The Essential Workplace

The Essential Workplace

The Essential Workplace

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Network of green spaces at multiple levels offer access to nature throughout Tryba Architects' Studio at Fisher Mansion.

The Essential Workplace As designers, we are innately problem solvers. Today, we are met with many challenging problems as we look out into a fundamentally changed world, asking questions surrounding our built environments and their futures. How can we bring people back together—safely, comfortably, and in a way that promotes health and wellbeing? What will it take to bring people back to the office? Why do people come to the office and what value does the workplace actually provide?

To say this year thus far has been difficult would be an understatement. Universally, we are faced with a global health crisis and economic uncertainties that have shaken us to our core. But with challenge comes an opportunity for change, and change is essential for growth. As we all look for how to move forward from this challenging time and return to our respective workplaces, we have an opportunity to take a pause and reaffirm our values and our needs. One unwavering, universal theme that has emerged from these circumstances is the need for human connectivity. By nature, we are community driven beings. As advanced as technology has become, and as productive as we’ve proven to be, technology will never replace the innate need for connection with one another.

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The ability of the workplace to offer opportunity for collaboration, innovation, and connection is the reason it has been and will endure as a part of our communities, businesses, and cultures. As we re-imagine and re-engage our workplaces for a changed world, our role as designers and architects will be to celebrate the essence of what makes individuals feel comfortable, connected, and secure in the workplace. We must ask ourselves: how will we bring people back together and what do comfortable and safe spaces look and feel like?

Design has always had an impact on how humans interact and gather. Now, our role ahead has an undeniable call to action to responsibly create spaces that provide comfort and human connection, in environments people will feel safe.

The need for human connection and comfort has brought about a wonderful surge of collaboration across the field of design, facilitating engagement—both internally and with our peers—to examine what will come next. To be effective stewards of the built environment, provide support, and create solutions for the future, we must be willing to listen, learn, and understand each other’s concerns and values.

Based on our observations and conversations, we know that enduring workplaces will provide employees comfort, safety, and security, above all else. Comfortable spaces make people feel whole. When we design for comfort, we expand beyond meeting the needs of the individual to create generous spaces that are in service to the greater community. We create spaces that make people feel good and healthy within their environments.

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Comfortable seating in the lobby offers staff options for focused work or impromptu meetings.

Human comfort in the workplace is no longer an option— it is essential. Foundational design strategies for bringing people back to the workplace in a safe and supportive way include: legibility, predictability, connectivity, flexibility, and choice. These are foundational principles of great design that are now more important than ever.

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Starting with Why Our process is differentiated by an initial focus on the ‘Why’ that unlocks collective values and aspirations and builds a compelling and distinctive narrative for each project.

This approach integrates our practice principles, a deep understanding of the clients goals and program, critical market differentiators, a careful analysis of the sites history and context, and a clear position on the civic role of each project within the City.

Our process uses the fundamental elements of design to structure and inform our design response. These elements complement our practice principles and provide a framework for decision making and the evolution of a unique and site specific approach to each project.

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Legibility & Predictability At Tryba Architects we believe that great spaces come from a principle-based approach in pursuit of effortless, highly legible, and predictable spaces. Specific to workplace design, when the convergence of program, structure, and circulation are all considered, the results of the design become self-evident. Clear circulation reinforces openness and visibility within the office space, which creates a feeling of familiarity. There is no need to zig or zag for fleeting interest when clear circulation allows an individual to feel in control of their travel path and secure in where it is going to lead. Similarly, openness and visibility within the office reinforce connection, transparency, and equity for the individual employee at all levels.

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A transparent floor plan ensures ample access to daylight, unobstructed views across the entirety of the space and panoramic views of the cityscape and nearby mountains.

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The generous double-height interior courtyard lobby is a welcoming entry, connected to the surrounding landscape and urban fabric.

The reception area positioned on the southern side of the building ensures sweeping panoramic mountain views. Natural light flows into the reception and café, creating a warm and welcoming space.

Entry and arrival points are the gateway to our workplaces.

When considered in connection to their site context, these critical moments of welcome can have powerful, positive impacts on how employees and guests alike feel upon arrival and departure. You walk a little taller when the space around you is empowering. These receiving zones carry the important role of communicating ‘you belong’ to employees and visitors. When conceived properly, these thresholds simultaneously provide a desired greeting and communicate a company’s mission, culture, and values.

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A lobby functions as a 'living room' for staff and the welcoming point theARCHITECTS community.

