Ever since hybrid work became the norm, there’s been a plethora of information on just what it takes to give every space the technology needed for the staff to collaborate across multiple locations on any given day.
But there’s more to it than just tech.
The new hybrid reality demands rethinking how we look at designing workspaces, too. It’s something that’s impacting the architects and designers of these spaces and the marriage of technology and buildings to achieve an optimum result, according to Crestron’s Director of Channel Marketing (Consultants) Mark Pellegrino. “I think everybody's aware that a shift has happened,” he notes. “They are trying to better understand how each individual customer implements the ‘new world’ workflows to accommodate their particular hybrid model.”
But every model has this in common, says Pellegrino: “Whether it’s a handset that also has some video capabilities to a full-on auditorium or training facility — and every type of space in between, small, medium, and large — they all need video conferencing capabilities.”
That’s not just rhetoric from inside Crestron. Jesse Young, a collaboration systems architect with Williams, an energy infrastructure enterprise and a Crestron client, notes, “Starting just before the pandemic struck, Williams had been moving down the road to video-enable every conference room in the enterprise. This includes huddle rooms, conference rooms, and collaboration spaces.” Now, with the need to accommodate hybrid workers becoming the norm, “Williams is designing our new spaces with the idea that every room receives collaboration technology.”
And with that realisation comes a reimagining of the office space itself.
Spaces created for hybrid meetings
Pellegrino and Crestron’s Director of Technology Partner Programs, Bob Bavolacco, worked with Steelcase to begin that reimagination. “They came to us and said, ‘We want to change the paradigm on what a standard small, medium, and large room looks like’.” The result of that work was echoed by an article entitled ‘Shape Shifters’ that appeared in Steelcase’s Work Better and Crestron’s Smarter Spaces magazines:
Designers are rethinking traditional paradigms to create hybrid conference rooms that work for everyone — in-person and remote — which means designing for the camera as much as the people in the room. It also means rethinking that rectangle.
“This is all about sightlines,” says Mary Elaine Roush, Steelcase’s global design principal. “We have to design so everyone has eye-to-eye contact with remote participants and any displayed content. But we can’t lose what we know about in-room collaboration that works, which includes everyone in the room being able to see one another as well.”
Attaining that balance has led to new approaches to office design strategies that are as elegant as they are simple. As Rebecca Charbauski, Steelcase’s brand communications manager and author of ‘Shape Shifters’ further notes: “By changing the orientation of the room from portrait (facing the short wall) to landscape (facing the long wall), people on both sides of the camera can see and be seen.”
Tips for hybrid work design at a glance
- Change the room orientation from ‘portrait’ to ‘landscape’
- Consider implementing curved or trapezoidal conference tables
- Use non-traditional seating design, including soft seating
- Add ‘homey’ touches: fabrics, drapery, plants, and so on
- Ensure the right lighting and shading solutions are deployed
- Keep user interfaces as intuitive as possible
- Consult a technology professional early in the design process and facilitate discussions with end users in order to bring the right technology into the mix
Pellegrino has seen this kind of room design first-hand. “Some of these rooms in this configuration have included soft seating — a couch facing the screen with higher seating toward the back,” he says. The rooms Pellegrino describes also include ‘homey’ touches beyond the soft seating, from plants and carpets to other fabric elements. Those elements perform multiple functions: Drapes, upholstery, and the like are excellent sound absorption tools in the glass-walled boxy rooms so common in modern offices, and features designed for comfort make a return to the office more palatable.
Curves are also part of the equation, especially when it comes to conference tables. The arc of a half-moon crescent shape allows in-person attendees easier eye contact than a rectangular table while keeping everyone within view of a camera or cameras. “Thoughtfully designed conference table shapes specifically for video position people in the right places to have the best sightlines,” says Roush in ‘Shape Shifters’.
As for Williams, another furniture choice helps overcome some of the problems traditional videoconferencing setups create. “The traditional conference table at Williams, of any size, is roughly rectangular in shape,” says Young. “For videoconferencing, this means that all those participants sitting closer to the camera block those behind them. To overcome this issue, trapezoidal tables should be used, which are wider at the front of the room and narrower at the far end.”
