SEPTEMBER 2016 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \
25
are challenged to create engaging environments that draw
workers to the office.
In response, the workplace has taken on new life, func-
tioning as a town-square-like hub energized by the hum of
the occupants. Elements of residential and hospitality design
add welcomed comfort for employees who come together to
collaborate, connect or need a place to relax, ideate, focus, so-
cialize or otherwise engage. Reduced individual workspace
footprints allow companies to provide a greater number of
amenities and social spaces, while still maintaining a tight
rein on real estate portfolio expenses.
Through research and design, Knoll understands the dis-
ruptive transformations that occur globally in the environ-
ments where work takes place. Most recently, we undertook
a series of studies with a twofold goal: to identify trends of
a business environment in flux, and to realize how forces of
changing complexity, speed and style were transforming the
workplace.
About the Immersive Planning Study | Methodology
• A four-year longitudinal study began in 2012 with a base-
line survey of 40 workplace executives across diverse indus-
tries and locations, and environmental observation studies.
• In 2015 and 2016, we conducted a second phase of research,
surveying 110 workplace executives worldwide, including
real estate professionals, architects, designers, leading aca-
demics and workplace strategists across three continents.
• In early 2016, 1,400 knowledge workers across 14 countries
were surveyed on user experience to determine the relation-
ships of office features and design to work outcomes such
as creativity, productivity, happiness, stress and satisfaction.
Key Takeaways
Knoll found five significant factors that contribute to
a new way of working and drive new thinking about the
work environment.
1. Group-based work is the norm.
2. Hospitality and residential influences enter the work-
place.
3. Despite new alternatives, office is still home base.
4. Empowered by choice, employees make the workplace
their own.
5. Management of the real estate asset is tighter than ever.
Based on our findings, we identified a new way to think
about space. Defined as immersive planning, the planning
approach blurs not only the lines between work, life and
play, but also individuals and teams, primary workspaces
and activity spaces, and owned and shared work areas and
tools. The space is as fluid as teams themselves. As work-
spaces become defined by an individual’s actions rather
than job function, the lines between space types dimin-
ish; enhancing interaction, inviting connected experienc-
es and radiating a sense of hospitality at every exchange.
Comfortable furnishings and fluid boundaries characterize
this group-based workplace where the actions of the peo-
ple themselves define the space. The result: an environment
that creates a variety of experiences, transforming at a mo-
ment’s notice and evolving with use.
Comprised of three fundamental elements – improvisa-
tional, communal and dimensional – the model cultivates
an environment of dynamic flow, constant movement,
meaningful interaction, creative group effort and innova-
tion within a gracious and welcoming setting.
For the full white paper, visit
, “Immer-
sive Planning, From Research to Realization: An Experi-
ence-based Workplace”
Also cited: Harvard University Graduate School of Design,
“Work Environments, Campus and Event” by Florian Iden-
Moving Forward
Changing workstyles and the influence of startup culture have reshaped the role of the workplace from a static building
to a highly interactive experience.
