Let’s get phygital: the hybrid future of offices and the importance of community

Jess Harrold is joined by Joanne McIvor, property partner at Edwin Coe LLP, and Rachel Titley, associate director quantity surveyor at Adair Ltd, as they share their professional perspectives on the future of the office.

Titley explains how workplaces will combine the best of physical proximity with the best of digital efficiency – “phygital” for short – and why she believes there will always be a need for the office.

“It comes down to community,” she says. “That’s what being in an office engenders. It is like being with your own little family. I want to walk in and feel welcome.”

McIvor talks through the impact on landlords on the changing demands of occupiers, and the importance of cooperation with tenants – and agrees on the desire to spend some time in a communal workplace.

“The office is the nucleus of where we learn from others,” McIvor says. “It’s a platform for collaboration, it’s a source of friends and a social life... respite from those we live with...a reason to get out of the house.”