Technology And Design: A Matchmade In Heaven

Detroit-based design studio Pophouse is known for basing its strategy on one core value: supporting the human.   

In discussion with Allwork.Space’s Future of Work Podcast, Pophouse’s Director of Strategy Sarah Davis explains why human-centric design is critical to a modern workplace and how to build an environment for everyone.   

“When people are all in the office, when people are all remote, it’s a little bit easier than that in-between,” said Davis, in reference to the shift to a more hybrid workplace.   

The rise of hybrid work models has allowed companies to find balance in the post-pandemic work era, where some workers prefer having the ability to choose where they work. 

“We don’t want people to lose momentum as they go through these different environments,” Davis adds.  

“So, there’s ways that home environments or remote environments can be optimized…However, when they’re in the office, how can we also optimize that environment? And then how can we make the transition between both as seamless as possible?”   

One of the biggest contributors to supporting a mixed work environment has been technology, but Davis says it’s important for companies to experiment in order to find the tools that work best for their operations.  

That’s the gap Pophouse is trying to fill. By helping clients eliminate the long process of finding the best technology, the studio addresses common challenges that come with the workplace and designs spaces with solutions already intact.   

For instance, if a company relies on video conferencing tools, they need a meeting room that has good acoustics for all attendees to actively participate. Another example is creating a space that is solely dedicated for collaboration and could feature projecting technology and seating that gives all workers a good view.   

“[Technology]…has to be coupled with the design of the space that accommodates and supports that particular technological solution to function at its best.”