What does the ideal creative office look like?
Over a year on from the first UK lockdown, many offices remain closed. What will we want from them when they reopen? Here, Gabriela Hersham of co-working chain Huckletree, advocates for an environment that encourages spontaneity and collaboration
Physical spaces are absolutely imperative to creative thinking. Non-negotiable. Space and place are like the props and scenery of a play – that we often ignore because of the plot. But without the stage, there is no plot, character or play. The ideas that we create are framed by the places we inhabit. We shape our buildings, and then they shape us.
As 2021 gets into full flow, it’s obvious that the workplace is going to change drastically (and already has been shaken up). Most think of this as simply moving to a shared working space and closing down the office, with moves from major companies including Twitter and Hitachi being well-documented. But, as workplace pioneers, we think there will be much more nuanced changes that people aren’t talking about yet.
Our work has changed, our ways of thinking have changed, what it means to be human has changed, and there will be unique changes to workplaces that look to harness creativity. In order to achieve this, the minds behind workspace design need to tear up the old workbook and start anew.
