Build a Resilient Firm by Identifying Opportunities of Remote Collaboration

What does the future of work look like?

Work is no longer limited to – or defined by – a physical place. It is now a combination of the digital and the physical.

For the latter, Architect Todd Heiser, co-managing director of the Chicago office of Gensler, a global architecture and design firm, says we should not be looking to the old office for inspiration. “Let’s put the ‘place’ back in ‘workplace’,” he says. Talent, he argues, wants a workplace that provides a platform to thrive, putting flexibility, connectivity and equity at the forefront.

“Thoughtful space plus smart technology should amplify the benefits of being in a room together. If we model the workplace on places of learning, we’ll hit it out of the park,” he says. That means thinking about the office as having ‘amenities’ that aren’t consumable but that foster growth, such as spaces that act like college quads, yoga studios, test kitchens and artist-in-residence rooms.

The digital aspect of work is often encapsulated in the word ‘metaverse’. While the buzz over the metaverse is new, the idea of it is two decades old. In 1992, author Neal Stephenson coined the term for his virtual world in his novel Snow Crash. In simplest terms, the metaverse is the physical and digital convergence of experiences, services, and identity, enabled by an array of new technologies.

The metaverse is in its infancy but the Architectural world is leading the way. For many years, Building Information Modelling (BIM), visualization (often in VR) and ‘digital twins’ have been part of the industry’s lexicon and the last two years have accelerated adoption. How long before we see digital models and environments enter the public domain, becoming not just the means to design and engineer the buildings around us, but part of the digital world in which the public interacts and plays? We’ve already seen the film and games industries converge – with technology, techniques and assets being shared across the two mediums. The next step, as the metaverse takes shape, is to connect our work and play worlds– with architectural models inter-connected to create world environments, accessible to virtual tourists, gamers and clients alike.

However, as HP CEO Enrique Lores says: “Exciting as these technological advancements are, the hybrid era is about people. We need to appreciate the ways their lives are changing, have empathy for the challenges they face, and help find ways to make their lives better. And as we usher in our hybrid future, we must do so in ways that break down the digital divide and promote digital equity to ensure millions aren’t left behind.”

Tucked away on a quiet, tree-lined residential street near Stanford University, the HP Garage stands today as the enduring symbol of innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit – the original garage start-up. It was in this humble 12×18-foot building that college friends Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard first pursued the dream of a company of their own. Guided by an unwavering desire to develop innovative and useful products, the two men went on to blaze a trail at the forefront of the electronics revolution.

This desire to innovate and help others is still at the heart of what they do, and it’s for this reason that HP Inc is supporting Disrupt Symposium: the biggest Business of Architecture event, which is planned for 1-5th May 2022. With top speakers representing C-level leaders, partners, directors and founders from world’s most successful architecture practices, such as  UnStudio, SOM, BIG, Snohetta, Safdie Architects, Zaha Hadid Architects, Gensler, Perkins & Will, WoodsBagot, ARUP to name a few.