16th September 2021 | IN CPD LEARNING | BY SBID ShareTweetPinterestLinkedIn EPISODE TWO: The Future of Workplace Following on from the last episode on the hospitality industry, this online panel in collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects explored the future of the workplace. Hosted by SBID’s founder & CEO, Vanessa Brady, the series intends to examine the new definitions of interior space and the consequential impact on the people who commission, design and use them. With the two areas most affected by the pandemic being ‘work’ and ‘home’, and as their traditionally segregated contexts were challenged while the demand for a hybrid work/live space evolved, the guest speakers addressed how their boundaries have blurred and what the future might hold for these fast-changing environments. Key discussion points: How has the pandemic affected the way we view, design and use a living / working space? For many industries what was missing during the pandemic, apart from the physical divisions between work and home, were the serendipitous encounters that contribute to the sociability and richness of the work environment. Can these encounters be designed and planned? Has the pandemic accelerated the natural evolution of the workplace? Were there already existing fault lines that it exploited and exacerbated? With the hopeful return to pre-pandemic normality, do you envisage ways of working returning to pre-pandemic status quo, or is there a paradigm shift in how we approach work / live lifestyles? Watch on demand Speakers: Arjun Kaicker | Co-Head of Zaha Hadid Architects Analytics & Insights Arjun has worked with ZHA since 2015. He co-leads ZHA’s Analytics & Insights (A&I) in-house research and development team, which applies algorithmic modelling and ‘big data’ analytics to optimise workplace architectural designs, including for wellbeing and operational efficiency. Arjun previously founded and led the Foster+Partners Workplace and Strategic Consultancy division (for 14 years), where he developed strategy and design for 200+ design projects in 50+ countries. Arjun also previously worked as a workplace consultant and designer at Morgan Lovell and at the London International Financial Futures & Options Exchange. Juergen Junker | Head of A&D Development for Vitra Juergen has been with Vitra for almost 15 years in various roles. Over time he specialised in collaboration with the architectural and design partners, the associated design of work spaces, their dynamics and continuous development. Over the last 20 months, as the world switched to remote, Juergen started focusing on lectures, digital format conversations and discussions, while working on the outreach to bring people back together in the analog realm. Bidisha Sinha | Senior Associate at Zaha Hadid Architects Bidisha finished her first degree in New Delhi before moving to London for her Masters at the Architectural Association. She has had an architectural career spanning over 18 years, delivering projects in India, UK and Hong Kong. In her role within Zaha Hadid Architects, over the last 15 years she has personally delivered projects which have made a positive difference to the revitalization agenda of the programs that were associated with them. Cover image credits: Project by Zaha Hadid Architects