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Rethinking the workplace: How the tech sector influences other industries
Corporate Real Estate Journal,
9
(1),
56-70
(2019)
Abstract
When people learned to gather and share food, they freed themselves from the burden of merely surviving. When they began harnessing and using energy to fuel machinery, they liberated their bodies and increased their productivity. And when they started teaching these machines to operate, learn and even ‘think’ on their own, they unleashed a future of limitless possibilities. Each era ushered in a need for new skills, fresh approaches and innovative ways of thinking. What makes current times unique is the rapid pace of change. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the tech sector. Intense competition, readily available capital and open frontiers are challenging tech companies to continuously adapt and innovate. Yet many of their workplaces were designed for a completely different era of work. This paper highlights workplace trends and insights from tech business leaders and HOK WorkPlace specialists on the front lines of today’s evolving business landscape. It also explores what is on the horizon and how tech enterprises can optimise the places where their people work. Although the paper focuses on the tech sector, it is relevant to every business interested in creating high-performance work environments that empower their people to thrive.
Keywords: workspace; tech; technology; startup; interiors; interior design; architect; facilities; workplace strategy; flexibility; sustainability; IOT; Silicon Valley; open plan; activity-based work; neighborhood-based choice; coworking; innovation; biometrics; AI
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Curtis A. Knapp is director of HOK’s global consulting group, helping organisations achieve their business goals by optimising real estate and facilities to support evolving workplace requirements. Based in Dallas, he has nearly three decades of strategic planning and workplace experience. He is a longtime member of CoreNet Global and a frequent speaker and author on topics related to strategic portfolio, occupancy and workplace planning.
Tom Polucci FIIDA, AIA, LEED AP HOK Senior Principal, company-wide Director of Interiors has more than two decades of experience guiding and inspiring the design of hundreds of interiors projects. Educated, trained and licensed as an architect, his focus is on creating multidimensional, experiential environments that enhance the lives of the people who use them. He is a member of the IIDA’s College of Fellows.
Kay Sargent ASID, IIDA, CID, LEED AP, MCR/w, WELL AP, Senior Principal|Director of WorkPlace, HOK. Over the course of more than 30 years of experience Kay’s work has taken her to multiple continents where she has worked with companies on their global real estate strategies and designed workplaces of the future. Kay was recently elected to serve on the International Federation of Interior Designers /Architects and serves on the CoreNet Global Board. She has also served on the International Boards of IIDA, ASID, NCQLP and NCIDQ. Kay is a co-founder of the IFMA Workplace Evoluntionaries, WE community, and a Founding member of the DC Chapter of Upward.
Gordon Wright MCR, Associate IIDA, HOK Senior Principal, Director of WorkPlace where client experience includes corporations and institutions that are re-envisioning their approach to real estate, facilities and the workplace. Gordon is passionate about applying both left and right brain thinking to solve his clients’ problems and to bring positive changes to people, processes and place.
