Ennead Partner, Peter Schubert, FAIA, authored an article "To Fix the Office, Go Back to College" published in Commercial Observer, which discusses how office environments can take cues from academia to create spaces that encourage communication, collaboration, and camaraderie, and ultimately make the post-pandemic office a place more workers want to be.
From recruitment to productivity, he details the benefits of a curated, campus-like office environment, noting the importance of offering a variety of space types and of programming those to support active learning, as happens in educational facilities. He explains, “Physical space alone isn’t the answer, and this is a place where most offices fall short. University spaces are deeply programmed, with orchestrated community learning events and curated thought opportunities available at all times of day. This kind of curation can’t be replicated at home, and when coupled with well-designed, diverse physical spaces, can help achieve the type of innovation we experienced on campus.”
To read more about taking the office back to school, find the full article here.