People, Place, Purpose: Reshaping legal workplaces using innovative design

The way we work has changed forever. Those dreary days of grey, oppressive offices are long gone, with connective and creative spaces rightly valued as vital cogs in a business's success. In the legal sector particularly, well-crafted workspaces have never been more crucial for both employees and clients.

 

So, how do designers accentuate the delicate connections between people, place, and purpose in the office? Through thoughtful and future-proofed design.

Elevating the future legal workplace with experiential design

Today, we were delighted to host a special roundtable dedicated to the compelling developments behind legal workspaces worldwide. With the help of our valued clients, we delved into the sector's brilliant progress over recent years and generated new ways of thinking about workspace design when confronting the challenges of the future.

The event was hosted by Woodall’s own Design Principal Greta Kriovaite, a phenomenal workspace designer with a cornucopia of insight into what makes interiors *tick*. Her work aligns with the principles of phenomenology and behavioural design, aimed at cultivating personal and emotional responses.

Greta welcomed Dean Rikanovic, a Global Creative Director with decades of experience advising and leading transformations for diverse companies around the globe. Dean is committed to a human-centred, design-thinking approach, focusing on linking business strategy to people, digital and place for holistic intimacy.

In short, they both know their stuff.

Event recap – what we covered

Integrating ergonomics, technology, space planning, privacy and more into a cohesive legal workplace isn’t easy, but challenging conventional norms can open the door to ground-breaking new solutions. During our roundtable event, our guests and hosts explored a range of insights from all areas of the legal sector to generate fresh, invigorating concepts. Here are some of the key areas we covered:

 

  • The crucial importance of fusing people, place and purpose

  • Combining collaboration and productivity by answering the needs of both clients and employees

  • Why rejecting conventional thinking and embracing innovation can be transformative

  • Case studies that exemplify what can be achieved when this innovation leads the way

  • The significance of human-centric design and the benefits it can bring

  • A collaborative discussion between architectural and design experts to generate new, future-proofed workplace strategies

 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Roundtables such as these are fertile ground for germinating concepts, and through discussion and collaboration, these ideas can blossom for our collective benefit.

The seven guiding principles of workplace design

During the event, Dean and Greta examined seven guiding principles designed to help future-proof any legal workplace. These are:

  1. Client experience at the heart

  2. Nurturing a climate of creativity

  3. Culture and mindset

  4. Being more human than ever before

  5. Agility and adaptability

  6. Generational inter-fusion

  7. Wellness

When used together, these principles not only create workspaces suited to the here and now but the years ahead too. In a rapidly changing world, future-proof foundations are critical.

A distinctly collaborative event 

The traditional concept of the office is a thing of the past. Today’s legal workspaces have to cater to a wide range of needs, integrating, in Dean’s words, people, digital and place. 

Fostering connections and cultivating innovative new ideas is what well-designed workspaces are all about. Our collaborative event encouraged a healthy, lively discussionwith our valued guests asking questions and offering their perspectives to shape the discussion and our findings. We’ll be sharing a deep dive into insights covered in the event soon, if you’re interested in finding out more please contact greta.kriovaite@woodalls.com.

Chelsea Copper-Gray