed the importance of building flexible and dynamic spaces that appeal to each generation. “The most senior-level employees and the most junior level want the same thing — in-person connection,” he says.

Ultimately, Mankin argues that companies must be flexible and listen to what employees want and need from the office in order to ensure their long-term resilience. “To me, an ideal office is a happy and healthy office that people want to come back to,” he concludes.