the evolving workplace: insights on design trends In 2026, building owners remain focused on elevating the workplace experience, investing in modern amenities and thoughtfully designed office environments to attract and secure tenants. At the same time, companies are leveraging tenant improvement allowances to create high-quality, purpose-driven spaces that help recruit and retain top talent as employees continue returning to the office. To explore how these priorities are shaping workplace design, Colliers Columbus connected with Columbus-based architecture and interior design firm Darin Ranker Architects. Darin Ranker, Architect and Owner and Beth Rihl, Owner and Senior Project Manager/Interior Designer, shared their perspective on today’s evolving office trends and how their team helps deliver efficient, amenity-rich environments for both building owners and tenants.
Darin Ranker Architects is known for tenantfocused workplace design and repositioning existing buildings. How would you describe your firm’s core workplace philosophy today, and how has that evolved since pre-COVID? Our philosophy has always been to listen very carefully to our clients’ needs first and foremost. It has not changed. The client and building owner needs are what have evolved since COVID. How does your approach differ when you’re designing directly for an occupier versus advising a landlord on speculative or repositioned office space? Where do you see the biggest gaps between landlord assumptions and tenant expectations today? Our approach to design doesn’t change a great deal between owners and tenants. Both want the best design while considering construction costs.
The largest gap is educating prospective tenants on the cost implications associated with current tenant buildouts. Construction costs have skyrocketed, primarily after COVID. Prospective tenants are not aware of these rising costs, while landlords are. Building owners are constantly reminding us to utilize existing conditions to the greatest extent possible, to work around or to utilize existing plumbing locations to minimize construction costs, particularly in short term lease deals. Tenants are typically very surprised after receiving the costs from an initial conceptual design based solely on creativity alone, thus requiring multiple plan revisions to get the project cost within their initial budget. To bridge the gap between owners and tenants, we try to incorporate all the expensive components as alternates so that the General Contractor can break out those costs separately, allowing the tenant to weigh options as to what is most important to them.