Is the office dead?

British Council for Offices debate the future of the workplace

Article posted: 23 Dec 2010

The BCO and WCO met recently at Hogan Lovells offices in Holborn to debate whether the office is dead and the future of the workplace is to become dispersed and virtual. Three BCO and three WCO speakers had 6 mins 40 seconds each, in the Pecha Kucha style presentation to put forward their arguments for (WCO) and against (BCO) the motion.

The BCO speakers from Scott Brownrigg, Hammerson UK Properties and Savills, main arguments focused on: the statistical evidence which shows a continuing demand for office space; the importance of face to face interaction in business; the issues facing those people who work from home including inadequate technology and striking the important work/life balance. 

Next up the WCO speakers from DEGW, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects and EC Harris set out a world where there was no stressful and time wasting commute to work, technology allowed you to interact on a virtual platform, and a new generation of workers were driving a new way of working.

During the course of the debate the biggest issue was how we define an office, is a coffee shop an office or is an office limited to a room full of desks? This was the central point in the debate as both sides agreed that the traditional definition of an office is no longer relevant and the whole concept of an office is changing.

Some of the debate focused on the infrastructure to support office work and also working from home, the transport infrastructure was identified as a reason to work from home and the IT infrastructure was identified as a reason to work in an office.

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Posted by Jules Harrison