The discovery process of a project may be the most important piece of creating a workspace that works.

The key to designing a workspace that people actually want to spend time in? Having an architect or designer who spends the time on the front end really getting to know your organization. 

Pre-pandemic, that didn’t always happen. Architects might propose this kind of discovery before starting design, and maybe a client would agree—only to change their mind once the contract is signed and say, ‘Let’s just get design started.’

Often, it was a case of a lease expiring and they needed to move fast on a new space. Often, an organization might make decisions on the amount of space they needed without talking to an architect. 

“Prior to the pandemic, clients were more focused on speed and density – maximizing headcount and getting in before their free-rent period expired,” says Ricardo Nabholz, studio creative director at TPG Architecture in New York City.

That has shifted. Leaders are increasingly spending more time on the front end to ensure designers really create spaces that fit their unique culture, needs and employees. “They want to draw people into a space that feels like home.”

That kind of deep discovery before designing paid off for TPG when designing the New York City headquarters of a quantitative investment management fund. While many clients might spend six to eight weeks doing such planning, this client spent 16 weeks iterating office plans to identify what worked with its unique culture and its mathematical, statistical, and computer savvy workforce.

The firm had a more academic work environment, so leaders wanted something similar to classrooms rather than an open office design.

The result: a workspace in which each team had its own mini workspace. Rather than small private offices around the perimeter, TPG designed private spaces for four to eight people with workstations, a lounge area, a meeting area, a white boarding area and a door that locked—because of friendly competition in the office. They called them squad rooms.  “It's a very intimate vibe,” Nabholtz says.

The client’s building has ribbon windows, which do not include full-height glass, so a big concern was that the space wouldn’t receive enough light, especially in the winter. The team added layers of lighting as you go deeper into the space, away from the windows. The walls are awash in light, and it’s cast on the ceiling, creating a cozy environment. “Light kind of comes out of the cracks, almost between the materials,” Nabholz says.

Employees spend a lot of time at the office, and so leaders wanted a warm and inviting space. Polished concrete floors, natural wood, plants, and textured furniture create that feeling.

Nabholtz recalls celebrating the completion of the project with the client over drinks late one night, and he noticed that a  few employees had stayed in the office and were playing chess. “They were working hard, coming into this beautiful space with plants and a view and all the amenities in this space,” he says. “They were utilizing the office at 11 o’clock at night by choice.”

Key Kawamura, co-founder of the Swiss architecture firm Studio Banana, also understands how deep discovery can elevate a project. He got to know luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet over time, starting with small projects before taking on the design for a 70,000-square-foot factory in Switzerland.

The design team spent hours shadowing workers in their day to day activities to understand them. “That informed the design,” Kawamura says.

The resulting building was shaped like the palm of a hand with fingers projecting into a mountainous landscape. Each finger had different steps of the production process—whether it is research, development, manufacturing or assembly—and the orientation of each area mattered.

After watching watchmakers hand-pieced mechanical watches with jeweler’s loops for magnification, they realized that Northern light would be vital because that light is indirect and casts no shadow. It ultimately helps the watchmaker with visual fidelity and precision when working on microscopic elements. The area for master watchmakers, who assembled, polished and refined minute pieces, then, would face north.

The area for research and development, meanwhile, sat in the south because the direct sunlight could energize and feed those workers’ imagination.

To reflect the watchmaker’s culture of being family, Studio Banana designed a large open space in the center for town hall-style meetings and informal meetings. “It acts like an Italian piazza, a gathering place,” Kawamura says.

Kawamura says designing a comfortable workspace is akin to building a house for a family. 

“I would like to see what kind of family you are, what kind of things you make, what kind of relationships you have, what your hobbies are and so on,” he says, “and then I'll make the best house for you.”

That upfront investment of time to go deep with a client to truly understand the culture and how they work is vital to not just designing a physical space, but to also fostering a sense of community, comfort and connection there. Having that, Kawamura says, “is really our dream project.”