Architect and Interior Designer Oliver Heath explains the value of biophilic design to create human-centric workspaces and how its principles can help to put workers in a better physical and mental state. Heath presents findings to illustrate the impact of natural environments on people and names practical examples of how creativity and community can be fostered. He is confident that also from an economical perspective, biophilic design offers real added value, which companies around the globe will increasingly appreciate in modern working environments.

In this panel session Design Expert Prof. Jeremy Myerson, Director of WORKTECH Academy and the Helen Hamlyn Chair of Design at the Royal College of Art, talks about the role of workplace design in fostering innovation. Myerson emphasizes the relevance of collaborative innovation and presents three models to illustrate the increasing reshaping of the innovation landscape by the COVID pandemic. In order to successfully manage innovation in the future, companies and employees must not only focus more strongly on hybrid office designs, but also implement an overall cultural change.

Workplace strategist and Founder of Shape Kursty Groves and Mijail Gutierrez, Principal and Design Director at Perkins&Will, talk about the changing role of a central office and corporate culture in a future where physical presence is no longer essential. Gutierrez is certain that workplaces that are co-created with end users can foster the essence of a culture and express an organization's values. Groves emphasizes the need to set goals to manage communities when they are apart and then bring them together in meeting spaces, for the right reasons at the right time.

Thorben Ostergaard, Partner at 3XN, and Itai Palti, Director of Hume and the Centre of Conscious Design, reflect on how smart buildings could be conscious of the needs of their occupants in the future. Ostergaard talks about the new Berlin Cube project as a pioneer in building-human interaction and sees the benefits of a building that can learn from its users. Palti believes in a shift from performance-driven design to an "architecture of motivation," where people will create spaces that are more focused on cognitive processes such as creativity, collaboration and social engagement.

Anthropologist Gerda Stelpstra, Associate Partner Total Workplace EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield, explains in more detail what Circular Office Design means and how it can be implemented in office spaces but also why people should be considered in the process of designing regenerative workplaces. Stelpstra stresses the importance of involving the community in the planning of office space by thinking carefully about the future use of the building. She further explains the steps in the ReSOLVE framework that companies can take to move toward a circular economy to include suppliers and occupants.