The Turn to Extremes: Rethinking Office Design
Modern offices are increasingly oriented towards meeting needs at the “extremes”, creating specific spaces for both intense concentration and maximum collaboration.
The office is often mistakenly seen as a space designed for high productivity, but in reality, it has always been a place of compromise.
The traditional office was not created to be an ideal environment for specialized tasks, but rather was born as a solution adaptable to the widest needs with the least possible friction.
For example, the cubicle, introduced in the mid-20th century, was not intended to foster creativity or deep concentration, but rather to efficiently organize a large number of workers at a time in history when order, mass production, and hierarchical control were prioritized. While the cubicle offered privacy, it imposed a rigid routine that favored conformity over innovation and connection.
With the evolution of work culture towards greater collaboration and transparency, the open office concept emerged as a seemingly ideal solution to overcome the barriers of the cubicle and promote a dynamic and creative environment.
However, this model was also a compromise, designed to foster creativity without losing sight of efficiency and costs. Despite their advantages, open offices often reproduced the problems they were intended to solve: noise, distractions, and lack of privacy, which hindered the collaboration they were supposed to enhance.
Turning to the extremes
Our lives are becoming increasingly polarized, with middle ground being pushed aside. This trend is reflected in many aspects of our lives, where extremist viewpoints are gaining traction. The constant reference to the idea of “unprecedented” in the wake of the pandemic underscores this dynamic, as we focus more on extreme positions and pay less attention to the moderate ideas that once structured our daily lives.
When everything is presented as flashy new things to capture our attention, “ordinary” becomes obsolete, and the word hyper becomes the new norm.
This change also affects the workspace. As work has changed, the needs of the office have also evolved. The standardized office model is no longer adequate to meet the specialized requirements of modern workers. This transformation is driven by factors such as the increase in teleworking, technological advances and new work habits that prioritize flexibility and efficiency. In addition, the growth of technology and data analytics allows us to design more personalized work environments, adapted to the particular needs of each individual.
Two trends that will shape the office design of the future: Hyperfocus and Hypercollaboration
Hyper-focus
The pandemic has highlighted a reality: many workers are finding they are much more productive in personalized, distraction-free spaces at home. This has highlighted the importance of the concept of hyperfocus, or “deep work.” As knowledge work becomes more complex, environments designed to foster intense focus and minimize distractions are becoming essential.
In response, elements such as concentration zones, work libraries, and spaces designed for noise cancellation have gained a presence in office design.
A prominent example is “Oxford” and its new offices in Girona, which takes this concept further by providing 2 phoneboxes for each open space in the building, where factors such as acoustics, lighting, temperature and air quality are adjusted, creating an optimal environment for concentration throughout the day. In addition, the options of specialized spaces for deep work, such as focus rooms, allow workers to choose the most suitable space for their tasks.
Hypercollaboration
At the other extreme, the trend of hyper-collaboration is also gaining traction. With more interdisciplinary and project-based work, the ability to effectively collaborate with others has become essential. This trend uses advanced technological tools to bring together diverse teams in workspaces where ideas can be quickly exchanged, tested, and refined. Real-time collaboration software, immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are essential for this way of working that removes physical barriers.
One example is advanced videoconferencing systems that facilitate collaboration between remote and local teams. The space design includes collaboration centers equipped with state-of-the-art technology to foster innovation and idea creation among cross-functional teams.
Towards specialization
Modern office design is increasingly adapting to these two extremes, creating specialized spaces for both extreme concentration and intense collaboration. This transformation marks a significant evolution from the universal designs of the past, recognizing that today’s workspaces need to be customized for each specific need.
As we move into this era of extremes, the office will continue to evolve to become a dynamic environment, designed to meet the demands of contemporary work, which demands both hyper-concentration and collaborative teamwork to foster productivity and innovation.
December 2024
Olga Guday