Change is inevitable, whether slow and steady or as a sudden cloudburst. All of human society has just experienced an enormous structural change in a very short time. We now need to dedicate ourselves to gathering intelligence and becoming informed about new corporate directions, new technologies, and social and economic shifts. In Future Smart, Teknion addresses the sudden change in the workplace – and the world – and how the past few years have challenged us to think differently.

This knowledge-based piece and advertising campaign focuses on a promising path forward, future workplace layouts, innovative product design, and empathetic people-first office spaces. Teknion defines “Future Smart” as managing uncertainty through anticipating change, improving resilience, and adapting to quickly changing conditions. To be “Future Smart” as a workplace is to be agile, ready, and willing to reshuffle priorities and to adjust to new realities as they emerge.

By providing mobile, modular and multi-functional products for a “future fit” office, Teknion maximizes flexibility, provides choices, and serves both privacy and collaboration needs. Furniture solutions that accommodate the various rhythms of change are designed to move, and balance trend and longevity are crucial tools for a Future Smart workplace.

Seven planning principles are outlined in Future Smart. Among them is 60% presence, 100% participation. While future scenarios are still ambiguous, work from home has arguably uncoupled work from the office. Throughout 2020 and 2021, people became accustomed to flexible work hours, an occasional or non-existent commute, and the ability to self-manage in the home environment. Yet data supports the premise that most workers want to return to a safe, secure office for perhaps three or four days a week.

Assuming office occupancy will stabilize post-vaccine at about 60-70 percent, a well-designed workplace will deploy furniture, space, and high-and low-tech tools to support 100% participation; however, employees are distributed across space and time. Future Smart shows a variety of configurations to achieve this balance successfully, and dives deeper into the challenges and benefits of this new work model.

Teknion’s latest product launches, including the Routes collection, Bene Box, and the Essa task chair, exemplify qualities of the “future fit” office. Routes is designed to allow teams to create flexible, utility-driven, and engaging workspaces quickly and efficiently. Bene Box is a modular system that can be arranged and rearranged to suit any context. Perfect for relaxed and comfortable professional settings or home office set-ups, the Essa light task chair is ideal for any application.

The future requires thoughtful planning and highly adaptable products to create a “future fit” office. Integrated with interior architecture, Teknion products are designed to create an agile work environment that serves all those who occupy the office and the many ways that people work.