Renovating or building a new office? STOP!! Before you go on with your project, you need to read Nicola Gillen’s book Future Office: Next-Generation Workplace Design (2019, RIBA). This book will change the way you think about office design. While you may still end up where you thought you would, at the very least you will have gone through a robust process to ensure that is the best design for your workplace, not just now, but well into the future as well.
This book is excellently written in a very easy and logical sequence. It starts with a bit of history regarding how office design has evolved, and moves through into what we can be expecting 40 years from now. There is a very thorough design process that includes how to work with architects and how to implement the change process.
Gillen draws on her own architectural experience as well as other leaders in the built environment to challenge our established thinking on office design, to instead design for what the people doing the work actually need, and will need into the future. This book has changed the way I think about office design, pushing me to think outside my comfort zone to recognise the importance that “one size does not fit all”.
A highly recommended read, and one I would love to hear your feedback on. The Booktopia link is here – Future Office
Reviewed by Dr Warrick Long, Senior Lecturer and
Leadership Post graduate Studies Coordinator