What Will Interior Offices Look Like in the Future?

The workplace is changing, what will it look like in 2020? The Ware Malcomb Interior Design Team decided to explore this question with the NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association) Design Competition: Interior Design/Build-Out of the Future. We unveiled our award-winning design concept at the NAIOP Development ’14 conference and Ware Malcomb was awarded as one of three winners. The NAIOP Design Competition is particularly important as we are a winning design for the 2013 Distribution/Fulfillment Center of the Future and we received honorable mention in the 2012 Office Building of the Future design competition.

We conducted extensive research and held focus groups exploring the topic of the office of the future. Professionals from corporate America, experts in furniture solutions, change experts, and representatives offered their opinion on what the workplace will look like in 2020.

We discovered the next generation of workspace encompasses flexibility, engagement, community, and wellness. Spending time in a space that is more flexible, sustainable and healthier will result in a better quality of life.

The interior of the future workplace will be focused on the health and well-being for the tech connected worker. The environment will focus on connecting employees and facilitating the culture of the organization. To this end, our plan has a two story, large and open space upon entry into the building, serving as a connecting point for the staff.

Multiple workplace settings will help maximize employee engagement and enhance the workers experience in corporate America.

To learn more about our interior design team’s design inspirations and what it took to develop these award winning design concepts, view our video of the NAIOP Interior Design/Build-Out of the Future Concept.

What are your ideas about the future of the workplace? Contact me by email at theisler@waremalcomb.com so we can chat about this further.

Ted Heisler is Principal, Interior Architecture & Design of Ware Malcomb and is located in our Irvine, California corporate office. When he’s not leading his team to NAIOP Design Competition victory, he enjoys a morning jog every day before work to prepare himself for developing innovative design concepts for Ware Malcomb’s clients.