Cushman & Wakefield

A Post-Pandemic Experiment in Workplace Design

Cushman & Wakefield plans to use the design of their new offices to study how their employees work best in a new, post-pandemic world. These findings will inform future space planning for their other 400 offices.

Designed to be a full floor smaller than their previous space in the same building, Cushman & Wakefield’s new 38,000 SF D.C. central office is the first new workspace the global real estate services provider has designed since Covid-19 transformed the way people work. The new office will be experimental, allowing the company to observe how their employees collaborate, determine their priorities, and identify new trends as it looks to help other offices rethink their post-pandemic spaces.

HGA’s Workplace Design team designed the welcoming and contemporary new office to encourage social interaction, collaboration, and relationship building, while offering functionality and efficiency. Warm colors and natural materials were selected, including custom area rugs, window curtains, and felt wall panels. The office features a hospitality-driven, client-facing reception area that provides a convivial first impression. “Neighborhoods” of cubicles are modular and allow for an open office environment, while exposed ceilings further open the space.

Employees can reserve one of the 140 desks or conference rooms using a company app and a hybrid meeting room with state-of-the-art technology is available for video conferences. There’s a bar area with beer on tap for certain meetings and an employee lounge with a pool table. The design also incorporates Fitwel, the world’s leading certification system committed to building health for all.

HGA also designed the Cushman & Wakefield office spaces in Bloomington, Minn. and San Jose, Ca.