We spread the knowledge | Library 2020
We know. 2020 was an bad year and turned reality upside down. It was a hard time for many organisations. We approached it as a challenge and in the labyrinth of various speculations, wrong predictions and false data we decided to stick to the chosen educational path. We believe that sharing the best practices and transparency of knowledge were crucial in the past year. We ourselves used plenty of studies, reports, news and statements of experts in the field of work environment, design, architecture and leadership. That is why we continued our educational activities. We have prepared for you a summary of our statements, activities and speeches from 2020. Enjoy!
Back in 2019, we implemented our plan to help save the planet. In January 2020, our Less Waste Office project, the first office in Poland designed with materials out of which 80% were recycled and sustainable, was nominated for the title of the Best Office in Poland. We did not receive the award, but the case study of this project itself was used to educate the industry and sparked huge discussion. During #4DesignDays, Bogusz and Dominika, the managers of our studio, talked about the behind the scenes of this project. Read the full Less Waste Office case study and listen to Dominika’s interview.
In February, we felt like travelling abroad. When we heard that FRAME Magazine together with the Orgatec fair in Cologne was organising the Agile Workplace 2.0 competition, we couldn’t resist taking part. Our talented designers came up with a concept that was selected for the competition finals! They found out about the results in Amsterdam during the FRAME Awards 2019 gala. We still get goosebumps when we think about those emotions! A summary written by FRAME is available here.
In late February/early March, we showed the world our most advanced project to date. The global control and cyber security centre of Nordic bank Nordea in Warsaw had its media opening, during which we showed journalists the futuristic interiors and technological nuances that we had the pleasure to design. Almost 20 publications in both national and international media showed us how important this investment was. Here you can read the full story of the project. A film made by Papaya Films will let you experience the state of weightlessness.
After the Horizon spacecraft took off, we jumped onto the deck. Not of the spacecraft, but of the event stages. Dominika Zielińska, our co-CEO, presented a Less Waste Office case study together with Bartosz Barylski (Head of Workplace, Nordea) at the Administrative Directors Summit.
Moments later, she was a guest during OKK Design with the theme #communication.
Spring came and despite the ongoing pandemic we wanted to remain active. As part of our PLGBC (Polish Green Building Council) membership activity, together with HB Reavis, we initiated work on the Less Waste Office Report. Additionally, Dominika Zielińska joined the jury of the PLGBC Green Building Awards competition.
We also joined the Polish Architects Declare initiative – as a design and research studio which wants to contribute to the development of good, pro-ecological practices in our work and in the work of others.
When holiday time came, we didn’t succumb to the temptation of going to the beach and relaxing. Maybe a little, because remote work allowed us to connect from all over the world.
At the beginning of July, an event that was very important to us took place – the Design Talks Business Summit, organised as part of the Gdynia Design Days. And we participated in it! During her speech ‘Rethink your work’, Dominika Zielińska presented our design philosophy.
Then, after a few months of cooperation with Leesman, as part of their global survey examining remote working and employee experience, we were able to present our summarised findings and observations on the future of offices. Kasia Gajewska-Kulma, the leader of our research team, and Bogusz Parzyszek, performed as part of the Tenant Academy organised by Walter Herz.
Kasia continued the topic during the international #WorkFest conference, which took place in August. And then autumn came. An intense autumn.
In September, together with Profim, Flokk and Greenhat Innovation, we organised a closed workshop for leaders of the Human Relations industry. There, Dominika, along with the trend researcher Zuzanna Skalska, conducted a workshop on the future of work.
Then we went to Łódź. There, Dominika presented her reflections during the Łódź Design Festival. The topic was: #progress in architecture and design. We think that the speech you can find below is a great summary of the Workplace ideological path.
Then, together with industry experts from all over Europe, our co-CEO took part in the Space-as-a-Service concept debate at the Global PropTech conference.
October started with the 10th PLGBC Green Building Symposium. There, our Less Waste Office project was given an award in the PLGBC Green Building Awards 2020 competition, and Dominika took part in the debate of the same name.
In the meantime, together with Knight Frank and PLGBC, we conducted a survey on sustainable offices. This was the basis of the ‘Less Waste in the Office’ report. The full version is available here: https://raporty.knightfrank.com.pl/biuro_lesswaste_2020
Another expert contribution was the Innogy report on the directions of development of the commercial real estate market. In it, we presented the topic of sustainable workspace design. The full Innogy report is available here.
While continuing the spread of knowledge on green practices, we appeared at another event, which – let’s face it – was a surprise for us. We received an invitation from Change Pilots to participate in a panel during the EkoSfera fair organised by the Ministry of Climate and Environment. The entire event is available to view here and our panel starts at 5:18:25.
We ended the event season with the speech of our #dynamicduo during the Kongres Kadry (Polish for: ‘HR Congress’) – HR Heart and Mind. This time it concerned the employees of the future and their needs.
The era of hybrid work, which was accelerated by the global lockdown, has made Workplace adopt an even more strategic and research-based direction to its activities. We started to position ourselves not only as a design studio but above all as a company where design is based on data and research on work environments – whether conducted by us or by one of our strategic partners (including Leesman and workingwell). At the end of November, we managed to present a case study of an important project for Archicom. Important, because it shows what the process of research and development of the work environment strategy looks like from the inside. You can familiarise yourself with it here.
We finished 2020 with two important educational topics. Skanska asked us to present our conclusions from research projects conducted by us in Poland and to present the answer to the question ‘how to effectively design a hybrid workplace?’
Our former client OLX Polska prepared the report ‘Prognozy przyszłości – OLX Praca (Polish for: ‘Forecasts for the future – OLX Work’). Know How 2021′, in which Dominika is one of the expert voices. The report can be downloaded here: https://praca.olx.pl/rekruter/post/wizje-przyszlosci-rynku-pracy-w-nowym-raporcie-olx
Wow, we didn’t expect that there will be so much to talk about. One thing is for sure – we end 2020 with the motivation to keep spreading knowledge!
*Pictures and visual materials courtesy of our partners and event organisers.
