By people, for people: designing a workplace that goes above and beyond

Why is equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDIB) becoming such a commonly discussed topic in the workplace? Creating a place where people feel they belong and benefit from working goes a long way towards encouraging efficient and flexible collaboration between colleagues in the office. As designers, it’s our job to design with people in mind, which means bringing the users into the conversation early and going above the bare minimum to accommodate a variety of needs, preferences and working styles.

Recently I sat in on Material Source Studio Manchester’s roundtable alongside Viki Bryant, Head of DEI, considering ‘What does beyond bare minimum look like?’ in EDIB conversations. Reflecting on the conversation together, we considered the real life benefits we see when stakeholders are better integrated into the design process. Our design teams know how to design flexible and collaboration-oriented spaces, but we also know that one size doesn’t fit all. By opening practical discussions of inclusion, we make progress towards answering the question: how do we tailor spaces to the people within?  

Luckily for us, it’s no trick question. By asking directly, we can understand the precise needs of a group. At Cundall, it is well within our capabilities to create these high quality, bespoke offices, made by people, for people. 

What makes a better than bare minimum workspace?

The best office is not going to be off-the-shelf. It must consider the people working within, incorporating their vision for a better workplace and aligning priorities between designer, client, and user.

For example, our Manchester office was chosen to be Fourways House after extensive staff consultation in 2020, putting key questions out to the office to gain an understanding of priorities. Staff feedback highlighted renewable energy procurement, the option to open windows for natural ventilation, and sufficient lifestyle facilities, such as showers, changing facilities and bike storage provision for active travel.  

By acting on the responses from staff, our current location proved to be the best fit, located in a quiet part of the city centre, with plenty of amenities and communal collaboration spaces, and just like that the move was decided. The new space is flexible, modern and most importantly, caters directly to the needs of the office. By allowing staff to lead decision making within a preset framework, the practice ensures satisfaction at all levels.

What are the benefits of a good workspace?

Clients and designers must consider how to make a space flexible, inclusive and diverse in the appropriate manner for their workforce. Fitting the lighting design, space planning, air quality management, communal amenities, and aesthetics to the user base ensures the space feels welcoming.

There are obvious benefits to going above and beyond when designing a space for the people who will use it. Collaboration and flexibility, promoting their agency to choose, means colleagues are happier, work more efficiently, and staff retention increases.

As an engineer, both daily user and designer of office buildings, the benefit of creating a successful workspace is never clearer to me than when I am sat at my desk in Cundall’s Manchester office working closely with my team. Sitting at my laptop, listening to my colleagues discuss our projects from only a desk away, I feel I understand best when I’m directly involved in the work.

I also see younger colleagues around me increasingly choosing to be present in the office every day despite the practice’s flexible working policies. The ability to develop their knowledge and practical skills by osmosis, slowly absorbing the information through shared spaces is very difficult to do when working from home. They praise the office space for its ability to improve their focus and make it easier to separate work life from home life, which seems to be a growing priority for younger generations.

An increased desire to be in the office also seems to indicate a thriving culture where collaboration, unity, and visibility are important, within and between teams. When people can fit work around their lives, rather than their lives around work, they immediately feel more fulfilled and ready to give their best during working hours. Efficiency improves as people take the initiative, feel energised, and connect with each other rapidly, not relying on full inboxes to communicate questions and ideas.

This is reflected in the feedback we have received via our annual Cundall Engage survey, our global employee engagement survey. Every year, the practice asks for anonymised experiences of working here, because we aim to provide an environment in which employees can thrive and do their best work. This starts with listening to feedback to identify the areas of success and difficulty in various locations and across different teams. In the three years this campaign has run, we have been able to find out how the business compares to industry average in their level of satisfaction with the ability to work flexibly, with their contributions to the aims of the business, and their feeling of being listened to.

Practical effects of good workplaces are seen in the increase of staff retention, improved outlook and increased engagement with work-organised activities and project work, and overall better mood. By respecting the personhood of colleagues and providing them what they need to flourish, the entire practice benefits.

Talking with Viki on the topic, she said: “For me, going beyond the bare minimum in EDIB starts with genuinely listening. When people feel safe to share their needs and experiences, we uncover design opportunities we would never have spotted alone. Inclusion isn’t a nice‑to‑have, it’s the foundation of spaces where people can do their best work, feel connected, and truly belong. And because people’s needs continue to evolve, we have to stay curious and keep learning. That ongoing commitment is what keeps us relevant in an ever‑changing world.” 

How do you design a good workplace?

A good workspace must be designed for diverse needs, accounting for ability, gender, culture, neurodiversity and working styles. The role of the designer is to provide practical and technical solutions which facilitate collaborative working. Staff feedback should guide these choices for long term satisfaction. At Cundall, we have four community groups which help guide our design choices internally, encouraging a culture of respect and equality: Prism (supporting LGBTQ+ colleagues), Mosaic (celebrating cultural and ethnic diversity), Divergent (representing neurodiversity) and GAIN (championing gender representation).

On a technical level, considerations must include thermal comfort, air movement and quality, lighting design and supporting the natural circadian rhythm. This is additional to choosing amenity spaces and features, such as cycle storage, lockers, showers, faith and meditation spaces, maternity rooms, etc.  

Flexibility is one of the most effective ways to support inclusion. Systems that allow variation rather than enforcing fixed conditions are more resilient to diversity in use, health, and preference. Wider comfort bands, adaptable layouts, and local environmental control allow people to work effectively without having to constantly adjust themselves to the building. Since the pandemic, people also seem to have become more aware of their sensitivities and preferences, after having temporarily being given the opportunity to control their surroundings.

Post-occupancy evaluations are assessments which can be conducted in the years following handover of a project to gather data on the success of the design choices implemented from the end users. Consultants and engineers such as Cundall will have an impact on the outcome of these evaluations as we ensure the projects align with the building certification ratings, such as BREEAM, NABERS, and WELL, thereby setting up the workspace to achieve certain sustainability and wellbeing targets. Just meeting basic standards won’t be enough to achieve our EDIB goals. We need to put in the extra effort and take strong actions to create real, long-term results.  

Flexibility should be intentional and designed in from the outset, not treated as an optional extra. However, there are no minimum standards set for EDIB in design regulation, only present as a result of other minimum standards in guidance. Therefore, we must go beyond the bare minimum if we intend to push the envelope when designing for EDIB, and make it part of policy, not just a design element.