AI-Driven Workplace Design: How AI is Shaping the Team Dynamics and the Future of Collaboration

Aurelio David
Senior Manager, Workplace Research and Experimentation
LinkedIn

As artificial intelligence reshapes the nature of work, LinkedIn’s Workplace team is advancing its flexible workplace strategy by reimagining how physical space supports emerging forms of collaboration. This session will present insights from recent research, including 40 leadership interviews, and findings from an 11-week experiment designed to test dedicated, AI-embedded environments for small, autonomous, cross-functional teams (“pods”). The “Pod Work Area” pilot at LinkedIn’s headquarters assigned two pods (9 and 13 members) to dedicated zones with sit-stand desks, collaborative spaces, and Agile Project Rooms equipped with agentic technology. Using surveys, interviews, observations, and simulations, the pilot explored how proximity, space design, and embedded AI help close the gap between decision-making and execution while fostering performance and psychological safety. This talk offers a glimpse into how LinkedIn—operating in 35+ global offices with 25,000+ employees—is preparing for a future where collaboration is faster, smarter, and more human.

Miro’s User Driven Workplace

Wilco Poppelier, Global Head of Workplace Strategy, Miro and Daaf Serné, Head of Workplace & Sustainability, Miro

Miro’s Amsterdam headquarters balances cost-effective design with meaningful impact. Sustainable, inclusive and continually evolving, it reflects the company’s mission and product philosophy by enabling collaboration and innovation. Internally known as the ‘Learning Lab,’ the space redefines the office as a dynamic environment shaped by employee feedback. Through surveys, conversations, workshops and polls, staff guided its design to ensure it meets real needs, not assumptions. The result is a workplace that adapts, supports success, and fosters creativity and continuous learning. With over 4 years of user data from running the ‘ Learning Lab’ approach, Miro has create a vision that should be the focus for the workplace of the future.

Designing the ‘4th Place’: Rethinking Work in Regional Japan

Kenji Kishi, Director, Marketing & Business Development, Bunshodo Corporation 

This session explores how an abandoned public facility in regional Japan was transformed into a high-performing “4th Place,” offering new insights into the future of work, community, and workplace experience.

How to Prepare Your Workforce for a Future you Can’t Predict

Orsolya Kovacs, Partner and Associate Director, People Strategy & HR, Boston Consulting Group

Technology affecting jobs and skills is not necessarily a new thing – but the speed at which this happens is unprecedented.However, most companies have not yet adapted their people management philosophies and processes to a world where you can’t predict the skills and jobs you’ll need in a few years’ time. In this session, we will deep dive on the necessary paradigm shifts in how employers should source, develop and manage talent – as well as how the HR function needs to evolve to be able to drive this change. This data-backed presentation will leverage latest BCG research on talent preferences (2024 Decoding Global Talent study of 150,000 workers globally), showcase case studies in skill and people management from 40 leading companies, and leverage a study of 1000+ firms on re- and upskilling best practices.

Designing for Connection: Placemaking and the Future of Work in the City

Robert Greenwood, Partner, Director Asia Pacific, Architect, Snohetta

Robert Greenwood, Partner and Director Asia Pacific at Snøhetta, will share how architecture and design can shape the future of work and urban life. Using the Shibuya Upper West project as an example, he will illustrate how placemaking can connect culture, community, and commerce – creating environments that inspire creativity, collaboration, and wellbeing. As cities evolve, Robert explores how thoughtful design can transform workplaces and neighbourhoods alike into vibrant spaces that bring people together and reflect a shared sense of purpose.

Transitioning from Individual “Ikigai” to Collective “Wekigai” for Wellbeing at Work in Japan

Yasuhiro Tanaka, Researcher, Yokoku Research Institute and Workstyle Research Institute, Kokuyo

What constitutes “working happiness” in Japanese society? This session will explore the sense of well-being valued in Asia from a cross-cultural comparison perspective. I will unravel a workplace environment where both innovation and individual happiness are achieved through a balanced combination of “collaboration” and “autonomy.” Furthermore, I will explore the essence of a well-being workplace based on examples from pioneering companies.

Expert Discussion: Global Insights, Local Futures: Redefining Work and Place in Japan

Aurelio David, Sr Manager, Workplace Research and Experimentation, LinkedIn

Orsolya Kovacs, Partner and Associate Director, People Strategy & HR, Boston Consulting Group

Robert Greenwood, Partner, Director Asia Pacific, Architect, Snohetta

Moderator: Mayumi Ishizaki, Senior Researcher, Xymax

In this closing expert discussion, international thought leaders from LinkedIn, BCG, and Snøhetta come together to explore how global trends in workplace strategy, talent, and design resonate within the Japanese market. The conversation will examine how ideas such as AI-driven collaboration, skills transformation, and human-centred placemaking intersect with Japan’s cultural values, organisational structures, and evolving work practices. Together, the panellists will discuss what makes a workplace truly effective and meaningful in Japan today and how global lessons can be adapted to create environments that balance innovation, wellbeing, and long-term value for both people and business.