Five takeaways from INNO 2025

Five takeaways from INNO 2025, בית ונוי - Bait Venoy's international conference on innovative workspace strategies:

1. 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 (𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻), 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 מעברים (𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀). Incorporate amenities like seating and white boards in these in-between spaces to capitalize on these interactions.

2. 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻. For a smaller team, this can look like surveying employees before designing your office to incorporate their feedback and ideas. For a large company, this could mean creating neighborhoods in which each team decides for themselves how they want the space to function (e.g., assigned seats, no assigned seats, assigned only to those who come daily, etc.)

3. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁. Whether it’s the Olympics logo that inspired 3XN/GXN's spiral staircase for Olympic House in Switzerland or a beating heart that became the blueprint for Gensler’s NVIDIA headquarters in California, drawing on meaningful symbols and narratives leads to spaces with soul that speak to the specific needs and values of a company. Thoughtful, story-driven spaces fuel people and company culture.

4. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻. Don’t overlook daylight when you’re office hunting or building one from scratch. Outdoor space is another plus. (What was exhausting about a full day of lectures? Not the interesting lectures! Rather it’s the sitting in a dark windowless room for hours on end.)

5. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹 — 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟲%. Optimizing air quality, thermal conditions, lighting, and acoustics isn’t just trendy or earth-friendly; it impacts how your people work, and office design in 2025+ is always people-centered.

Your office should empower creativity, build belonging, support teams, and reflect your company’s shared values. Then the focus isn’t on coercing employees back to the office, rather about attracting people, fostering connection, and driving innovation and purpose.

That’s a lot of buzz words for a Sunday, but baby, it’s true.

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