IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 23

with like-minded people. Today's workplace is about
creating an authentic culture and connecting a company
with an individual's own integrity. We're seeing the
development of work environments that offer deeper
meaning and an experience that shows employees how
they're contributing to the whole."
The company recently opened an incubator where
clients and staff can come together to test new designs,
research behaviors, gather feedback, and implement the
company's findings to create a better workplace.
The space gives employees a sense of empowerment
and builds a culture of trust, allowing them to personalize
their day. "Design is about creating tailored experiences
and settings within the built environment to support
productivity and enable innovation," Durksen says. "For
collaborative teams, which increasingly are the norm, we
must manufacture new ways of using existing systems and
provide alternative solutions with the same specification.
Rarely do we see a space or furniture piece with a single
use, everything has an expectation of multifunctionality,
which we build in from the outset."

An End to Apathy

"

Inherently
humancentered
design
supports the
end user by
understanding
their individual
and collective
needs and
offering unique
solutions
within the
environment of
a workspace."
-Jeni Durksen

A meeting space at
Gensler's incubator
in Atlanta, Georgia,
USA allows staff
and clients to come
together to test
new ideas.

Credit

Organizations looking to create a "why" for their physical
space also have to battle one of the biggest workplace
challenges: disengagement. According to Gallup's 2017
State of the Global Workplace report, 85 percent of
employees are not engaged or actively disengaged at work.
This epidemic resulted in approximately $7 trillion in lost
productivity.
One cure is designing spaces that place a premium on
employee well-being. "Wellness can be seen in so many

ways and goes beyond providing spaces
for early morning yoga classes and
integrating biophilia to reduce stress
levels," Durksen says.
Spaces should first meet a range of
essential human needs, starting with the
physiological: lighting, temperature, air, and noise. Only then
can organizations address secondary concerns such as safety,
privacy, and ergonomics. "Once those basic needs are met,
people are then able to seek a sense of belonging and social
connections," Sargent says. "How well a space meets these
needs determines how successful people will be in it."
At the same time, designers need to turn their focus
to movement. "Getting people up and moving is not only
essential for their own personal health and well-being, but
studies also show that active workers are happy, healthier,
more engaged, and more productive," Sargent says. "Spaces
that promote movement, comfort, and mindfulness
improve people's health and wellness."
The way to encourage movement, Sargent says, is to not
over-convenience employees. Offer standing desks, move
supplies and trash and recycle bins to a central location,
and even make some seating less comfortable, like having
wooden stools in meeting areas that encourage perching
over squatting.
"We've made it way too easy to be stagnant all day,"
Sargent says. "Most of us don't have a trash can at
every chair in our house, so why should we at work?
Ergonomic seating is important, but not every chair has
to be. If we put everything at your fingertips, we'll lull
you into being stagnant. Spaces today need to force you
to move."

summer 2018

perspective

23



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018

IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018
From IIDA
Contents
Next
World View
Sum of Its Parts
Talk, Talk
Data Viz
Pre/Post
I Design
Every Where Has a Why
More Than Meets the Eye
To The Max
Picture It
DNA of a Design Firm
Scratch Pad
Insider Intel
IIDA News + Updates
Why This Design Works
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Cover2
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - From IIDA
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Contents
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 3
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 4
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 5
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Next
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 7
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 8
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 9
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - World View
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 11
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Sum of Its Parts
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 13
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Talk, Talk
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Data Viz
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Pre/Post
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 17
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - I Design
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 19
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Every Where Has a Why
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 21
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 22
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 23
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 24
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 25
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - More Than Meets the Eye
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 27
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 28
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 29
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 30
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 31
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 32
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 33
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - To The Max
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 35
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 36
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 37
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 38
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 39
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Picture It
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 41
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 42
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 43
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - DNA of a Design Firm
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 45
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 46
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 47
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 48
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 49
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Scratch Pad
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 51
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Insider Intel
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 53
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - IIDA News + Updates
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 55
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Why This Design Works
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Cover3
IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - Cover4
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