Top Trends in UK Office Design

It’s no secret that the pandemic has changed our work habits, with hybrid work, smaller but better-designed offices and increased flexibility becoming commonplace.

To obtain a detailed understanding of the most prevalent new trends in office design and strategy in the United Kingdom, LoopNet spoke with workplace strategy specialist Michael Fern, director at Edge, a design agency and architectural practice based in London and Leeds that focuses on branding, interiors and architecture.

If hybrid work is the new normal, it is also changing the way workplaces are designed. Allocating one desk per employee is no longer standard, according to Fern. “I think that we only had one brief in the last three years that asked for a one-to-one allocation of desks for people, and for employees to come in five days a week,” he said. “In terms of the physical number of desks, we are putting in at least 50% less formal desks than we would have done previously.”

Fern and his team have seen most occupiers taking either less or the same amount of space as they occupied previously, but they are more focused on the quality of the space than they had been in the past, starting with building amenities.

According to Fern, multi-tenant buildings are increasing the amount of amenity space provided in their buildings. Whereas previously, they would only include basic reception and welcome areas, a gym at most, now amenities are taking center stage.

“Employees now expect their workplaces to offer more choice, diversity and balance,” according to the recently published UK Workplace Survey 2023 by global architecture and design firm Gensler, in which over 2,000 office workers were interviewed about their work preferences. The office workers surveyed listed rest /nap space, library, maker space, project room, innovation zone and a quiet/tech-free zones as the amenities they most desired.

According to the Gensler survey, workspaces that are most impactful include spaces to recharge and rest, such as nap rooms; areas for solo work, such as libraries and phone rooms; and settings to engage in creative group work, such as an office café.

These enhanced amenities are viewed as critical to motivating office workers to get out of their homes and into the office, Fern said.

“A lot of it plays into ‘is it going to be better than home?’ And that’s better-quality air, free gyms, better quality coffee – all those things are part of this big idea that work is more than the practical desk that I sit at,” he said.

Offices that provide this kind of variety are deemed high performing workplaces, according to the UK Workplace Survey. “Employees in high performing workplaces report that their office significantly impacts their health and wellness, work/life balance, and job satisfaction in a positive way,” noted the survey.

Most employees surveyed by Gensler said they needed to spend more time in the office to maximise their productivity. The survey noted that most people work from the office one or two days a week, but would ideally work there three or four days to better collaborate with their colleagues.

The primary reasons why workers think it is important to come to the office are to sit with their team, to focus on their work, to conduct in-person meetings and to socialize with colleagues. Most of these points emphasize the importance of human connection. “People want to be able to feel connected to the team that they work with,” Fern said.

This sense of connection is especially important in creative industries, according to Fern. “Something happens when everyone is in the same space at the same time, and it feels a little bit less stunted. Body language and cues are a lot better,” he said.

While office attendance varies depending on the location and industry, Fern has noticed that people are returning to their physical place of work in record numbers in central London. Fern ascribed this trend, at least in part, to the unprecedented energy crisis in the UK. He noted that for younger office workers, being in the office can be necessary for a variety of reasons, including heating costs or shared accommodations, among others.

Besides going back to the office, employees are also working increasingly in third places, which are social spaces outside of the home and the office, such as libraries and coffee shops. According to the Gensler survey, workers in the UK are spending almost a third of their time (30%) in third places. “Spaces that evoke a coffee shop and boutique hotel were most popular for the Gen Z and Millennial demographic,” the report noted.

Fern agreed, observing that buildings now operate more like hospitality environments. “It’s about moments of human connection, so moving more into the tenant space, we are seeing fewer desks and more collaborative settings and opportunities to connect as individuals or groups,” Fern said.

Echoing that point, Fern said that the formality of meeting rooms has been on a consistent downward trend. “You still need that kind of third space that’s away from your desk, but outside of the formality of a formal meeting setting,” Fern said.

Fern added that instead of formal meeting rooms, he’s seen increasing numbers of casual lounges and conversation spaces. In addition, meeting rooms are being designed to provide greater flexibility with elements like folding walls.

According to Fern, property owners are adapting to these trends by making their property feel “that it’s got a competitive and a differentiating edge.”

Fern has also been working on projects on behalf of property owners – often speculatively before a tenant has even been secured for the space. “We can understand what the owners of the portfolio are expecting in terms of quality and design, and this is all paid for by the landlord instead of the tenant,” Fern said.

Fern said that owners are also offering more flexibility concerning lease terms. Long-term leases are declining in prominence, while shorter leases, starting at six to nine months, are becoming more commonplace. “If you’ve got a larger space user, you’re looking at a minimum of one year, but in the grander scheme of things, it’s nothing compared to the five to 10 years that we would have been used to before.”

This shift reflects the fact that most companies now exist in a particularly dynamic environment and are only able to project their space needs for a few months to a few years into the future. The result, Fern said, is “designing spaces that will probably last longer than the life of the specific tenant that’s in it.”

This approach is advantageous for property owners because it minimizes downtime and reduces rent-free periods. While occupiers “can just focus on their day job, they don’t have to worry about anything,” Fern said. “You literally turn up with your laptop and you’re ready to go.”

As an example of this trend, Fern referenced the Oxygen Cheapside project in London, which was designed by Edge and fully fitted for incoming tenants. The space explores different modes of work, from traditional focus work to more collaborative settings. It was also fully furnished, even down to the plants. “We wanted to make sure that when anyone walked into that space, they could see themselves in there almost immediately,” Fern said.

This approach of “build it and they will come” is key in the current UK office market, according to Fern. “The reason why that is very critical is that construction is slow, but customers are moving quite quickly,” he said. “So, if you say, ‘I’ve got something amazing, it’ll be ready in two years’ time,’ they’re already down the road. They’ve found somewhere else.”