On October 25th, in partnership with The Heart Warsaw, we hosted the Future Workplace conference. We were proud to bring top international experts to Poland, including Primo Orpilla from Studio O+A – the designer behind Silicon Valley offices for giants like Facebook, McDonald's, and Adidas.

What is the future of offices? How is the space we work in changing? How will new technologies change our workplace and the way we work? By organising this event we wanted to provide at least approximate answers to these questions. This is the first time in Poland that such a strong group of experts has been present in one place at the same time – or at least it is to the best of our knowledge.

Our CEO, Bogusz Parzyszek, opened the conference by presenting his insights on the future of office environments in Poland. He addressed the pace at which the Activity Based Workplace model with desk-sharing is being adopted locally. During his presentation, he highlighted some of the most technologically advanced office projects in Europe, including the Tieto campus and The Edge. He also discussed the key factors that influence how people experience and value their workplaces — such as functional, people-centered design, connectivity, greenery, and strong branding — and shared examples of offices where technology already coexists with human work. He concluded by emphasizing the growing need for internal coworking spaces within organizations.

Axel Praus and the Workingwell team emphasized the need to diversify and modernize workspaces to attract talent. On the technology front, Boris Martin noted that outdated corporate systems often drive employees to use private tools. He cited a study where over 50% of 10,000 employees relied on personal Dropbox accounts to share business documents.

Providing a broader design perspective, Primo Orpilla from Studio O+A in San Francisco outlined the dynamic evolution of workspaces over the last 30 years — from enclosed cubicles to open, home-like environments. He highlighted how the line between work and private life has blurred, transforming offices into spaces that often offer even more comfort and amenities than one's own home.

Addressing the tangible elements of these spaces, Michał Balcerkiewicz (Balma & Noti) stressed that modern office furnishings must now prioritize flexibility and modularity. Finally, Monika Płocke from Nordea demonstrated the real-world business impact of these changes. She revealed that after creating a new workspace in cooperation with our studio, recruitment rates surged from 10 to 50 people per month, proving that office design is a powerful recruitment strategy.

Finally, three case studies demonstrated the real-world impact of these strategies. Jovan Protic and Igor Białorucki described the Onet-RASP office, designed with inspirations ranging from New York lofts to Brooklyn cafes to foster collaboration. Taking the 'home-like' concept literally, Jakub Kaczmarski presented Allegro’s Warsaw office, designed as a 'house' for IT teams working in Agile/Scrum. Both Kaczmarski and Monika Płocke (Nordea) confirmed that such flexible, high-quality designs are powerful recruitment tools.

Moving beyond layout and culture, the event also addressed the physical and digital environment we work in. Halina Kamińska (Florabo) highlighted the productivity benefits of office greenery, while Paweł Okoń (SourceINT) and Michał Jakobszy (Creston) demonstrated how building automation and smart meeting tools can reclaim lost time and eliminate daily frustrations.

The conference concluded with a panel on 'Digital Transformation' led by Tomasz Rudolf (The Heart). Joined by leaders from Ghelamco, JLL, EY, and mBank, the group debated the future of commercial real estate, focusing on how to create connected, future-proof buildings ready for the technologies of tomorrow.