Dezeen teamed up with office design brand Steelcase and architecture firm J Mayer H to host a live talk exploring the needs of office workers after the pandemic.

Moderated by Dezeen's chief content officer Benedict Hobson, the panel featured founder Jürgen Mayer H and partner Hans Schneider from Berlin architecture firm J Mayer H.

Also joining the panel was Dewi Schönbeck, director of workplace design and consulting at Steelcase, and Vanja Misic, lead UX designer at Steelcase.

The panel discussed how the pandemic has revealed a need for better-designed office spaces.

Using J Mayer H's design for the IGZ building as an example, the panel explored if flexible interior design and building geometry can allow office spaces to be easily adapted in response to Covid-19.

They also shared how design can help to reflect a company's culture and how the emerging needs of office workers are shaping how we design office spaces.

Designed by J Mayer H, the IGZ building is located in Falkenberg in southeast Germany.

Serving as an office for a software company, the flexible interior design of the building was designed in partnership with Steelcase.

This year Steelcase released its Work Better report, a collection of research into the emerging needs of office workers following the pandemic.

The report identified four macro shifts that it believes organisations will need to address as employees return to working at the office, such as the need for safety, flexibility and productivity, as well as the need to foster a sense of purpose and belonging.

Founded in 1912, Steelcase is an American office design company specialising in furniture and lighting for the workplace.

Based in Berlin, J Mayer H is an architecture firm founded in 1996 and is led by Jürgen Mayer H, Hans Schneider and Andre Santer.

Its previous projects include a house in Germany built from a set of irregular concrete blocks and a university building in Düsseldorf that is carved into a sculptural shape, connecting windows, balconies and stairs.

Partnership content

This talk was produced by Dezeen for Steelcase as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen's partnership content here.