Rethinking density in contemporary workplace environments

Abstract

Mobile technologies, eroded hierarchical structures and a persistent pursuit of space efficiency are changing the patterns of office-space use, which in turn is challenging traditional ways of calculating and nominating the number of people occupying an office building. Getting the building population right is important for the comfort, safety and cost (construction and operational) of an office building and affects a variety of stakeholders. Studies indicate that new working practices have the tendency to increase the number of people per square metre in a building; however, current frameworks governing workplace design are falling behind in recognising this change and limiting the potential of contemporary work environments. A process was developed to identify codes related to building population in workplace-related frameworks. In total, seven areas were identified, which, if innovated, could create an equal number of new-value opportunities in workplace design. A particularly relevant finding was that the statutory code establishing the maximum density per square metre has not changed in 25 years. Opportunities to update this code to contemporary ways of working are discussed in this paper. A prototype capable of modelling different population scenarios and testing them against selected codes was developed and is discussed. The results suggest that perhaps the focus should not be on finding a higher density, but on a better way of calculating and nominating the capacity of a building.