SEASON 1 EPISODE 12:

Kursty Groves:
The workplace tools and insight that lead change

This week on the SpaceCraft podcast, Dan Moscrop interviews Kirsty Hulse, an expert on workspace design and innovation.

In the first part of the conversation, they discuss Kirsty's background working at companies like WhatIf, where she helped organizations understand the importance of creativity and innovation in workplace design and architecture. Kirsty talks about her book "I Wish I Worked There" which explored innovative workspaces and office branding.

They then talk about her more recent book "A Space for Innovation" which she co-wrote with Oliver Marlow. The book delves into the design and science of inspiring work environments for innovation and creative workspace design. Kirsty explains her methodology of the "five E's" - efficiency, effectiveness, expression, empowerment, and evolution - which organizations can use when designing innovative workspaces.

Kirsty shares insights from companies she visited and interviewed for the book, including Airbnb, Lego, and MIT, and their approaches to office architecture and branding based on culture, values and work requirements. She highlights how different companies approach their workspaces based on their culture, values and the type of work being done.

Later, they discuss trends like having multiple generations in the workforce, the evolution of open office plans, and the importance of intentional workspace design rather than just following fads. Kirsty emphasizes starting with the core purpose and needs of an organization for workplace design.

Finally, Kirsty talks about her plans for the future, including developing coaching programs to help organizations apply her workplace design methodologies themselves for innovative office architecture and branding. Overall, it's a conversation exploring the critical role physical spaces play in fostering innovation, creativity and branding at work through good workspace design.