Towards Total Flexibility

My first proper question is to ask Nasim if she can remember what she was working on when the pandemic began?

“Well, we had a lot more in the pipeline, but now we are focused more on quality rather than quantity. We realised that people are coming back and they don’t want what they used to have. We need to really step up. We have completely focused on the return to the office and what that is going to look like. How can we make it the easiest and the best for people? Before we were kind of running – producing, producing. We had a formula, it worked and we ran with it. We stopped and we realised that everyone needs a more compelling reason to return to work, they are going to need something different. So, it’s completely shifted. We are re-looking at things we have been doing for many years and are doing it completely differently now. It’s huge for us. The pandemic has been an accelerator for change.”

Some people are saying the office split might now become 50/50, with desks and collaboration space equal. Do you have an idea of what new collaboration spaces look like?

“As expected, we are seeing a huge demand for video call booths, not just like telephone boxes, but for long calls, actual spaces to sit for a while and work and be on a video call. Also, loads of drop-in spots. Some clients have come back to us saying: we know we are a twenty-five person office, but we think we only need a working spot for five people and the rest is drop-in. So, a lot of downsizing, which is a good thing. The office keeps evolving and we have to evolve with it. Luckily we are an office provider, so we are testing it. That is the key. To record how people are responding to what we are doing is crucial to new understanding.”

Have you got a sense of how the working day and working week are evolving?

“We don’t know for certain yet. Although people are coming back, not everyone is back. So it’s difficult to see a fixed pattern yet. However, it seems to be all about flexibility and giving people choice. Larger corporations who would have had a huge office are wanting smaller offices but with passes for all of their people, to come in and out. With the understanding that people won’t be working in the office all day, or they might be working in a lounge for some of the time. We have nearly 50 sites in London, so some bigger corporations are wanting membership passes rather than space, so their people can drop-in in different parts of London. It’s ultimate flexibility, where you work, at what time, where you are sitting, all of it. So we are working with the idea of total flexibility.”

Wellbeing at Work

It almost feels like the most progressive employers, who allow their staff ultimate flexibility, are going to come out on top. The idea that people who sit next to each other might need totally different conditions to be as productive as possible in the workplace feels new. Are we working towards the idea that working conditions might be more related to actual human need, rather than a blanket approach?

“Totally. I think it is the first time that we are all realising that we are human and not machines and robots. We can work in a different way, in a way we like. There are a few of my team that are absolutely thriving at the moment. They come in and they are even brighter than before, because they have had their three day week and have enjoyed clear focused work at home. It’s been about giving people choice.”

The whole idea of wellbeing really seemed to emerge and gather traction in the design industry a few years ago. Now it seems we might make a transition where employers are saying, if I create conditions for my staff to increase their wellbeing, they are going to be better at their job, more productive. Have you seen evidence of this?

“Definitely. A testament to it is our Notting Hill space United House, which we designed with Universal Design Studios, where we have got a dedicated meditation lounge. It’s a tricky one, because who wants to meditate in their working day? We really were not sure if this was a thing, but we decided to go with it. What we are actually seeing is decision makers in the companies realising that facilities like this will be a draw for people to go back to the workplace. If for instance you live in a tight flat share in London, maybe having a space to meditate is an appealing thing. I think for us, as flex-space providers, in terms of wellness, we are trying to help employers give their employees what they need.”

Sustainability & Diversity

If you had a blank canvas now, in terms of creating a building from scratch, what would it look like?

“We actually have one in Shoreditch, which we are building from the ground up. I think it is our first ground-up building, and I am really pleased because it’s all about sustainability. It’s a full timber building, which is pretty groundbreaking in Shoreditch. More and more people are all getting conscious about our footprint in the world and it is something that cannot really be denied any more.There is an element of tick boxing around sustainability, but I think it would be great if there was a genuine sustainable response in terms of architecture in this next phase. In terms of the interiors, I am all about the human. Especially in terms of the designers we choose to collaborate with, we try to find people who really understand the human experience. I think the human can be lost when you are trying to establish ego in a space. Trying to be trendy, or trying to force a certain material into a project, you lose the human element. I love working with designers who get it.”

Architecture has been so male dominated, Zaha Hadid was a great antidote to all of that. She caused a great deal of controversy just by virtue of the fact that the male dominated establishment didn’t like where she was coming from. Yet she created groundbreaking buildings like the London Aquatics Centre, which is like no swimming pool I have ever known. It’s got incredible light and is just a joy to be in that space. That’s a rare sensation to get, when you are in a building and it feels special to be there. It elevates experience.

“It’s really difficult to find women and people of colour who are leading businesses. I am desperate for more of that, because they are the people who will bring the change, they know how to design for difference and diversity. I am telling you it is still a struggle to find the right people.”

Nasim is of Iranian Australian heritage and is also young for a business leader, so she is talking from first hand experience. I mention that in our recent In Conversation with Yinka Ilori, and that he felt that although change has been slow, there are many things to be positive about, and if we can’t progress diversity in design in London, then where?

“It is the place to make change. A particular young member of my team is blown away by the fact I am in the position I am. Not long ago, she didn’t think it would be possible. Recently, we were working together on a project to design an office for diverse people and she brought so many insights to the table. I use this example a lot, but she analysed how we design our showers. Her ethnic background means that she doesn’t wash her hair every day, and our showers are rainfall showers. She explained that walking into those showers would make her think – how I am going to navigate this? I had a similar experience because I wash my hair a little less too, but someone else on the team washed theirs every day. So we quickly realised we needed both a rainfall shower and a flexible head shower. It’s a tiny thing but it makes a world of a difference to somebody. If you don’t have a diverse range of people in decision making positions, then there is no way that change is going to happen. It’s not a big deal, it’s such a simple change. There are so many little things we can do to improve people’s experience.”

Inspiration & Ideals

I think we have all missed going to design shows. How have you kept inspired?

“I got a bit upset last year, feeling uninspired. With no galleries, no fairs. What I have noticed that my team and I are doing more of now, which we should have been doing before, is looking inward. We are looking much more at English artists and designers, local makers – more inwards, which I think is a really good thing. We do have buildings out in Germany, so we have to be mindful of that, and make things locally relevant there too. However, I am loving what we have here. Yet I still think the UK has a long way to go in terms of design, we could be doing a lot more.”

I would be interested to know what changes you think we might see in product typologies in the workplace?

“There are definitely functionality changes – places to video call, places to plug in, places to work for a brief time, and so on. There is also the push on wellness that we touched on. Looking at things like circadian lighting, air filtration, openable windows and ultimately being able to monitor our buildings for pollution, heat and so on. These things are also being driven by our clients. In terms of materials, we are pushing for more sustainable materials in the products and environments we create.”

Lastly, what does an ideal working day or week look like for you?

“It’s fascinating to think about the evolution of work even from just a few years ago. I get tons of energy from working with our collaborating architects and designers. So an ideal would be spending a morning talking to them about one of our buildings and going back and forth with ideas. Going over plans, looking at materials, just having that close collaboration is so important to me. If it was a week, I would want a spot of inspiration, either going to a showroom, or seeing a designer or an artist, being in some sort of actual space, a gallery or studio. Definitely a dog walk. Ideally, I would wake up and meditate, which I never do, and listen to a good podcast. Then start work with emails first and then the more engaging collaboration work. It’s a really nice position to have the role I have in a flexible space provider. It’s great to be thinking about how we can make working lives better for people every day.”

A big thank you to Nasim and her team for making this interview possible.