Designing the Adaptive Workplace with Mirvac's Paul Edwards - Part 1
Experimenting with what the workplace needs to look like as we navigate a new frontier, is an idea that many organisations are hesitant to embrace. It means doing something different, stepping outside the norms, creating a space that has not been proven and fronting up a fair bit of cash to do it. All of which sit quite outside the comfort zone and risk mitigation strategies that many businesses are prepared to accept.
Which is precisely why Mirvac, one of Australia’s largest commercial landlords, decided to take the first step within their own workplace and develop a pilot space to experiment with new ways of working, and lead the way for their customers, with their Adaptive Workplace.
Mirvac has been researching the future of the workplace long before COVID, through a series of Whitepaper Publications exploring everything from the Super Experience through to the Omni-Channel Worker. This research culminating in the concepts and principles they’ve implemented in their Adaptive Workplace.
Today’s guest is Paul Edwards, Mirvac’s General Manager of Strategy & Customer, and instrumental in the development of this progressive Pilot. Paul leads a team that set strategy, identify, and form strategic alliances, lead customer experience and transformation, build brand and deliver marketing for the Integrated Investment Portfolio business at Mirvac. The team, work across developments and existing assets, delivering services to the business which include foresight research, end to end design, customer experience design, brand programming, digital strategy, communications, and marketing.
This conversation takes us behind the scenes of;
- what lead to Paul and the team creating this progressive pilot space,
- the people that they engaged with on the way,
- the ideas, theories and concepts that they were hoping to test by creating the space
- the feedback, insights and learnings to date
- what the next steps are for this pilot space
As organisations grapple with what the future of the workplace will look like, this is a conversation that sheds some light on the possibilities before us and the role that data plays in informing our next steps.
This is the first part of my two part conversation with Paul, as I couldn’t give up the opportunity to make the most of my time with him and find out more about Mirvac’s approach to their property portfolio. In the second part of this conversation Paul and I discuss The Art of Placemaking, discussing two of their developments, 80 Ann St in Brisbane and South Everleigh in Sydney.
This podcast was made possible with support from the Alastair Swayn Foundation. Find out more at alastairswaynfoundation.org
LINKS
Get your copy of Mel’s new Book “The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential”
Connect with Paul & Mirvac;
Website | LinkedIn | Mirvac Whitepapers
Connect with Mel
