IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 22

Most
employees
in the
workplace
today are
seeking
a deeper
meaning,
experience,
or contribution
to society."

-Meena Krenek,
IIDA

perspective

The Tech Paradox
Ten years ago, technology represented 7 percent of a
tenant interior construction budget, according to JLL's
2016 report The Technology Enabled Workplace. Today,
that number has more than tripled. Tech now exceeds 25
percent of the total build-out cost.
Tech's growing importance in the workplace provides a
great opportunity for empowering employee productivity
and differentiating a workplace. "As we enter the era of
ideas and innovation, the ability to create and the speed
at which we do so becomes imperative," says Kay Sargent,
IIDA, CID, LEED AP, WELL AP, senior principal,
director of workplace for design and architecture firm
HOK, Washington, D.C., USA. "In the future, companies
will be looking more for 'think' and less for 'things' by
creating solutions that provide seamless tech integration
and that can adapt to new technology for true tech-enabled

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spaces. The new workplace has to provide easy access to
technology and information sharing for staff to thrive."
But, for all its good, technology also introduces a wide
array of new frustrations: video conferencing failures
before an important meeting, fights for a favorite hotdesking spot, outages that delay efforts, and, perhaps most
importantly, loss of that all-important face-to-face time
that can help drive conversation and create moments of
spontaneous innovation.
"Even though technology has been an amazing enabler,
it's also a huge problem: People can't turn it off," Sargent
says. "Environments focused on technology and being
connected 24/7 makes getting to deep meaningful thought
difficult for people. And relationships often become
superficial."
Forty-four percent of respondents to Deloitte's 2018
Global Human Capital Trends survey said that in the next
three to five years, face-to-face meetings will decrease, to be
replaced by online collaboration and digital communication.
The decline isn't just limited to in-person encounters: 30
percent of respondents expect phone conversations to
decrease. Texting also is on the decline with cloud-based
collaboration tools, such as Slack, taking over.
But, as offices become more tech enabled, there must be
a growing awareness of the human factor.
"More and more, high-tech spaces will require hightouch elements to offer relief from technology at times,"
Sargent says. "Creating tech-free zones, quiet spaces and
retreats, and social spaces that encourage interaction
are a good start to balancing tech-intense times with a
respite from technology and a focus on our more organic,
human selves."
Healthcare startup Joany and office furniture
manufacturer Allsteel have both embraced the
disconnected space in the design of their newest spaces.
And Durksen's recent office designs have included spaces
for employees to rest, such as hammock parks without
Wi-Fi, creating analog zones allowing employees a break
from all digital distractions. Putting away the phone
and turning off the computer can increase focus on
activities and conversations, lead to greater interpersonal
connection and improve efficiency.
But simply designing spaces that encourage workers to
step away from technology isn't enough. Employees are
looking for a sense of connection to people and to place,
says Meena Krenek, IIDA, design director, Gensler in
Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
"Most employees in the workplace today are seeking a
deeper meaning, experience, or contribution to society,"
Krenek says. "The workspace becomes a lifestyle
destination, a place made for employees to socially engage

Photos by: (previous page) Sally Montana for IIDA; Nigel Marson/Courtesy of Gensler

The world of work is shifting.
Employees are no longer satisfied with being tethered
to one desk or even one office. Technology grants workers
the freedom to collaborate from anywhere at any time. In
fact, nine out of 10 employees claim that flexible working is
a key productivity motivator, according to an HSBC survey
of U.K. employees.
Despite this rise of the remotes, the role of the physical
office still is paramount. Offices are the social hubs of the
organization and bring employees together to collaborate
and innovate.
But as tech's ubiquitous takeover marches on and new
themes take hold, organizations must rethink the purpose
of the office. It's the individual, rather than the work, that
must be front and center. Designers must create spaces
that are both high tech and high touch. They must be
the gatekeepers of this shift by taking a human-centered
approach to the creation of office spaces.
"Inherently human-centered design supports the end
user by understanding their individual and collective
needs and offering unique solutions within
the environment of a workspace," says
Jeni Durksen, senior associate, design,
M Moser Associates, London, England.
"Workspace is, for many businesses,
about allowing for the balance of focused
work and subsequent knowledge sharing
among team members. This, in turn,
enables innovation and ultimately business
transformation. For these businesses, our
role is to design an environment which
fosters that creative collaboration and
allows their teams to work in new ways."

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