Tamara Hurd bridge commercial real estate Share how a hospitality-inspired workplace can provide a welcoming, destination-style environment that fosters connectivity and community for all users.
Throughout history, designers have been influenced by each other, other design disciplines, and the world around them. These influences have contributed to the evolution and enhancement of contemporary design and have played an important role in responding to changing perspectives. Workplace design can integrate elements of hospitality design to make the workplace a more engaging and desirable environment even in the midst of the work-from-home revolution.
Traditionally, offices were designed to fit and function. This orientation has created spaces for people to finish their work and go home, but today’s workers expect more than that. This demand for a better environment has spurred an amenity race in commercial real estate, forcing owners to push the limits of their game to create an atmosphere that resonates with what today’s workers want. rice field. Workplaces are becoming increasingly flexible and highly designed, with more amenities and a focus on placemaking, an essential part of the hospitality sector.
Make work a purpose, not a duty
When planning a relaxing vacation, it’s the destination that counts. Your resort or hotel of choice sets the stage for your overall experience. For a tropical beach vacation, the resort itself becomes a destination. This concept of the workplace as the destination is something most office departments have only recently grasped. But in a world where hybrid work models have become the norm, workplace professionals must strive to make the office an attractive option and turn it into a destination, not just a place to accomplish tasks.
To attract and retain the interest of office tenants, workplace designers draw inspiration from hotels, restaurants and across the hospitality industry to create innovative new ways to enhance users’ built environments through textures, colors and flexible furnishings. can be discovered. Offices used to have edgy, unimaginative furnishings in easy-to-use fabrics. Today’s office should take inspiration from the opulent luxury of a hotel lobby for ground floors and amenity lounges, and the lush resort gardens for outdoor workspaces. By mimicking the experiential and curated atmosphere of a luxury hotel, you can transform your workplace into a place that is not only functional, but comfortable.
Designed with connectivity in mind
As the future of work continues to evolve and technology continues to improve connectivity, collaboration is a key attraction in many employers’ return-to-office strategies. A typical office design often looks like a pass-through lobby, a floor full of isolated cubicles, and a break room hidden behind closed doors. This is in stark contrast to the world of hospitality, where design is centered around centralized hubs. Think about hotels. Facilities include a lobby with a bar to stop and mingle, a ballroom for meetings and weddings, a swimming pool and a fitness center. Surrounded by guest rooms, this centralized and functional hub provides a one-stop-shop for all your needs.
This hub model can also be applied to office buildings, with easy-to-use open lounges on each floor and a robust and flexible amenity lounge on the first floor, functioning as a fulcrum of vitality for the entire building. By providing a functional outdoor space that can be used for a change of pace or for a walk after lunch, it will become an outdoor hub that tenants can utilize. Some examples are 1277 Lenox Park and The Dupree in Atlanta, both with abridge spaces. Abridge offers flexible term office space to help businesses get to work faster and more efficiently without compromising brand or workspace quality. By arranging the suites around a shared common area, each tenant can enjoy the privacy of their own office while having access to his set of robust amenities.
foster a sense of community
To keep people wanting to return to the office, we need to carefully curate in ways that resonate with people’s emotions and connect with the culture around them. Hospitality is known for crafting spaces that reflect the rich art, history, style, traditions and culture of a region or city, thereby creating a sense of community among hotel and resort visitors. be cultivated. Office designers can leverage this hospitality practice and use narrative design strategies to strengthen the connection between people and places. Narrative design principles incorporate historical references into branding, theme spaces around the local environment and biodiversity, and use brightly colored fabrics, local artwork, unique architecture, and reclaimed wood. You can create a space with materials and designs that complement and enhance the story being told. Combining these strategies creates a strong sense of office location.
Workplace designers can also draw ideas from hospitality to create a sense of belonging to building tenants and users. It’s a well-known fact that most people enjoy working in coffee shops. While homes have free coffee, coffee shops offer curated experiences that give customers a sense of belonging to a community and make them a go-to place. Workplace design should seek to create spaces that inspire people, much like your local coffee shop. How can we achieve this?
Start by providing warm, welcoming and comfortable public common areas and amenity spaces. Spaces should captivate the senses with rich colors, different textures, furnishings that encourage collaboration and flexibility to suit different needs. Don’t forget to incorporate common areas such as cafés and communal tables that enable teamwork and collaboration, and attractive lounges and breakout spaces that encourage social interaction and informal gatherings. This goal can also be achieved by incorporating soft chairs and sofas, ambient lighting from primary and secondary sources, subtle acoustics, live plants and bio-friendly design elements.
Working from home is still a positive thing for many, so it’s important to approach workplace design with fresh, new perspectives and ideas. Hospitality-inspired workplaces provide a welcoming, destination-style environment that fosters connection and community for all users. These principles strengthen employees’ involvement in the work environment and help transform the perception of the office from ‘four walls where work is done’ to a place where employees can grow.
