Metropolis publisher and editor in chief Susan S. Szenasy moderated State of Design: Where We Work, a panel discussion hosted by Meadows Office Interiors in their Manhattan showroom. The panel featured Tom Krizmanic, principal of STUDIOS Architecture; Simon Speak, business development director of Haworth, Inc.; and Gabrielle Rubin Deveaux, senior director of real estate at BuzzFeed. The group discussed the challenges and benefits of creating age-neutral office spaces for today’s employees.
The group acknowledged that some older workers are resistant to drastic changes in the traditional work environment: the key is to try and balance individual concerns with the needs of the business. Said Krizmanic, “You look at the decisions through the lens of what the organization is trying to do so that everybody, from the youngest person to the oldest person, should be on board with that, and then peel off the slight variations that may make the acceptance of the design more palatable.”