Many companies are confronted with the disadvantages of hybrid working: Working from home means that employees feel less connected to their employer. HR consultancy Robert Walters has developed an innovative solution to this problem: the world's first office design based on neuroscience. The result is a real community; a place where people come because they want to, not because they have to. The Vlaardingen-based company Hoogerwerf Projectinrichting is responsible for managing the project. The new office will be completed in May 2023.
"It's exciting to be working on something that has never been done before," says Peter Hoogerwerf about the project to design the world's first commercial building based on neuroscience. "The result will be an interior design based on people's deepest impulses. The project will also collect data that we can use in future projects. We will soon know exactly which parts of an office design resonate with a particular user group and which do not. For this project, Hoogerwerf collaborated with Neuroventures, a specialist in neurological and behavioural research. This scientific research was conducted together with Neurensics, the founder of neuromarketing research in the Netherlands, which is affiliated with the University of Amsterdam.
"Human behaviour is determined by unconscious processes. So you can only predict how people will feel in a certain environment if you know their subconscious. The findings from this research formed the basis for the new office design," says Martin de Munnik from Neurensics. An office that brings people together Jose Bokhorst, Managing Director of Robert Walters Netherlands, says the company is looking forward to the result. "Instead of asking Hoogerwerf to design the office of tomorrow, we asked them to design the office of the future! The function of the office has changed, partly due to the corona crisis. We want people to come to the office not because they have to, but because they want to be inspired and meet each other in person. The function of an office should be to bring people together". Bokhorst expects that creating such a community will also make the organisation more attractive to potential new employees.
Scientific research
The process of developing the ideal office design comprised three steps. Firstly, profiling interviews were conducted with 18 people. These interviews were used to test how people reacted to different conditions and what associations they had. Various mood boards were then created based on these associations. The mood boards were shown to 24 test subjects while they underwent an MRI scan at the same time. This revealed which parts of the brain were activated and which emotions were evoked. The result was a scientific report that Hoogerwerf used as the basis for the interior design of Robert Walters' office building.
The neuro office in practice
Throughout the office, the different spaces provide different sensory stimuli - including scent technology, use of colour and wayfinding - that subconsciously influence employees to use each space as it is intended. The most prominent space is the 'arena'. This area is not designed to make people feel "comfortable", but rather to make them more alert when they enter the space. This is the ideal environment to perform at their best, and afterwards employees can relax in a garden-like setting inspired by the Tuscan landscape. The needs of the different groups in the building - be they employees, applicants or visitors to the office - are catered for based on their respective characteristics.