In early May, coworking operators, enthusiasts and speculators alike convened in sunny Los Angeles for the 2016 GCUCALL Conference. The event inaugurated the partnership of GCUC and the Alliance Business Centers Network, whose alliance represents a mainstream shift in thinking about the coworking movement as part and parcel of the business center industry, rather than a signal of its obsolescence. For some, this is a sign of the official acceptance of coworking as a major workplace industry; for others, it is nothing more than the official corporatization of a successful experiment in work environments.

During the second day of programming, Melissa Marsh gave a presentation entitled Multi Sensory Design: The Future of Workplace UX that addressed current workplace design trends driven by the consumerization of the workplace environment. One trend highlighted by Marsh was the implementation by coworking spaces of lessons from the hospitality and retail sectors to create multi-sensory experiences that support and delight occupants. She emphasized that people are sensors, and constantly dialed into how an environment 'feels.' This means that spaces like the workplace can and should be designed to create a full-bodied experience. Fortunately, sensory data is no longer elusive; it is measurable and therefore capable of informing spatial design and operation.

Check out the article inspired by the event, published by Allwork.