Ideas | November 8th 2013

Interiors & Sources: Next-Gen Lobbies

By Haril Pandya AIA, LEED AP

To attract a new generation of knowledge workers and their tech company employers, commercial owners are investing in designs to reposition & rebrand. How can the buildings of yesterday become buildings for tomorrow? 

Downtown office buildings, once the domain of buttoned-down financiers, executives and attorneys, face a seismic demographic shift as tenants radically change. By 2020, Gen Y employees born between 1979 and 1994 will be roughly 50% of the U.S. workforce. By 2030, their presence will to grow to 75% of the global workforce. 

Findings from a Knoll research initiative, “Generational Preferences, a Glimpse into the Future Office,” reveal two key characteristics of next-gen knowledge workers:

  • Generation Y views work as an “experience” and seeks an engaging work environment supporting a wide choice of work styles, regardless of location
  • This generation seeks connection to others, especially their peers. With a deep desire for teamwork and collaboration, they value group work and learning 

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