Over the last 50 years the style of the modern office has changed considerably. Initially offices were populated by personal cellular spaces, which encouraged both privacy and a quiet working environment, with limited interaction with colleagues — apart from around the coffee machine, photocopier or fax machine. Working patterns gradually moved away from this, favouring a more open plan environment to encourage collaboration, creativity and team-based working.

Now, further change is afoot. Cromwell Property Group has interviewed an international network of contacts on their views about the office sector, overlaid its findings with analysis of changes in working practices and concluded that office space of the future will look and operate significantly differently. This will be driven by four key trends: flexibility, technology, sustainability and employee well-being.

Flexibility

With technological advancements allowing for the development of l