A successful Living Office is built upon three core design pillars: effective spatial planning, a focus on health and sustainability, and the smart use of technology.

1. Effective Spatial Planning (The Core)

The success of a Living Office is rooted in its spatial planning, which must be tailored to the unique activities and groups within the organization—it's not a one-size-fits-all theory.

• Mixed Spaces: The office must provide a strategic mix of social, semi-private, and private spaces.

• Social Spaces: Traditional areas like the pantry and lobby are evolving into highly social spaces (similar to a hotel lobby) where teams can build relationships, share ideas, and collaborate openly.

• Private Spaces: Conversely, quiet areas are vital, allowing individuals to withdraw from noise and distraction to focus privately on complex tasks.

• Efficiency: Designers must improve internal office communications and workflows by strategically placing teams who frequently collaborate near each other.

2. Health and Sustainability

Health and wellness are paramount, as healthy and happy staff are more productive and creative. The Living Office actively promotes employee well-being.

• Healthy Environment: The space must ensure fresh, clean, non-toxic environments with regulated temperature and reduced noise.

• Lighting: There must be great use of natural lighting to enhance mood, supported by adjustable artificial lighting to match human circadian rhythms.

• Natural Elements: Incorporating natural elements like plants and timber enhances the environment. For example, at dwp’s Smart Dubai office, each team member tends a personal plant, fostering a shared tradition and a closer connection to nature.

• Real Estate as Health Tool: As JLL's Keara Fanning notes, companies are starting to think of their real estate as a tool for improving the health of their employees.

3. Smart Use of Technology

Technology should enable the office to evolve and reinvent itself quickly and easily.

• Flexibility and Adaptability: dwp emphasizes the use of 100% wireless and cloud technologies for both security and adaptability. When teams are no longer tethered to a fixed desk by LAN cabling, the office can reconfigure its layout daily depending on the tasks ahead.

• Minimal Disruption: Technology must be implemented with future change in mind. At Smart Dubai, dwp ensured the design allowed for easy technology upgrades or layout reconfigurations with minimal disruption.

Commercial Impact

Designing a Living Office has a recognized positive commercial impact by increasing efficiency, promoting a health-positive working environment, and fostering a strong sense of belonging.

As JLL's Grant Morrison notes, "Flexibility is key. Employees are seeking workplaces that are more sustainable and energy-efficient, and technology is enabling increased choice in work location, space type and function—all of which contribute to the employee experience."

By laying these foundations, a well-designed Living Office serves as a strategic asset that meets objectives and offers exciting potential rewards for the organization as a whole.