At NELSON, we celebrate 25 years of experience having designed nearly 90 million square feet of space for Fortune 50 and 500 financial service and banking firms, in addition to countless partnerships with venture capital firms and independent financial advisors, we’ve distilled our perspective and knowledge into seven core insights.
Scalable Growth
- Hybrid work patterns, unpredictable market trends, and innovative business strategies call for highly adaptable solutions that can accommodate scalable growth and changes in work habits over time.
Redefined Space
- Workstyle-driven configurations prioritize focus, offer variety and choice, and reduce individual footprints with increased emphasis on common and shared spaces.
Personalized Experiences
- Taking cues from our homes, workplaces are becoming more inviting through human-centered design that caters to individual preferences by fostering inclusive, amenity-rich, and customizable settings.
Designed to Connect
- Designing workplaces that seamlessly integrate cutting-edge technology is imperative for eliminating barriers among individuals, offices, regions, and time zones.
Celebrating Identity
- At the heart of every meaningful workplace is a celebration of brand and culture. Intentional and authentic design solutions allow for connection and personalization in a shared environment.
Multi-generational
- For the first time ever, five generations occupy the workplace at once. Understanding the unique experiences of these vastly different workers can help create spaces that connect regardless of age.
Sustainability & Wellness
- Improving wellbeing in the workplace has positive implications for business outcomes and physical health.
Scalable Growth
Evolving hybrid work patterns, unpredictable market trends, and innovative business strategies call for highly adaptable solutions that can flex and change to suit ever-evolving needs.
Tailored for a diverse range of work styles, we must design flexible and progressive workspaces that seamlessly accommodate both focused individual tasks and collaborative endeavors. By strategically incorporating gathering spaces, vibrant social hubs, and fostering environments for serendipitous interactions, these workspaces become catalysts for meaningful connections.
Redefined Space
In the modern workplace, the freedom to select an environment that caters to individual tasks is paramount for team members. The allocation of square footage to personal spaces is influenced by regional factors, business operations, and real estate considerations.
Designed to foster collaboration, open zones and versatile touchdown spaces can present a spectrum of privacy options, catering to the diverse needs of the workforce. This strategic arrangement ensures flexibility and facilitates a dynamic and accommodating environment.
Personalized Experiences
In our interconnected world, work seamlessly integrates both physical and digital spaces. This requires the integration of enhanced technology, adaptable furnishings, varied work settings, opportunities for social connection, and high consideration for acoustics.
Our human-centric design embraces neurodiversity and inclusivity. This approach recognizes that whether individuals seek activity and energy in a communal hub or crave the solitude of a private nook, the modern workplace should cater to varied needs.
Designed to Connect
It is crucial for workplaces to be designed to connect with state-of-the-art technology, erasing physical boundaries between people, offices, regions, and time zones, and reinforcing inclusion through accessibility.
High-quality technology solutions will not only drive people into the office, but also provide means for in-office and remote teammates to meet and work on a level playing field.
Celebrating Identity
Well-designed spaces that embody an organization’s brand, culture, vision, and values can engage teammates for a greater purpose. Features like, game rooms, and “culture totem” exhibition walls permit personal expression and celebrate diversity.
Elevated common and social spaces infused with the brand ethos increase interactions. For national and multinational clients, each new location is an opportunity to embrace regional cultural and aesthetic influences, creating distinctive and unique environments.
Multi-Generational
With five generations coexisting in the workforce, acknowledging the diverse experiences and perspectives of these workers is crucial for creating connecting spaces. Accommodating a wide range of communication and work styles poses a challenge in today’s workplace. By prioritizing discussed trends and offering choice and flexibility in how spaces support work efforts, workplaces can evolve and adapt to meet varied needs efficiently.
Sustainability & Wellness
Enhancing wellbeing not only benefits physical health but also yields significant business advantages. Organizations that prioritize employee wellbeing witness improved performance in key metrics like customer engagement, profitability, productivity, and retention.
Programs like LEED, WELL, and Fitwel, coupled with holistic design elements such as ergonomic furniture, diverse workspaces, and neurodiversity-friendly options, demonstrate a commitment to comprehensive wellness. Wellness-enhancing amenities like relaxation and meditation rooms, access to outdoor spaces, and quality food and beverage options, also contribute to a workplace culture that prioritizes employee health and satisfaction.
NELSON is an architecture, design and strategy firm with offices across the country. The firm has Midwest locations in Chicago; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Itasca, Illinois; and Minneapolis.
