Although many people are likely to be working from home for some time to come, the office environment is far from over.

That’s the opinion of a number of architects who recently spoke to Architects’ Journal about the office designs of the future.

Director at WilkinsonAyre Yasmin Al-Ani Spence told the news provider that there is likely to be a change in the way that larger companies and multinational corporations approach their new-build office design, predicting that they “may take on more of the attributes and atmosphere of smaller places”.

Partner at Glenn Howells Architect Dav Bansal also believes that demand for offices will remain steady, but that businesses will increasingly be looking for workspaces that “stimulate collaboration, mentoring and creativity for the wellbeing of our society”.

He added: “Many practices were already considering ways to design more sustainable and healthy spaces, but now there is a priority to change gear and speed up delivering these objectives.”

Natural light is important in any environment, but in one where you want to be productive, like an office, it’s especially important.

There could, therefore, be a growing demand for structural glass systems to ensure that as much light is able to enter a building as possible, and that it can reach further into a building too.

An article for Harvard Business Review earlier in August pointed out that access to natural light in an office, along with other aesthetic features “promote feelings of vitality”. The publication also noted that “well-designed meeting spaces can contribute to a culture of learning and knowledge sharing”.

Making sure that office environments are designed to help people thrive at work is an important consideration for any organisation nowadays, it added.