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THIS PAGE , PHOTOGRAPHS BY © GARRETT ROWLAND , DESIGN BY GENSLER ( ABOVE ); © ROBERT DEITCHLER ( RIGHT ). OPPOSITE : PHOTOGRAPH BY © TOM ROSSITER , DESIGN BY GENSLER , LANDSCAPE BY HOERR SCHAUDT
spaces ’ in our Palo Alto headquarters that might be used for informal meetings but may be located in social areas , the cafeteria , or even outside on the patio ,” notes Li-Sevilla . “ We roll in mobile carts , and our technology binds everyone — both in the office and at home — all together .”
HP recently announced a collaboration with ROOM for a prefabricated office space that is purposebuilt for hybrid workplaces and outfitted with an HP Collaboration All-in-One PC with built-in webcam . It ’ s pre-installed with Zoom Rooms software , a sit / stand desk , a whiteboard , lighting
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for videoconferencing , and walls made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate engineered to reduce outside noise . But that same room could also be a place for silent thinking or even meditation .
Other design features that can accelerate serendipity , says Gensler ’ s Heiser , are open stairwells , lobbies that contain multiple spaces like a café or lounge , on-site public gardens , and terraces or roof decks . “ Anything that spurs spontaneous contact will lead to some great conversations ,” he says . Conversation can be engineered , notes Rosenberg , through “ forced serendipity ” like professional “ speed dating ” at lunch .
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Increasingly , the smartest companies are adopting entrepreneurial practices when reconsidering the office . “ Our most astute clients are thinking about the next one to five years as an amazing opportunity to test and |
experiment ,” Heiser says . Now that we know that no one knows what the future is going to look like , he says , “ maybe we don ’ t aim for the solution but we instead use this as a time to prototype .” |