Employers are rethinking the office, going beyond just a workspace to integrate flexible working arrangements, foster a sense of purpose and build community. This approach transforms the office into a key tool for strengthening employee loyalty, boosting productivity and enhancing the employer brand.
As businesses navigate an increasingly competitive landscape, the drive to attract and retain top talent has reshaped office spaces and workplace strategies.
Broadway Malyan is working with a wide range of corporate occupiers across Europe as they reimagine their workplace strategies. Over the past few years, a significant shift has occurred in how businesses approach their workplaces. Many corporate occupiers are consolidating their office spaces, enabling them to create environments that are flexible and collaborative and respond to the needs of a workforce in the post-pandemic world.
Companies are prioritising multifunctional areas, sustainable materials and technology integration to align with new hybrid working practices, aiming to make the office a destination—somewhere people want to be, not just have to be. Designed to enhance staff wellbeing and drive productivity, these spaces are built on a ‘collaborative corporate’ approach, where silos are replaced by community.
The co-working space was originally conceived as the antithesis of the traditional corporate environment, responding to the opportunities of a more wireless world. However, as demonstrated in our recent fit-out for a major global financial institution in Lisbon, the flexible environments designed for co-working can be adapted to align with a blue-chip standard.
With workplace strategies now focused on attracting talent back to the office, new spaces beyond the traditional desk are essential. Quiet phone booths, tech-enabled suites and innovation hubs with flexible furniture empower teams and individuals to adapt their environment to their needs.
We worked with insurance giant Ageas to consolidate their office network into single HQ buildings in Lisbon and Porto, creating well-connected workplaces with modern, state-of-the-art facilities to bring teams together. The building plays a pivotal role in shaping workplace identity, with corporate occupiers increasingly seeking spaces that not only offer high-quality facilities but also reflect their status and ambition architecturally.
Port Office Park is a striking new office campus in Porto’s emerging business district on the western edge of the city centre. The fully let scheme was Portugal’s first-ever BREEAM Excellent office building. The project features two contemporary nine-storey office towers set within a new urban park, with a complementary retail and leisure building that includes three padel courts and a range of communal green areas.
The building’s success lies in creating an exemplary working environment for tenants, supported by a focus on facilities management and emerging AI software. This software monitors services like water consumption and air conditioning, improving efficiency by 30% since its launch and reducing costs for tenants.
The future of the workplace is about people. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, companies that prioritise spaces that are as inspiring as they are efficient, and as innovative as they are sustainable, will continue to be employers of choice in the new corporate landscape.
