Interior Design

Connectedness is one of the basic primal needs every person seeks. As designers, we must consider how connectedness affects organizations and their people so we can continue to define the future of work. In anticipation of an upcoming WORKTECH Chicago presentation on July 19, our guests, Dr. Dustin Jackson, Associate Director of Transformation Advisory at Cognizant, and Samantha Delabar, Design Leader at BHDP, discuss the topic of connectedness as it relates to the workplace. They dive into what it means, why it matters, and how employers can support connectedness in the physical workplace as well as a distributed work ecosystem.

A workplace is wherever people are working. Therefore, a laboratory is as much of a workplace as any office, and keeping people as a focus when designing is just as important for employee success, retention, and attraction. When gene therapy development company Forge Biologics began the process of renovating their facility—a combination of laboratories, offices, collaboration spaces, and more—the design team kept this principle central to their process. Our guests are Jaysson Eicholtz, Co-Founder and COO of Forge; Shannon Ryan, BHDP Senior Interior Designer on the project; and Daniel Lessing, BHDP Client Leader with experience in the cell and gene therapy sector.

Of the three elements of Purposeful Design, we have discussed the empathetic side—now we're delving into the exciting element. Stacy Siegel, Vice President of Design and Construction with JPMorgan Chase, and Samantha Delabar, Workplace Design Leader at BHDP, join host Brian Trainer to explore building excitement through Purposeful Design. Our guests use the lens of the recent JPMorgan Chase renovation in Columbus, OH, and its dynamic amenity spaces that evoke excitement and draw employees together.

Consider your company’s culture. What made you successful today? What can you use to be successful in the future? And how does your office space factor into all of this? Rex Miller, founder of Mindshift, and Patrick Donnelly, Workplace Client Leader, weigh in on the convergence of a company’s culture and the workspace. Miller is the author of several books in which Donnelly has contributed, including “Change Your Space, Change Your Culture” and “The Healthy Workplace Nudge."