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Custom workstations were designed for a new office culture of mobile desking. The workstations were created to work within the building's structural modulation to fully leverage views.

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A central stair increases circulation between upper and lower levels and14 brings light to open floor plans.

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Connectivity Connection to nature and fresh air are now imperative, a must have, not a nice to have. Office environments must be designed so people feel connected and engaged— with their colleagues, their work, the outdoors, the broader company mission, and the community.

The workplace is directly connected to nature through the terrace with tree plantings, garden beds, outdoor fire pits and soft but functional lighting throughout.

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Meeting and collaboration areas will continue to be vital connector zones that produce the energy, innovation, and social interaction we are all craving, but they will be revisited with a new outlook allowing for ample personal space within individual work zones.

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Semi-enclosed library spaces provide additional work setting options.

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Authentic materiality and amenities create a fresh, new and18 enduring workplace.

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A set of modular dimensions are fully synchronized with the building's primary structure and establish comfortable, healthy spacing for individual workspaces.

When we design individual workspaces that acknowledge and respect the need for personal comfort, we can empower employees and further facilitate connection. In the technological spirit, equitable access to technology will need to be examined so all employees stay equally connected whether working from home or in the office, as both worlds will remain merged from here forward.

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Art fosters connections, adds context and enhances workplace culture, contributing to a greater sense of place in everyday work life. Custom and integrated art programs begin with sourcing and procurement and result in an experience unique to the company and their culture—whether a complete art gallery for an entire office or an art program for specific amenity spaces and lobbies. Art is another vital component to creating unique, authentic and lasting workplaces.

The integration of unique art pieces creates an authentic experience while insertion of a new central stair and skylight increases circulation between upper and lower levels and brings new light to a previously dark space.

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An art piece by a local artist anchors the axis of the East / West corridor, guiding circulation throughout the office.

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Flexibility— Choice and Freedom As the current environment has proven, we will work remotely, to some degree. Looking ahead, employees will have the option to spend a portion of their hours at home (hopefully without homeschooling, fear of a pandemic, and conflicting Zoom calls).

What elements will office environments need to incorporate to provide employees the flexibility they experience working from home? Perhaps a garden patio will now be a program requirement, offering an outdoor space to share coffee with a colleague or check emails over lunch with a dose of fresh air.

A series of outdoor rooms are seamlessly integrated with views to the garden and urban skyline beyond.

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PHONE BOOTH

LIVING ROOM

WORK FROM HOME

ADJUSTABLE-HEIGHT BENCHING

Workstations BEAN-SHAPED WORKSTATION

120 DEGREE WORKSTATION WITH STORAGE TOWER

ROOM WITHIN A ROOM BREAK OUT ZONE OUTDOOR SEATING

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Generous glazing provides direct visual access to the studio garden and24 urban beyond.

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The industrial contemporary aesthetic is characterized by natural light, transparency and warmth, and reflects the company's startup culture.

Clearly defined circulation with sliding partitions allow users to customize their individual workstation environment.

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An interconnecting stair between floors connects staff to an extensive 'Town Square' with amenities including a cafe, library, post office and communal gathering space.

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Spaces for collaboration as well as independent work provide a diversity of seating options with access to natural light and views of the city.

A soft seating lounge group in the café composed of carefully selected furniture designed to the right scale and level of comfort will provide another inviting option. We might consider trading in one showcase stair for two modestly designed open stair connections within employee zones to facilitate engagement and movement. Ideally, we’ll see wellness zones incorporated in such a way that provide employees a dignified space for personal health and wellbeing. The future office is not irrelevant, but to be meaningful, it must adapt to accommodate the level of comfort, safety, and flexibility that we feel in our work from home spaces.

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Open gathering space offers multiple seating options to work and feel part of the collective whole while maintaining appropriate distance.

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A cafe space and additional workstations on the second floor offer views to the surrounding neighborhood.

Design has always had the wonderful ability to impact change and elevate the human spirit, and the foundational principles of predictability, connectivity, and flexibility are vital to creating enduring and uplifting spaces. While ‘uncertain’ has become the new four-letter word of our time, we are choosing optimism in the certainty of what lies ahead.

We will see our way through this, and the world of design will be better for it. Change will take place. Comfort will be essential. We will emerge more connected, more gracious, and enlivened with a renewed spirit to serve the greater good.

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Quiet, contemplative areas are designed to provide a moment of reflection without distraction while enjoying skyline and lake views.

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1620 Logan Street, Denver, Colorado 80203 303.831.4010 trybaarchitects.com