The right collaboration technology for the room
As the way firms thought out their room designs began to change, so did their approach to technology. It’s an ever-moving target, and professionals such as Young are looking for ‘future-ready solutions’. “We noticed that video-enabled conference rooms which seat eight to 12 people were being used by much smaller groups simply because those were the rooms which had video,” he says. “Then, when a larger group needed a room, they were unable to find one. We chose to partner with Crestron and use their Crestron Flex line of products as it was one of the few with solutions appropriate for all size rooms, allowing us to have one physical and digital look-and-feel across room sizes.”
For Young, the tech follows the room design in most cases — many of Williams’ operations have existing spaces. “Having standardised on two options — Crestron Flex for Microsoft Teams room systems and Microsoft Surface Hubs — the decision is then made primarily by the size of the room and its furniture layout.” Young’s colleague at Williams, Lead Facilities Representative Keith Carter, adds, “The office space for some of our floors has changed to more open and flexible with Microsoft Teams-enabled devices in various locations.”
“In open spaces with lounge-type furniture, we install surface hubs since this maximises their ability to be used for digital whiteboarding and collaboration,” says Young. “In spaces with traditional conference tables — from small huddle rooms all the way to large training rooms — we install Crestron Flex devices due to their wide range of applications, their ability to flawlessly integrate with external audio and video devices, and their excellent audio.”
Getting the right in-room collaboration mix is also driven by user feedback at Williams. “As we’ve expanded our collaboration scope into larger rooms, we’ve discovered that different groups and individuals have different expectations and desires regarding what they want to see from the camera in the room,” says Young. “Many want the traditional wide-angle, full-room shot, but more regularly, we’re now receiving requests for speaker tracking. This greatly helps the remote audience to feel engaged in the presentation and can significantly boost their participation in the discussion.”
The challenges of in-office and remote collaboration technologies
Most modern offices present other challenges: “The most commonly occurring issue in Williams’ office spaces are exterior windows opposite the conferencing camera,” says Young. “Especially for rooms with windows facing east or west, this can result in the picture becoming almost completely washed-out at certain times of day.” It’s an excellent example of the need for shading design to be included in the bigger picture.
Carter has had to address another set of issues as more and more spaces become connected. “Electronic interference, white noise integration, laptop mics causing echo, open concept designs limiting our ability to run cable — these are all concerns we must deal with. Mitigation includes coordination with IT on every project, and we also try to mitigate as much as possible by design.”
That’s why planning ahead for any integration is so critical to a project’s success, says Mark Pellegrino. “We're trying to bridge the gap further upstream in the architectural and design and build process,” he notes. He’s also found that while architects and interior designers are experts in the built environment, the systems that run them are commonly designed by experts in different fields. “Including the technology stakeholders and designers early in the process is increasingly important and fundamental to successful project outcomes,” he adds.
Hybrid work design: Potential pitfalls at a glance
- Electronic interference
- Limited space for cable runs
- Poor connectivity
- Microphone echo
- Lack of audio diffusion and absorption; too many hard, reflective surfaces
- Windows facing conferencing cameras
- Overcomplicated systems; ‘feature creep’
That holds true for the clients commissioning the work, too. “Many customers that we work with do not know what they want or what technology is available,” says Carter. “By looking at floorplans early and making some suggestions for the space, it’s an easier sell for the technology integrator or specifier.”
There’s a caveat here, according to Young — in this instance, less is more, especially when it comes to the end-user experience. “Large feature sets are great on paper but less than ideal when installed. Most users are disinterested in learning the nuances of a powerful — but complicated — system. They’d much rather have a simplified device that performs only a few functions but does them quickly, simply, and reliably. The core usage of a space should be designed to prevent ‘feature creep’.”
“People seem excited to see the new tech added to rooms, but at the same time quickly become intimidated when it’s time for them to use it,” says Young. “We’ve found that if the technology in-room takes more than a few touches for the user to get to what they want, it won’t be used. Additionally, most users won’t use more than one or two features of any given technology, either because they won’t be bothered to learn how, or they simply don’t realise they are there.”
The result of any room designed for hybrid meetings should have a singular goal, what Mary Elaine Roush has referred to as ‘humanising hybrid’ — make the space comfortable and make the technology intuitive. It’s another way that firms large and small can “make the commute worth it”.
