Working For Evolution
What sorts of environments will we work from in the future? Specialising in workplace design at Gensler’s Bangkok studio, Tanya Suvannapong sees adaptability, sustainability, connectivity, access and wellness as key drivers.
“We’re going to work more virtually in the future – with a lot of people working from home – and we will become more and more free-roaming in terms of where we choose to work,” opined Tanya Suvannapong, Senior Associate and Design Director at Gensler’s Bangkok studio. I was initially skeptical about the prospect she expressed. But taking into account that our conversation was held via an online meeting program, it all started making sense.
“People will no longer limit themselves to 9am to 6pm in their office,” she said. And in her experience, companies and their staff are looking for more virtual or decentralised network structures that activate their staff remotely. This is especially so in Bangkok, where the public infrastructure can inhibit good access, she suggests.
A graduate of King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in Thailand, Suvannapong began her career as an interior designer in Bangkok, before moving to Hong Kong and then Singapore. After leading several award-winning workplace projects across the Asia Pacific region as well as building teams of designers for more than 20 years, she joined Gensler in early 2017 and is now overseeing the firm’s Workflex Team in Asia. And despite the sentiment expressed earlier, Suvannapong still believes that the workplace will serve as a vital part of our daily lives in future.
“Since 2005, Gensler has closely studied the trends impacting workplace around the world to better understand what drives employee effectiveness and, ultimately, what leads to great work environments,” she said. “Each new workplace should reinforce the client company’s ethos and also be the launch pad for positive cultural change. For us, good design will always include sustainability, wellness and adaptability, whether directed or implied by the client.”
True Digital Park at the WHIZDOM 101 mixed-use development in Bangkok is a good example. In this working hub for startups, Gensler not only incorporated coworking ‘flexible office’ concepts, but also created an ecosystem in which tech entrepreneurs can link and grow. True Digital Park offers an activity-based workplace on a large scale, expanding across three buildings and including an array of work areas as well as amenity spaces. All this comes together to support the promotion of work-life balance and provide opportunities for individuals to engage more with their peers – aligning to True’s new way of working and business approach for startups.
Since Gensler is recognised for its expertise in research and insight, with its Workplace Survey and its annual Design Forecast, I asked Suvannapong if she has noticed any significant changes in workplace design with the rise of ‘Fintech’ and ‘Proptech’ companies. “Apart from an increase in flexibility in the workplace, there are three emerging trends I have noticed,” she replied.
“The first one is the adoption of various collaborative settings in non-agile workplaces as opposed to traditional meeting spaces. The second one is an increasing crossover of workspaces into other sectors, such as retail and hospitality – in response to user preferences and more mobile staff. The last one is the adoption of ‘sprint’ and ‘scrum’ teaming spaces from fintech companies. These spaces become activity hubs for idea generation.”
While the future of the workplace may be more virtual, a physical workplace will surely always find its way into our lives. At the very least, people still need a physical connection. Suvannapong and Gensler believe a workplace that can evolve will be able to support and promote the changing attributes that society and enterprises will adopt over time. What’s more, the future of cities, in a way, relies on how effectively these workplaces can perform.
“New buildings catering for workplaces of the future are expected to be able to meet societal expectations for connectivity and wellness. But the potential to reposition an existing building so it can also support workplaces into the future, rather than demolish and rebuild, may become a positive contribution to society’s need for connection to its past as well as an embodiment of its environmental consciousness,” concluded Suvannapong.