Workplace design has moved beyond asking whether people are in the office or at home. The better question is what the office now needs to do that a laptop on a kitchen table cannot.
Hollie Welch’s conversation about dMFK is useful because it links commercial office design to behaviour, shared amenities, sustainability, material choice and the way occupiers actually use space.
Watch: Hollie Welch on workplace design at dMFK
Hollie Welch explains how commercial workplaces are being rethought through flexibility, shared amenities, sustainability and a better understanding of how people use space.
Listen: office design, amenities and workplace change
The audio version gives the full conversation on dMFK, British Land’s Story, material choices, workplace flexibility and the future of office design.
What modern office design needs to solve
The office has to earn the commute. That means better places to meet, focus, collaborate, host clients, build culture and use facilities that are not available at home.
- Shared amenities need to support real behaviours, not just look good in a brochure.
- Private office space still matters, but it has to sit within a wider workplace offer.
- Sustainability has to be considered alongside cost, durability and client expectations.
- Technology should support design decisions, not replace judgement about place.
- Flexibility needs a clear brief, otherwise it becomes vague space planning.
Why the Story project matters
The discussion around British Land’s Story is useful because it shows office design as a service and experience question, not only a fit-out question. The commercial offer, user journey and design decisions need to line up.
Common mistakes
- Treating post-pandemic office design as a furniture problem.
- Overusing hospitality references without understanding work patterns.
- Making sustainability claims without clear material decisions.
- Assuming technology makes a workplace flexible by itself.
- Forgetting that people still need quiet, privacy and focus.
Architecture Social view
Stephen’s recruiter view is that workplace candidates stand out when they can explain the business reason behind design decisions. It is not enough to say a space is flexible. You need to show who it helps and why.
Make workplace experience easier to evidence
If you work on office or commercial interiors projects, make sure your CV and portfolio explain the brief behind the visuals.
- Name the workplace problem the project solved.
- Show how amenities, circulation and focus areas were planned.
- Explain sustainability choices in practical terms.
- Connect design decisions to client, user and commercial outcomes.
Next step
Watch or listen to Hollie Welch, then use the checklist above to sharpen how you talk about workplace projects in your CV, portfolio or hiring brief.
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