Reimagining Workplaces: Exploring the Future of Office Design with Hollie Welch of DMFK

In this Architecture Social CPD (around 40 minutes), Hollie Welch, Associate Director at dMFK, joins Stephen Drew to discuss how commercial workplace design has changed and where it is heading. Drawing on projects for The Office Group and British Land, the conversation covers post-pandemic office models, fit-out strategy, sustainability and the role of AI in practice.

Who this is for

Architects, interior and workplace designers, Part 1 and Part 2 assistants, and project leads working in or moving into the commercial office and fit-out sector, plus anyone interested in how offices are being reshaped after the pandemic.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session you will be able to:

1. Explain how commercial office design has shifted from large open plans towards flexible, choice-led workspace.
2. Distinguish between Cat A and Cat B fit-outs and describe ready-to-go or plug-and-play serviced office models.
3. Identify the design responses that help attract and retain occupiers, including acoustics, privacy and video-call provision.
4. Discuss the sustainability trade-offs of short-lease fit-outs, material selection and construction waste.
5. Describe where AI currently adds value in workplace design and where it falls short.
6. Apply lessons on studio culture and in-person collaboration to your own team or practice.

From open plan to choice (05:01)

The pandemic accelerated a shift away from large open floors towards giving occupiers a choice of where and how to work, with varying degrees of privacy and openness. Demand for video-call provision is now near universal across legal, project management and education clients, which puts acoustics at the centre of the brief. The emphasis has moved from gestural furniture towards functional, practical spaces that let some people take calls while others work quietly.

Serviced office models: Cat A, Cat B and ready-to-go (08:35)

Hollie's first major commercial project was a fit-out for The Office Group (TOG) at One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, taking three floors and around 8,400 m² (90,000 sq ft), completed near the end of 2019. The work developed a serviced model of shared amenities, meeting rooms and tea points that lets tenants expand or contract while keeping the identity of the host building. She describes the Cat B, ready-to-go or plug-and-play approach, and the next step of sharing amenities between common parts so occupiers get extra amenity within their own demised space.

Story for British Land at 201 Bishopsgate (13:00)

More recently, dMFK completed Story, a serviced office product for British Land in the Broadgate and Liverpool Street area at 201 Bishopsgate. The product adds an enhanced layer of amenity, with tea points and meeting space inside the demised offices as well as in the common parts. Hollie highlights how engaged the client was with both the design process and the end occupier's needs.

Sustainability and the fit-out cycle (18:14)

Much of the existing office stock from around 2005 to 2010 is reaching the natural cycle of renewal, which raises questions about Cat A reversion, ESG and construction waste when spaces are fitted out on three to five year leases and then stripped out. On Story the team worked hard to select materials with strong sustainability stories, while balancing certification against cost and procurement programme. A cork floor at the Dome fit-out, 19 Fitzroy Street, a 1970s former medical lab, is offered as an example of a less conventional material that has worn well, set against the robustness demands of large commercial developments.

Bringing people back to the office (21:00)

Attendance now clusters on key days, with Tuesday to Thursday busiest and Thursday often the peak, while Monday and Friday are quiet. Where floorplates were downsized during the pandemic, offices can burst at the seams on core days and sit empty at the ends of the week. To attract people back, a workspace needs to out-spec working from home while remaining a professional environment rather than a domestic one: comfortable, but still a place of work.

Studio culture and remote work (23:55)

Hollie makes the case for in-person collaboration, especially for those new to the industry. Problems that can be solved in minutes by engaging across the studio become protracted when decision-making moves online, and architects trained in studio culture risk operating in a mental silo when that is removed. The balance she favours is a majority of time in the office, with flexibility retained for focused or practical days at home.

Tips for aspiring architects (28:59)

When hiring at Part 1 or Part 2 level, Hollie looks for a spark, passion and the drive to learn rather than a fixed five-year plan or sector specialism. Technical skills can be taught; enthusiasm, creativity and a willingness to get involved are harder to teach. She values the camaraderie and cross-team working that help the practice absorb colliding deadlines.

The role of AI in architecture (31:33)

AI is not yet a significant part of the practice's day-to-day work. It is useful for early-stage conceptual exploration of ideas that are hard to capture in a drawing, and for tweaking photographs and renders towards an editorial look. Its limitation is that it cannot contextualise a building, its site or its surroundings, the very things architects assess first, so its output lacks depth.

Key terms

• Cat A fit-out - a base, landlord-level fit-out of an office floor, usually without final occupier finishes.
• Cat B fit-out - an occupier or end-user fit-out tailored to a specific tenant.
• Ready-to-go / plug-and-play - a serviced workspace model with shared amenities, ready for tenants to move into and scale up or down.
• Serviced office - flexible, managed office space let with shared facilities and amenities.
• ESG - environmental, social and governance criteria that increasingly shape fit-out and material decisions.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. How does your current workplace or project balance open collaboration with the need for acoustic privacy and video-call space?
2. Where could a ready-to-go or Cat B approach reduce construction waste on a short-lease fit-out you are working on?
3. Where would AI genuinely add value to your early design stages, and where would it strip out necessary context?

About the guest

Hollie Welch is an Associate Director at dMFK, the London architecture practice. She studied at Northumbria University, began her career with Practice Space Architects near Newcastle, and joined dMFK in 2017, specialising in commercial workplace design. Explore the dMFK practice profile and Hollie Welch's profile on Architecture Social.