UBC Faculty of Medicine Work(place) Evolution

UBC’s growing Faculty of Medicine, which was spatially constrained within its existing environment, needed to determine not only what kind of workplace would allow them to thrive but also how they could create a shared vision for evolving working styles, processes, and tools.

University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine had been growing but its footprint was not. Pre-pandemic, this drove a need for a redesigned workspace, but once the organization went virtual, the faculty recognized the equalizing value of remote work. This necessitated not only a rethinking of the organization’s physical footprint, but also led stakeholders to consider which elements of remote work they wanted to retain once the faculty, staff, and administrators transitioned to a hybrid work model. Strategic questions arose: What activities are best suited for in-person and on-site contexts? What behaviors underpin them to support a “whole human” posture? What spaces, technologies, policies, and culture enable those behaviors?

Gensler helped UBC Faculty of Medicine embrace and capitalize on this paradigm shift with a collaborative, workshop-intensive, sprint-based program that drew stakeholders from multiple levels and functions. This work identified which new elements to keep, existing ones to evolve, and outdated elements to retire. Through an ongoing journey, Gensler is driving tangible change and actively empowering UBC Faculty of Medicine to implement the future of work we are creating together.