The vision of the modern workplace has been part of conversations among design professionals for decades, but increasingly so as technology offers new opportunities for ways of working and a ripple effect forces business models to adapt. Questions on how to maintain or build a workforce revolve around other issues more central to operations: How do you maximize performance while also ensuring employees are comfortable and relaxed in their work environment? What happens when your business model changes and your workspace needs to adapt? In an age where most work is digital, how do you showcase the company's work, and communicate the company's philosophy, services, and strengths to visitors? How mobile do your employees really need to be? And all this talk about collaboration - what does it really mean for your employees and clients and what are the requirements in physical form? What exactly is a 'Happy Workplace' and how do you design one? Every company has its own set of criteria for what makes the perfect workspace. For creative businesses, the target is always moving and the solutions are as unique as each company's collective talent. In the past decade, H+A has partnered with other creative companies to design where they work. Our longtime collaborators at IDEO hired us back in 2007 to help with their first Cambridge office, and worked with us again in 2016 to design their home at 80 Prospect. PJA Advertising, aIso in Cambridge, was expanding at the same time, and since H+A designed their offices back in 2009, we were asked to come back and help them adapt their space to include some newly acquired square footage. Finally, longtime H+A friend, Francine Zaslow, moved her photography studio to Newton and we helped her optimize her space for better flow and added comfort and storage. And while we were designers designing for designers and other creative professionals, we were designing for ourselves too. In 2016, H+A started the process of moving to a new studio that needed to be redesigned for our evolving business model. With these four projects happening almost simultaneously, we discovered some common themes…and learned a lot of lessons. 4 CREATIVE COMPANIES CHANGE SHAPE.
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