Designing the office of tomorrow: balancing AI, wellbeing, and the human experience

By Kirsty Angerer, Development Director at HLW

As we look ahead to 2026, workplace design is entering a new era shaped by the rapid adoption of AI and the shifting expectations that come with it. Much like the post-Covid reset, offices must evolve beyond being places to simply ‘do work’. They need to become hubs for connection, creativity, and community. The question for designers is no longer just how to bring people back, but how to create spaces people are proud to be part of.

Three trends will define this next year: experience-led workplaces will become essential, acoustics will move to the forefront of design and ‘WorkTok’ – the rise of employee-generated content – will reshape how offices are marketed and imagined.

To succeed, these strategies can’t work in isolation. Treating them as interconnected principles is the key to designing workplaces that truly work. AI accelerates the need for meaningful human experiences; inclusive acoustic strategies enable richer collaboration; and authentic content amplifies the value of well-designed spaces. Together, they make clear that while technology may drive the evolution of work, people will always shape its meaning.

The AI wave is real and is moving fast. Since the publication of the first AI Sector Study in 2022, the UK’s AI ecosystem has grown by 85%, now encompassing more than 5,800 companies. For many organisations, the next 12 months will be about moving from basic use to strategic adoption. As AI takes on more routine tasks, workplaces must champion human values, like creativity and mentorship, by creating environments that spark connection, from social cafés to wellness rooms where people can pause and recharge.

Consequently, this shift will also change how success is measured. Traditional metrics such as square footage or occupancy rates will move towards more human-centred indicators like wellbeing, flexibility and connectivity.

Expect more organisations to trial ‘vibrancy metrics,’ qualitative signals of experience and engagement. Ironically, the subjective nature of these metrics means they will likely be quantified using technology, including AI-driven analytics and opt-in wearable devices. In other words, we may use machines to measure the very qualities that make us human.

Community matters too. Research by Workthere and GPE found that 56% of London office workers feel isolated when working remotely, and collaboration remains the top reason for coming into the office. This reinforces the need for spaces that actively encourage interaction and teamwork. This was the approach HLW took when designing Lewis Silkin’s headquarters, which features an open layout and flexible design to make it a ‘place for people’ that fosters collaboration and openness.

Acoustics will become a critical design priority to ensure these spaces are effective and productive. Hybrid work may have made video calls second nature, but it also turned noise into the office’s most persistent challenge. With employees taking virtual meetings at their desks and teams gathering in open collaboration zones, managing the acoustic landscape of the workplace has become imperative.

The best workplace will dampen distractions without creating a sterile hush. This means activity-based zoning with clear sound expectations, from open collaboration areas to quiet libraries and enclosed phone booths. It means sound scaping and material choices that absorb and shape sound without killing atmosphere, and smart systems that reduce audio spill.

In making sound scaping a priority during the design process, workplaces will not only become more productive but also more inclusive. Neurodivergent colleagues and those with hearing differences benefit from well-managed sound. Yet, according to Leesman, only a third of employees are satisfied with noise levels despite over 70% of employees ranking noise levels as an important feature in workplaces. I expect the importance associated with noise levels to rise, and hope that as an industry we are able to build innovative solutions so that more people are left satisfied with their workplace experience.

The third force shaping workplace design is ‘WorkTok.’ On video platforms such as TikTok, more and more employees are sharing their experiences in the workplace. In 2026, employee-created videos will become a decisive channel for telling the real story of how a company works, influencing talent acquisition and company reputation.

This means workspaces need to be ‘camera-friendly’ – well-lit, visually coherent and with amenities people want to showcase, such as terraces with city views and outdoor space, communal canteens, and fitness amenities that signal a commitment to employee wellbeing. In some cases, bold features like saunas can become spaces for cross-team collaboration as well as wellness spaces, as seen in our recent design for Wise’s new London HQ.

None of these positive changes will succeed without thoughtful change management to ensure employees understand upgrades being made and how they will benefit from them. This remains a core offering at HLW. Adopting AI, introducing acoustic etiquette, and encouraging authentic social sharing all demand trust and transparency and so delivering change needs to be done in such a way that it brings people along with it, instead of it feeling like it’s being imposed.

By 2026, the office layout and acoustic balance will make collaboration richer and focus deeper. And ‘WorkTok’ will turn the workplace into a channel where employees’ pride becomes business’ most credible marketing.

Overall, the most successful workplaces will be human by design and augmented by technology.