Exploring the diverse nature of the Swiss workplace with a focus on international NGO Workplaces. This session will explore what’s in store for the future

Studio Banana’s ‘Work Out of the Box’, is a response to the massive transformation work culture has undergone in recent years. Factors like digitalisation, globalisation, and the diversification of the workforce have created significant shifts and new demand for tools and environments that can support our evolving work styles. Studio Banana creates these solutions and strategies for diverse workplaces. Key and Ali will share their learnings from past experiences.

We spend around 1/3 of our lives sleeping. Crazy, right? Sleep is extremely important and has tremendous influence on how we feel physically as well as mentally. But despite how essential it is, we have a long way to go when it comes to learning about quality sleep. Dr. Els van der Helm will focus on the organisational cost of inefficient sleep and share some advice on how to change this.

Working from home is on the rise as part of an increase in flexible working and a renewed focus on work-life balance. At the same time, more smart products and devices (such as smart fridges and Amazon’s Alexa) are appearing in the domestic environment. Robert Thorpe explores the lives of 25 home workers across three regions of Europe through ethnographic study. What technologies do they use in navigating their daily work and home life? And what impact do their decisions about tech have on their wellbeing?

Dr Javier Fernández Contreras is an award winning Architect and Lecturer whose professional career has combined architectural practice with lecturing and research across Spain, China and Zurich. He joins us to explore how Interior Architecture today operates at the intersection between physical interiors and the parallel narratives of mediated interiors, such as those of online media, publicity or visual arts. He will examine what this means for workplaces of the future

Organisational culture is the “glue” unique to every company; it defines how people collaborate, facilitates a sense of belonging, and enables adaptation of new technologies and ways of working. But how do we design, measure, and ultimately evolve environments that foster positive organisational culture and ultimately, creativity and innovation? In this session, we will explore the challenges and opportunities in designing and measuring culture in today’s diverse work landscapes, as well as share case studies where we have helped clients map their current and preferred culture and workstyles.

Olympic House, the new HQ of the International Olympic Committee has been designed around the five key elements of symbolism, integration, flexibility collaboration and sustainability. It combines the highest standards in collaboration design with a holistic approach to sustainability, by incorporating rigorous criteria in energy and water efficiency, whilst optimising the end user experience and wellbeing.

Jon will explore the new digital workplace. With apps everywhere, both in life and in work, (there were over 100 billion app downloads last year alone!), apps are transforming business and the way people work. We explore the opportunities and threats faced by organisations as they embrace this key trend.

In recent years, the smart office and the way we use it have undergone a massive transformation. Flex-, activity-based- or agile working are the keywords in this revolution, meaning that employees are given the power to choose when and where they work, either in the office or from other locations. However, people seem to use space in a different way designers and architects imagined. What are the underlying reasons for this behaviour and how van software technology tap into this knowledge?

The UK Government Property Agency is currently building a number of Hub Locations which will house multiple Government organisations. The Hubs will have the capability and capacity to provide UK Civil Servants with great places to work. This presentation will cover the current technology limitations to this work and the ways in which systems and solutions have been designed to maximise the benefits of the Hubs both now and in the future. Nick will end by looking to the future and some of the technology challenges we will inevitably face.

Andreas willl explore the importance of creating human-centric work environments that have an agile and collaborative approach. Andreas will challenge more conventional working spaces and will highlight the importance of utilizing the Design Thinking process.

With cognitive buildings increasingly a reality and digitalisation continuing to spread, the issue of IT security becomes a hot topic. With sensors monitoring employees’ consumption of everything from parking to coffee to energy, and vast amount of data being generated across complex, wireless networks, the level of security will only be that of the weakest component. Glenn will explore the threats we face from hackers and criminal networks and examine how best to address the issue of security for today’s smart buildings and the devices we use.

Interconnected, shared and cross related like the urban fabric; the B:Hive is a new model of workplace, a global first. The building fosters growth and recognise a need for adaptability. For a business and for building owners alike, to survive in the future market it needs to be agile and requires a flexible environment that will allow it to evolve with a changing landscape. A case study from the beginnings of Australian GPT’s own coworking brand Space & CO re-activation of an innercity office building to the recalibration of the office park to an urban village centred on new flexible working.