As our lives become more fluid – transitioning between responsibilities and identities irrespective of location – the spaces we inhabit must become dynamic in their use to ensure the future resilience of buildings. However, this isn’t just about sustainability and cost-saving, but it can also be a driver for innovation.

The spaces in which we work are going through a revolution in purpose. Offices once defined by their functionality and location, are now a spatial opportunity for companies to find new ways that can enable the choice and flexibility their employees have come to expect. The bike shop-meets-café is an obvious example of a hybrid typology that has risen in popularity. More subtly, it is now commonplace to find food and drink within the stores of large retail brands – an activation tool – as well as a new, functional opportunity to increase footfall and time spent in the store.

Community-led development already exists but again there is a lot it can teach us in our approach to rethinking traditional workspace. The iconic Rose Lipman Building in London is home to a community of creative organisations, each giving something back to the local community in exchange for affordable rents and hiring fees. It is occupied by business ranging from Notting Hill Carnival’s leading costume makers to a theatre company and even London’s Loft Party – Lucky Cloud. The former archive building and library was never intended to be used for these purposes, but community has brought about activation in a new way that has ensured the buildings longevity.

From urban farms and manufacturing to micro-hubs, we are now seeing new ways in which the city of the future will change in response to conditions. Retail, education and community are just some of the key adjacencies to workspace that we may see begin to merge and cross-pollinate in the future. As trends become more apparent between distances travelled by employees when given the choice to decide, we can start to identify patterns with spaces capable of becoming thriving working environments where previously not seen before.