Workspace Design Talks
27 - 28 February
The Workspace Design Talks brings the commercial interior design industry’s most inspiring and creative leaders to explore the latest trends and insights in workplace design, strategy and culture.
Top-level industry speakers attend Workspace Design Show from organizations such as Gensler, BDP, Hawkins Brown, tp bennett, Grimshaw, Foster + Partners, Squire & Partners, KKS Savills, Stride Treglown, Hawkins\Brown, PLP Architecture, Oktra and many more.
2023 Speakers

Grant Kanik,
Partner at Foster + Partners

Maria Cheung,
Director of Interior Design at Squire & Partners

Katrina Kostic Samen,
Director and Head Of Workplace Strategy & Design at KKS Savills

Toni Riddiford,
Head of Office & Workplace at Stride Treglown

Nick Gaskell,
Partner, Workplace Sector Lead at Hawkins\Brown

Dr. Vanessa Champion,
Partner, Editor and Founder at Journal of Biophilic Design

Steve Brewer,
Founding Partner at Burtt-Jones & Brewer

Mbali Chaise,
Associate Director at iPWC

Lee Polisano,
Founding Partner & President at PLP Architecture

Dom Dugan,
Creative Director at Oktra

Dr. Vanessa Brady OBE,
Founder & CEO at The Society of British and International Interior Design (SBID)

Ed Hoban,
Associate Director – Head of Workplace at The Furniture Practice

Kael Gillam,
Principal Lighting Designer at Hoare Lea

Lewis Barker MCRw,
Director of Workplace & Real Estate EMEA at ServiceNow

Sarah Cullen,
Editor at darc magazine

Annelie Kvick Thompson,
Partner at Grimshaw

Amy Gargan,
Workplace + Interiors Sector Lead, Director at RKD Architects

Neil Usher,
Chief Workplace & Change Strategist at GoSpace AI

Scott Rominger,
Creative Director at WeWork

Sarah Brown,
Director at tp bennett

Staffan Tollgård,
Founder & Creative Director at Tollgård Studio

Naomi Sakomoto,
Senior Associate at Gensler

Michael Dowds MRICS,
Head of Workplace Design Standards at Department for Work & Pensions

Ana Rita Martins,
Senior Associate, Sustainability & Design at Woodalls

Tina Norden,
Partner at Conran & Partners

Bernie Mitchell,
Coworking Advocate, Blogger & Podcaster

Charlotte McCarthy,
Head of Interiors at Heatherwick Studio

Angela Bardino,
Design Principal at Jacobs

Tom Niven,
Associate, Lighting at BDP

Tara Hack,
Principal, Design at Woodalls

Yaara Gooner,
Head of Architecture and Design at LabTech

Shannon Pope-Ellis,
Managing Director at MCM

Matt Jackson,
Director, Head of Workplace at BDG architecture + design

Amelia Saberwal,
Founder at Kinesthetica Coaching

Chris Hunt,
Co-Founder & Director at V7

Becky Sleath,
Senior Commercial Manager at EDGE

Michael Davis,
Founder & Head at JLL Unlimited

Paula Rowntree,
Head of Workplace Design at Lloyds Banking Group

Bex Moorhouse,
Founder & Director at Invigorate Spaces

David Kent,
Senior Design Manager at The Office Group

Helen Parton,
Workplace Design Journalist

Gemma Cook,
Head of Design & Construction EMEA at American Express

Andrew Nelson,
Workplace Design Manager at Government Property Agency

Andy Smith,
Workplace & Facilities Lead at The John Lewis Partnership

Isabelle Priest,
Managing Editor at RIBA Journal

Mark Eltringham,
Publisher, Workplace Insight & IN Magazine

Hannah Rummery,
Creative Director at Acrylicize

Joelle Laney,
Senior Associate at Perkins + Will.

Clare Dowdy,
Freelance Design & Architecture Journalist
Agenda:
Legacy & Progress
10:00 – 10:45, Design Talks Lounge
A discussion surrounding the journey and transition our speakers addressed. Learn how they manoeuvred through barriers and how to avoid them and how their vision for change to working and living environments has created new opportunities.
Divine Sparks
11:00 – 11:45, Design Talks Lounge
Are creativity and innovation the same thing? And if not, does the office sector place too much emphasis on the former as an argument in favour of in-person working and not enough on the latter?
Is it possible to optimise real estate while improving the employee experience?
12:05-12:50, Design Talks Lounge
Mark Eltringham,
Publisher, Workplace Insight & IN Magazine
Michael Dowds,
Head of Workplace Design Standards, Department for Work & Pensions
Andrew Nelson,
Workplace Design Manager, Government Property Agency
Lewis Barker,
Director of Workplace & Real Estate EMEA, ServiceNow
Combining Structure and Chaos for a FinTech – Designing a functional workplace built around adaptability
13:10 – 13:55, Design Talks Lounge
Finding common ground: when workspace hospitality and residential design collide
15:20-16:10, Design Talks Lounge
Hamish Kilburn, who is a podcast host (Travel By Design by Marriott Bonvoy and DESIGN POD) and the Editor of Hotel Designs, will welcome two interior designers and an operator – Tina Norden, Partner, Conran & Partners and Angela Bardino, Principal Interior Designer, Jacobs and Lola Hoya, Design Leader, Real Estate Services at Ernst & Young – to explore, from all corners of the industry, how to confront the challenge of designing flexible public spaces that work for everyone and identify what all three sectors (hospitality, workspace and residential) look and feel like in 2023 and beyond.
FFS – can we all just move on?
16:30 – 17:20, Design Talks Lounge
Agenda:
The future of the workplace; how architecture is adapting
10:00-10:45, Design Talks Lounge
Going global but keeping it local in the era of hybrid working
11:00-11:45, Design Talks Lounge
Designing coworking spaces for an uncertain future
12:00 – 12:45, Design Talks Lounge
The developer-tenant relationship is changing – what does this mean for the way we design workplaces?
14:05-14:50, Design Talks Lounge
The historic disconnect between speculative office developers and their future tenants is being eroded. Response to unprecedented global upheaval – the climate crisis, social justice movements, pandemic response – requires an open and joined up conversation between those building offices, and those occupying them. In turn this is transforming project briefs and design strategies, contributing to the emergence of amenity-rich, sustainable, and healthy workplaces. In this session we will discuss how the developer-tenant relationship is changing, and the direct impact this is having on the best examples of speculative workplace design.
Defining the Circularity of Light
15:05-16:00, Design Talks Lounge
How positive empathetic workplace environments promote employee wellbeing and motivation
16:15-16:50, Design Talks Lounge
Attend Workspace Design Show
Workspace Design Show is the networking platform for architects, designers and end-user occupiers, looking to equip themselves with the latest and most insightful trends around workplace interiors. Register now for a complimentary visitor pass and attend Workspace Design Show from 27 – 28 February 2024 at the Business Design Centre.