
Three Workplace Designs that Elevate the Employee Experience
Good design has the power to energize the workplace and make it a destination where people thrive personally and professionally. Whether employees are collaborating, working independently, or convening for events, they deserve environments that help them feel their best and enable them to do their best.
HKS designers, strategists and researchers create workplaces that elevate the employee experience. With industry-leading insights on how workplaces can be crafted to support brain health and how people — not workstations — should be the focus of office design, our teams craft spaces that respond to what employers and employees want and need.
These three workplaces are designed to provide dynamic experiences for employees today and into the future:
Gen Silicon Valley Hub Site
A global leader in cyber safety, Gen has a new workplace that embodies the spirit and mission of the company and provides a one-of-a-kind experience for employees. The workplace supports collaboration and can flex to meet the daily needs of Gen employees, and includes concierge and virtual concierge, a coffee bar, a tech bar, and an open auditorium setting with a stage. HKS’ interior design includes experiential branding and features with blue hues correspond to the Gen brand and create a welcoming atmosphere. Biophilic elements such as green walls, woodgrain paneling and large windows with views of nature support well-being among the digitally-driven organization’s teams.
Duff & Phelps
For Chicago-based Duff & Phelps, HKS strategists and commercial interior designers partnered with the boutique investment firm’s real estate team to choose a site for their new office, ultimately landing on a building in the heart of downtown with views of the Chicago River and the city’s famed historic architecture. HKS designers then incorporated these surroundings into the workplace’s interiors with custom wall graphics and finishes that echo early skyscraper designs and the city’s urban planning scheme. The workplace — which includes a library, coffee bar/drink den, and other amenity spaces — is designed to encourage colleagues to spend time with one another. The project is Fitwel-certified and includes healthy materials and biophilic design elements to enhance employee well-being.
HKS Singapore
Our new HKS Singapore workplace elevates the employee experience of colleagues here at HKS. The space opened in late 2024 and is designed to reflect the evolving identity and ambitions of Singapore employees, promote well-being and serve as a catalyst for innovation. Located in a 1920s-era building, the workplace prioritizes sustainability and adaptability. It includes various spaces ranging from interactive zones to quiet retreats that support various work styles and enable employees to thrive in focused and collaborative tasks, and its design was driven by brain healthy workplace principles. HKS commissioned local artists to create murals that provide inspiration and echo the energy of the highly creative Singapore team members, who are already reporting higher levels of satisfaction and well-being in their new space.
What’s Next?
In an ever-evolving modern workplace, design has a crucial role to play in supporting an organization’s most important assets — its people. With thoughtful, creative strategies, HKS strives to create beautiful places where employees feel well and thrive at work.