While professional workers are spending less time in the office each week, the meaning of that time may have changed in important ways. The office has become an important location for symbolic, social, learning, and creative interactions. A direct result of this movement is that the design of offices has taken on a high level of importance. Beyond simple notions of efficiency, physiological and security needs, office design has gained attention for its ability to meet the emerging needs of workers related to personal experience, connection, engagement wellbeing and happiness as they spend fewer, but perhaps more important, hours in the office.

The key to successful design of these emerging environments is to manage the delicate balance of the multitude of environmental factors that can many times conflict with each other. This balance is key to the health, safety and welfare of the occupants while providing the spaces that are appropriate for their intended goals and use.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the key workplace qualities that must be balanced for emerging worker needs
• Recognize the major influencers of this balance
• Understand the conflicts to balance that exist
• Develop an approach to achieving this delicate balance

This course is approved through IDCEC for credit with IIDA, ASID and IDC.

While some AIA members can self-report this course for credit, this is not always effective as some state licensing boards may not accept the credit for licensure.