Reflections on the future of workspaces

The last Actiu Showroom event in Madrid, Grupo Vía had as its main theme 'the future of workspaces'. Leading brands such as Utopicus, Allende Arquitectos, AECOM, and more have gathered at the event. The main theme has arisen as a result of the 20% increase in the hiring of offices in Madrid in 2021, for which the main trends have been analyzed: workspaces that are being designed, the new models of coexistence in current offices, co-working and working at home.

The event studied different aspects of current work modalities, as well as paradigm shifts in how the concepts of space and objects are currently perceived, and how they transmit emotions, tell stories and generate communities. This talk was directed by Matías Rodríguez, Managing Director of STUDIO BANANA. Who has highlighted the current need to create innovative experiences, focused on users and that help organizations to transform and transform themselves.

The reality is that the vision of the future of workspaces is an idea that has to be formed, companies first have to stop and look back, and understand their past, their development, growth, and their workers, because it is the first time that in Up to 5 generations of different people can be found in the same office (to learn more about the working generations that coexist in the office, you can read one of the previous articles that we did).

The evolution of the working vision in recent years has generated enormous changes in the workplace, today the retention and recruitment of individual talent are essential, while concern for health care and psychological well-being are completely different from the past. These were ideas raised by the CEO of Ubbica, José Luis Bescansa, who also emphasizes how the physical space continues to be a fundamental engine in the interaction of people. 

Another key point of the event, in addition to being one of the hottest topics of the moment, is how the digital revolution has transformed individual tasks and made working from home a possibility, especially for activities that require greater concentration, while if they are collaborative or team activities they can take place in the office. This was the idea proposed by Sergio Fabón, Project Manager/Architect at AECOM, who highlighted how the pandemic has changed our way of living and relating on a personal and professional level.