Future-Focused Design: Hybrid Working and Adaptive Workplaces

Maximum flexibility is provided in this adaptable work and collaboration suite including a conference area with hot seats, moveable desks, more private work stations, and phone booths.

Through Practice and Experience

ThoughtCraft has first hand knowledge of hybrid working and adaptive workplaces. These practices are embedded in the DNA of our firm. Our firm formed remotely and has been a remote collaborative office for most of our 16 years in business. We operate as one office with architects in Boston and Chapel Hill, and our Controller is remote in South Carolina. With robust digital infrastructure, we have increased communication and seamless workflows. We are the future of work. Most firms had to quickly pivot at the beginning of the pandemic but we were well suited for the new normal. This is made possible by the founding partners having deep roots as friends, roommates, classmates, and a shared vision for a future-focused architectural practice.

Connecting People with Their Environment and Each Other

Future-focused design in architecture begins with people. Whether status-quo or innovative, the physical representation of what drives an organization or department requires a unique approach to connect people with their environment. ThoughtCraft seeks to instigate change and discover latent opportunities to make this connection of people and place through a process of discovery. We listen, learn and synthesize by asking a lot of ‘why’ questions. Our inquisitive approach to design allows us to apply research to help translate work culture and spirit into the look and feel of function, workflow, and experience. We see each project as an opportunity to provide a unique solution for our client, as well as move Architecture forward.

Creating an adaptable work environment where flexibility and remote working are common requires a higher level of digital competency among the entire team and strong support for technological and operational change from management. Assessing the team members’ home hardware setups and wi-fi speeds is important and can be easily solved. It is more critical to focus on adjusting strategies around the work experience. An audit of internal systems for remote functionality and work flows should be completed. From our experience, we discovered that by providing data transparency and thoughtful information management we were able to remove most silos within the business and increase productivity with less wasted time spent searching for information. Measuring productivity is another major operational change that should be reviewed for each specific team which would require another extensive post to cover that topic. Be sure to survey the team about their health and welfare. Long-term remote working will present team members with welfare challenges (isolation, for example), so this will need to be factored in – with systems in place to mitigate those challenges.

Bleacher seating with bar height work surfaces, open gathering space and benches allow for flexible work conditions and activities.

The Future of Learning

Our work with the UNC-Chapel Hill, specifically the Sustainability Suite and the Tech Bar have been very focused on the future of learning with hybrid and adaptable workspaces. The goal has been to find diverse, meaningful ways to enhance student and faculty interactions, creating flexible working environments, engaging students with content, and integrating technology. Its an effort to meet people where they are.

As seen above in the Sustainability Suite, we have integrated architecture and systems to accommodate break-out spaces, huddle rooms, loose and soft seating, down to small pods and phone booths to maximize the diversity of needs for students, alumni, professors and visiting scholars.

The H-Co Office features a custom wood fin ceiling that unifies the workspace and give a visual identity to the office.

The Future of Work

With our work at UNC-Chapel Hill and the H-Co Office, we have provided similar adaptive workspaces that respond to a more transient population who will inhabit the space in short periods of time. The hot desk model with minimal conference rooms serves all of the UNC campus community and alumni, as well as the remote, well-traveled real estate agents for the H-Co collective.

The greatest health crisis in nearly a century has forced change upon every human endeavor worldwide. Architecture, engineering and construction have not been immune to the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic: from business as usual, to lockdowns, to relaxations, to the implementation of further restrictions, simply surviving month to month has been challenging enough. While we all wait for the stability that vaccinations may bring, other potential crises and operational disruptions may be just round the corner, so what steps can businesses in the built environment take to continue to survive and, yes, thrive? How can we position ourselves to serve our clients?

Feel free to contact us if you have any thoughts about this topic or would like to expand the conversation.

Future-Focused Design: Hybrid Working and Adaptive Workplaces