The Workspace of Tomorrow

Internationally renowned architect Florian Idenburg talks about the significance of flexible workspaces and why the pandemic is a pivotal moment for society to redefine its relationship with work.

Attorney, writer, and tech executive Bärí A. Williams, author of Diversity in the Workplace, on the true meaning of inclusion, the importance of establishing vulnerability among colleagues, and the rise of values-based businesses.

Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, author of "The Fearless Organization," on returning to the office during COVID-19 and how to create psychological safety in the workspace.

Fuseproject’s founder and principal designer on the future of collaboration and creativity, and what surfing can teach us about business leadership.

Mauro Porcini defines design thinking on his own terms, focusing on three central pillars: empathy, strategy, and prototyping.

On the podcast, he discusses his approach to creating the PepsiCo Design and Innovation Center in New York City, a “startup within a corporation” that helps the food and beverage behemoth spark change and incubate breakthroughs. The Italian-born design mind also shares his limitless, five-step process to shifting company culture.

Ethan Bernstein, associate professor in the organizational behavior unit at the Harvard Business School, talks to us about how he and his peers are assessing the open office phenomenon.

Through his research, Bernstein addresses a number of myths around employee interactions and architectural space, including the limits of self-management and organizational adaptability and the pros and cons of collaborative digital tools and privacy. Referencing the dream of an open, egalitarian workspace going back to the 1940s, he discusses the elements involved in establishing a true rhythm of collaboration and predicts three key themes for the future.

Jennifer Magnolfi, the founder of Programmable Habitats, a research and development consultancy that specializes in developing high-tech work environments, talks to us about integrating technology systems and data into architecture, as well as the importance of solitude and reflection within an urban context. Having collaborated on corporate redesigns and strategic initiatives for companies including Alphabet, Microsoft, and Zappos, Magnolfi shares her expertise on future planning, particularly around the research of “lead users” and how the new tech workforce is reshaping the workspace.

Architect and designer David Rockwell, the founder of Rockwell Group, discusses his firm’s wide-ranging body of work—Broadway theaters and sets, restaurants, Imagination Playground, hotels, the JetBlue terminal at J.F.K. Airport—and how these projects have informed his workspace designs, including NeueHouse and the headquarters for Warner Music Group and WME. Envisioning the work environment as a place that facilitates process, Rockwell shares his philosophies around adaptability and flexibility. He also brings up an often-ignored—but still essential and potentially transformational—element of architecture: the ceiling.