Converting offices into hospitality-led destinations is not just a way to rescue tired space. Done properly, it asks a sharper question: what would make people want to spend time here, come back and feel that the building has a clear purpose again?
That is the useful thread in this Architecture Social conversation with Eric Jafari at AENDRE. The episode sits between architecture, real estate, hospitality, adaptive reuse and experience design.
Watch: Eric Jafari on reimagining offices as destinations
Eric Jafari explains why office conversion is not just about changing use class. The stronger projects need hospitality thinking, guest experience and a proper real estate story.
Listen: the full Eric Jafari conversation
The full audio goes deeper into AENDRE, adaptive reuse, lifestyle destinations, wellness and technology in hospitality-led real estate.
You can also open the related Architecture Social podcast page.
Why offices are being reimagined
Many office buildings were planned around routines that no longer hold. Hybrid working, changing travel habits and higher expectations around wellbeing mean that a bland desk-led offer is harder to defend.
Hospitality thinking changes the brief. It asks how people arrive, what they feel, how long they stay, what the building gives them and whether the experience feels distinct enough to justify the visit.
What Eric Jafari brings to the topic
- A developer and operator’s view of adaptive reuse.
- A hospitality lens on underused office space.
- A focus on lifestyle destinations rather than cosmetic refurbishment.
- A practical link between design, technology, wellness and commercial performance.
- A reminder that the user experience is part of the business model.
Go deeper with Architecture Social
These related Architecture Social episodes add more context once you have the practical framework.
Listen next: workplace design that supports people
This related workplace episode with Greta Kriovaite adds a useful design perspective on how offices need to support real behaviour, comfort and focus.
You can also open the related Architecture Social podcast page.
What designers should take from it
If you are an architect or interior designer working near this market, the opportunity is not just to make an old office look softer. The stronger skill is translating commercial constraints into spaces that people understand and want to use.
- Show adaptive reuse experience clearly in your CV and portfolio.
- Explain what changed in the existing building, not just what the final image looks like.
- Use development and real estate roles to understand the client-side language.
- Keep salary and role expectations grounded with the salary guide.
Show adaptive reuse properly in a portfolio
For office conversion, hospitality or lifestyle projects, the portfolio needs to prove judgement as well as taste.
- Show the existing condition and the design problem.
- Explain the commercial or operational reason for the change.
- Include plans or diagrams that show how the building now works.
- Use captions to explain user experience decisions.
- Be clear about your role, especially on team projects.
Common mistakes
- Treating office conversion as a styling exercise.
- Ignoring operations, guest journey and long-term management.
- Not explaining why hospitality thinking fits the building.
- Forgetting that adaptive reuse still needs strong technical coordination.
- Using generic wellness language without showing what changed in the design.
Architecture Social view
Stephen’s recruiter view is that this is a good area for commercially curious designers. If you can speak design and real estate, you can be much more useful than someone who only talks about finishes.
Next step
Watch or listen to Eric Jafari’s episode, then explore development and real estate roles, current architecture jobs or the Architecture Social resources if you need to sharpen your portfolio evidence.
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