Design and smart spaces are redefining the modern workplace

Seemingly every day, another big corporate announces they are tightening their work-from-office mandates: Amazon, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are all recent examples. Despite this, many employees still value a level of hybrid working and being able to work however they want at their workplace.

OSMO Battersea 9

This might mean choosing to work outside, punctuating the day with a gym session, or with temperatures and lighting set to their individual preferences. 

Although employees demanding more choice over how they work was accelerated by the pandemic, the trend was gathering pace before 2020, supported by technology enabling people to work more freely, and younger generations placing greater emphasis on their health and wellbeing.

As more corporates insist on staff spending more time in the office, research from Resume Builder found eight in 10 employers believed they’d lost talent due to return-to-office mandates. But would this figure be so high if workplace environments were better? 

That rents exceeding £100 per sq ft are becoming more common in London as businesses compete for premium space to attract talent and people into the office suggests employers believe the answer is ‘no’. 17 leases above £100 per sq ft were signed in 2024 according to Cushman & Wakefield, more than in all previous years combined. 

This premium space occupiers are fighting for goes far beyond traditional office space – areas for yoga and alfresco working, copious amounts of plants, gyms, electric bike chargers and even 5-star hotel style spas and terraces with sweeping skyline views can all feature. However, amenity is only one piece of the puzzle.

Smart spaces supported with technology aiming to boost productivity and employee wellness is also becoming central to today’s modern workspaces, with leadership teams and HR departments more focused on staff health and wellbeing than ever before. In the age of smartphones and instant control, apps that allow employees to connect with the buildings they work in are now playing a role in letting people work in ways best suited to them.

At OSMO, our Grade-A, 166,000 sq ft newly completed BREEAM Outstanding office scheme in Battersea, a specially designed bespoke mobile app lets employees connect with the building’s management system to optimise lighting and temperature to their individual preferences.

Beyond climate control, mood lighting, scents and music options also help create a calming, productive environment. The app highlights events, offers, services and news within the building and local area too, helping foster a sense of community, encouraging socialising and making peoples’ lives easier and more convenient. Partnering with local businesses aiming to offer employees services like dog walking, laundry and bike repair shops are all examples.

Today, it’s exciting to see buildings designed during the pandemic coming to the market for the first time, as they directly respond to how working practices have changed. OSMO prioritises flexible wellbeing-enhancing features such as communal rooftop lounges for events, yoga classes, wellness sessions, meetings and alfresco working, supported by outdoor Wi-Fi.

There are breakout spaces, F&B, and end-of-trip facilities including e-bike charging points to make active commuting easy. Offices are also designed to be occupied in a healthier way, with high-tech M&E maximising access to fresh air and features that keep employees healthy and reduce sick days, with antibacterial surfaces, air purifiers and biophilic design all playing a role.

In London, Grade A office leasing accounted for almost 70% of the total take-up in Q1 2025, according to Cushman & Wakefield. This Grade A space usually means workspaces in buzzing locations, with design, technology and amenity that culminate to create productivity-enhancing environments where people want to work.

Corporates embarking on stricter return-to-office mandates should take note – this generation of health-conscious, tech-savvy workers demand a new generation of workspace.