Ted Moudis Associates, an architectural and interior design firm with offices in Chicago, London, and New York, recently released its 2016 Workplace Report in which it identifies current and future trends and strategies for using office space that are currently being adopted by various organizations and firms.
The report analyzed 39 separate projects that accounted for 17,084 total workspaces and 2.5 million sf. It includes data from workplaces across four industries throughout the U.S.: financial, professional services, consumer products, and digital media.
Here are some of the top trends being exhibited throughout workplaces in these industries across the country, according to the firm:
1. Open plans and more communal workspaces were trends seen across all four industries examined. Coming along as a result of these open workspaces are a drop in the area per occupant, the usable square feet per seat, and the number of private offices.
2. More offices are moving toward desking or benching, creating shared amenities and alternate workplaces out of what was once individual space.
3. Companies are using less paper than ever before. Less paper means fewer file cabinets. Fewer file cabinets mean more space for human-centered purposes.
4. Sharing is a common theme. Alternative seats—seats that are not assigned to a particular individual—are becoming more prevalent. These seats can be used as meeting, amenity, or focus spots.
These design trends don’t just affect the aesthetic of a workplace; they affect how employees move through it throughout the day.
Here is a breakdown of the trends relating to usable square feet per seat, workspace types, and workspace seats vs. alternative seats in relation to the four separate industries.
For a look at the full report from Ted Moudis Associates, click here.
All images and photos courtesy Ted Moudis Associates
Related Stories
Sponsored | | Oct 23, 2014
From slots to public safety: Abandoned Detroit casino transformed into LEED-certified public safety headquarters
First constructed as an office for the Internal Revenue Service, the city's new public safety headquarters had more recently served as a temporary home for the MGM Casino. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 23, 2014
China's 'weird' buildings: President Xi Jinping wants no more of them
During a literary symposium in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged architects, authors, actors, and other artists to produce work with "artistic and moral value."
| Oct 22, 2014
Customization is the key in tomorrow's workplace
The importance of mobility, flexibility, and sustainability in the world of corporate design are already well-established. A newer trend that’s gaining deserved attention is customizability, and how it will look in the coming years, writes GS&P's Leith Oatman.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 14, 2014
Proven 6-step approach to treating historic windows
This course provides step-by-step prescriptive advice to architects, engineers, and contractors on when it makes sense to repair or rehabilitate existing windows, and when they should advise their building owner clients to consider replacement.
| Oct 13, 2014
The mindful workplace: How employees can manage stress at the office
I have spent the last several months writing about healthy workplaces. My research lately has focused on stress—how we get stressed and ways to manage it through meditation and other mindful practices, writes HOK's Leigh Stringer.
Sponsored | | Oct 13, 2014
CLT, glulam deliver strength, low profile, and aesthetics for B.C. office building
When he set out to design his company’s new headquarters building on Lakeshore Road in scenic Kelowna, B.C., Tim McLennan of Faction Projects knew quickly that cross-laminated timber was an ideal material.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 9, 2014
Regulations, demand will accelerate revenue from zero energy buildings, according to study
A new study by Navigant Research projects that public- and private-sector efforts to lower the carbon footprint of new and renovated commercial and residential structures will boost the annual revenue generated by commercial and residential zero energy buildings over the next 20 years by 122.5%, to $1.4 trillion.
