How innovative workspaces can accelerate innovation

May 29, 2024

“New Ways of Working” (NWOW), also known as the future of work, modern working, agile working and new work, is a hot topic. It’s a concept that describes the recent transformations of the workplace. A key aspect of this transformation is the spaces where we work. In this article, you’ll discover what makes a workspace innovative, learn how certain workspaces accelerate your company’s innovation and get to know Switzerland’s prime example: HORTUS.

How can a workspace be “innovative”?

To innovate is to change what’s already established. In the context of workspaces, this means creating new, better designs for the spaces we work in. In spaces like factories, construction sites and restaurants, efficiency is key. Everything has its place, and the space is designed for most efficient movement and optimal input-output balance. But when it comes to spaces for mental work, i.e. offices, it’s not as clear what and why to optimize.

A century ago, Frank Lloyd Wright first came up with the concept of the open-plan office. Back then, people preferred to work in closed-off spaces, so it didn’t take off for another 50 years until the Germans introduced the Bürolandschaft. Still, cubicles and closed offices remained the norm for 50 more years, although companies like Vitra introduced revolutionary office concepts back in the early 00s.

Just recently, there was another massive shift. Driven by the COVID pandemic, people became more aware of their workspace and work-life balance. Some want to work from home, some want to work while traveling, some prefer working alongside people from other companies in coworking spaces.

Some companies have yet to realize that this change is permanent. Others see its benefits, like easier access to an international workforce. Because working physically together is still important, they often open satellite offices in shared spaces where remote employees can meet.

The ultimate goal of workspace design is to empower employees to do their best work. A workspace that significantly increases employee value creation by doing something different is innovative.

Innovative workplaces take many different factors into account, e.g., the well-being of employees and making them want to spend time in the office, opportunities for collaboration, access to modern technologies or a flexible environment. We’ll get into that in a bit.

How an innovative workspace accelerates innovation in your company

Creating value is almost synonymous with innovating for most life sciences and tech companies. Beyond that, innovating is a must. If your company fails to make progress, out-of-the-box thinking startups will quickly swoop in and overtake it.

Innovative workspace design enables innovation within a company for one important reason: it fosters collaboration. It’s rarely one guy in a basement (except for the occasional genius like Steve Jobs or Richard Branson) who creates something entirely new and significant. Different people from multiple organizations with unique viewpoints need to exchange ideas and work together on common problems for new solutions to emerge.

The best way to make this exchange happen is with spaces that encourage and enable people from different teams, companies, sectors and institutions to meet. That just doesn’t happen in the isolated offices on closed-off company premises we’ve grown used to over the decades.

The layers of workspaces for innovation (with examples)

Many companies nowadays prefer activity-based workspaces, shared amenities, coworking spaces, satellite offices, dedicated event venues, and strategic placement in a relevant ecosystem. Ideally, you layer these innovation drivers by offering innovative workspace in a shared environment as part of an ecosystem. Each individual layer facilitates more collaboration and, therefore, accelerates your company’s innovation more rapidly.

1st layer: The innovative workspace

A collaborative environment starts at the company level. Your internal workspace should be designed to foster collaboration among colleagues from various divisions and roles.

Key features of innovative workspaces

Innovative workspace example: Deloitte’s Amsterdam Office

Known as “The Edge,” this office shows how to increase collaboration, productivity and employee satisfaction. Besides innumerable different zones, it offers a mobile app that helps employees find colleagues, book collaborative rooms and control the light setting at their workplace.

Source: edge.tech

2nd layer: The shared environment

Ideally, an innovative workspace offers a shared environment like a coworking space or shared lab.

Employees of multiple companies and freelance professionals renting space within the same premises will meet in cafeterias, community zones and event venues while enjoying the privacy of closed offices and bookable meeting rooms.

Key features of a shared environment

Quotation Marks Quotation Marks

”Shared workspaces within a diverse community of like-minded professionals foster innovation. Networking over coffee with peers can fuel creativity far beyond the confines of home or traditional office settings.“

Karin Crisanto, Head of Innovation Space and Infrastructure Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area

Shared environment example: Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area – Main Campus.

The Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area – Main Campus covers 115,000 square meters. Its design encourages community interaction through generously sized common areas, a courtyard as large as a football field and various events for residents and the public.

3rd layer: The innovation ecosystem

Innovation ecosystems, sometimes also called innovation districts, are emerging all over the world.
Well-known ecosystems like Silicon Valley or the Boston/Cambridge area in the US and Barcelona’s El Poblenou in Europe became the gold standard for innovative ecosystems.

Being part of a relevant innovation ecosystem enables and encourages your employees to engage with a broad community of businesses, research institutions and technology hubs.

Key features of ecosystem-oriented workspaces

Example of an innovation ecosystem: The Basel Area

Located in the heart of Europe, the Basel Area is renowned for its strong life sciences and healthcare ecosystem. Companies here gain access to state-of-the-art facilities and a thriving network of researchers, entrepreneurs and business leaders. This vibrant environment is conducive to forging partnerships, sparking innovation, and accelerating business growth.

Get to know the impressive neighborhood of HORTUS at the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area – Main Campus from a bird’s eye view in the following video:

Switzerland’s most innovative workspace: HORTUS

HORTUS is a forward-thinking office complex and part of the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area – Main Campus. The Main Campus is home to over 1,000 healthtech and biotech trailblazers working for Johnson & Johnson (who just opened a new innovation hub here), University of Basel, T3 Pharmaceuticals, Basilea and many more.
The open office design encourages collaboration among colleagues while the community spaces bring together people from different companies. HORTUS is located at the heart of the innovation ecosystem of the Basel Area in Allschwil.

Here are 8 reasons why the HORTUS is unique:

A glimpse into the HORTUS

HORTUS – a part of Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area Main Campus
How do you think it would feel like to work at the HORTUS? An interview with Sonia Abkorovits
How do you think it would feel like to work at the HORTUS? An interview with Nicole Probst-Hensch
How to you think it would feel like to work at the HORTUS? An interview with Mirza Vranjakovic

Become part of HORTUS

Companies that seek to accelerate innovation through a collaborative environment benefit from setting up their offices at HORTUS.