Companies throughout America are investing in leading-edge technology in order to boost worker productivity, according to a Workplace of the Future survey.
Key findings of the survey include ninety percent of companies plan to increase investment in technology; cloud computing is a strategy 46% of companies are currently employing; the majority of companies, 54%, are using social media networks to engage employees; and top knowledge recruitment factors include offering flexible workplace options (41%) and leading-edge technology (39%).
“Revolutionary emerging technologies are transforming corporate real estate and changing the game for corporate occupiers,” said Peter Miscovich, managing director, corporate solutions, Jones Lang LaSalle, Chicago. “Emerging technologies are enabling new levels of workplace optimization and utilization as well as boosting productivity to levels never seen before in global organizations, leading knowledge workers into new frontiers of high performance collaboration and innovation.”
The survey was administered to approximately 30 leading U.S. companies and design firms by Teknion, a Toronto-based office furniture designer and manufacturer, revealed that nearly 90% plan to increase their investment in productivity-enabling technologies such as voice-activation and sophisticated video conferencing by 2015. The survey also found that by 2015, the standard of square feet allocated per employee is expected to drop from 200 to estimates ranging from 50 to 100 square feet per person dependent upon the industry sector. Workplace utilization factors will increase to 85% versus the 35 to 50% levels of today.
To increase space utilization, companies are employing several strategies including:
- More open, collaborative workspaces with less individual offices (77%).
- Densification of individual workspaces within the corporate office (62%).
- Reduce square footage footprint through disposition (54%).
- More employees working remotely from home sites, satellite sites, or client sites (46%).
- Mobile working programs that include desk-sharing and co-working spaces (31%). BD+C
Related Stories
| Aug 14, 2014
How workplace design can empower employees, businesses
Focusing on recent work at Follett and Zurich, CannonDesign’ Meg Osman reveals the power of research, strategy, change management, and measurement to transform businesses for the better.
| Aug 13, 2014
UIA commits to phasing out CO2 emissions in built environment
The International Union of Architects, representing approximately 2.3 million architects worldwide, has unanimously adopted the 2050 Imperative committing to environmental and social sustainability.
| Aug 13, 2014
ADD Inc. to merge with Stantec
The deal, which helps Stantec strengthen its capabilities in the buildings business on the East Coast, is expected to close in September.
| Aug 13, 2014
Campus UX: Why universities should be creating 'branded environments' on campus
When most colleges and universities consider their brands, they rarely venture beyond the design and implementation of a logo, writes Gensler Design Director Brian Brindisi.
| Aug 12, 2014
Vietnam's 'dragonfly in the sky' will be covered in trees, vegetation
Designed by Vietnamese design firm Vo Trong Nghia Architects, the building will be made up of stacked concrete blocks placed slightly askew to create a soft, organic form that the architects say is reminiscent of a dragonfly in the sky.
| Aug 12, 2014
First look: Calatrava's futuristic Main Building opens at Florida Polytechnic University
The $60 million structure is wrapped in a bright-white, aluminum pergola for dramatic effect and solar shading.
| Aug 12, 2014
Shading prototype could allow new levels of environmental control for skyscraper occupants
Developed by architects at NBBJ, Sunbreak uses a unique three-hinged shade that morphs from an opaque shutter to an abstract set of vertical blinds to an awning, depending on what is needed.
| Aug 12, 2014
Design firms invited to submit qualifications for St. Petersburg, Fla., waterfront project
The city of St. Petersburg, Fla., invites firms to submit their ideas for a new and improved pier for Florida's fifth largest city.
| Aug 11, 2014
Air Terminal Sector Giants: Morphing TSA procedures shape terminal design [2014 Giants 300 Report]
The recent evolution of airport terminals has been prompted largely by different patterns of passenger behavior in a post-9/11 world, according to BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 11, 2014
The Endless City: Skyscraper concept connects all floors with dual ramps
Rather than superimposing one floor on top of another, London-based SURE Architecture proposes two endless ramps, rising gradually with a low gradient from the ground floor to the sky.
