Flexibility and Folly: A Study of Workplace in Flux

Abstract

This paper explores the idea of flexibility in workplace environments observed from the design practice-based standpoint. The authors’ professional experience and the specific pandemic-induced chain of events — a sudden socio-political focus shift that brought distraction in the day-to-day human routine, specifically the ways of work and production — urged a conceptual design thinking overhaul and a paradigm shift. The initial perception and predictions of the future of work’s dramatic change had a significant impact on the related design practice, and the notion of an impending disciplinary flux meant the design discourse had shifted too. From the tech-driven speculative scenarios and managerial pamphlet-like culture, the conversation swiftly moved to the realm of sheer existence, where questions of workplace obsoleteness quickly emerged. Even short-lived, this radical thought switch made a long-term change in how we perceive the environments of work. Dissecting the concept of flexibility as known in the managerial and business culture and the world of corporate systems (De Leeuw and Volberda 1995), the authors test different interpretations of the term and cast its notional meanings into the spatial domain of the built environment. The topic is discussed using the comparative case study of several workplace design projects completed by the authors from 2012 to 2021, alongside the separate process report on the ongoing project starting in early 2023. It is the authorial intent to use findings to build a localised, personal narrative of an ongoing practice-based change, mindfully conducted in a subjective manner built on spatial, psychological, and business theories that seem relevant to the pursuit. The tools of design trade are to be scrutinised against the current context, attempting to adjust the overall industry outlook. Within the scope of this analysis, a critical point is a consideration of the concept of folly in architecture and how it can be applied as an activity marker in workplace microcosmos. It is argued that the spatial stimuli act as a building block in the space planning process and work as a tool for an ad-hoc change of pace in day-to-day workplace inhabitation. Using small-scale, folly-like objects alongside other context-specific pieces is viewed as a pragmatic design decision to fit the overarching requirement — flexibility in the face of flux. Rather than exclusively focusing on different spatial setups, the upgraded concept of flexibility envisages a change of ambience through symbolic gestures creating an open-ended place. These gestures are meant to be subtle yet clear in their appearance. Slight shifts in light–shade balance and tone using various light sources in combination with the outside environment, supplemented with follies and seemingly fixed structural elements — all play a distinct role in working together in a gentle system, adding depth to a fairly defined space. Also, how different low-key, mundane parts of the structure, specifically designed and crafted with the utmost care, can elevate the importance of user experience and appreciation for technical detail. In a way, an argument that a technical facet enables a streamlined performance of each layer in the speculated scenario.