3 Trends That Are Here to Stay in 2022

In just a few short weeks, the curtain will close on 2021. This year, unprecedented in its own unique ways, broadened our understanding of what business and society will look like in the future.

In January, Gensler will release Design Forecast 2022, an annual publication that dives deep into the latest trends driving industry and business. Grounded in our research and client work, this report offers guidance for your business in the year ahead. Below is a preview of a few design trends we anticipate rising to the fore in 2022.

Climate action initiatives will become the new standard, boosting real estate values.

With growing pressure from investors, insurers, tenants, policymakers, and other stakeholders, sustainability and resilience features will become a hallmark of real estate portfolios. Just last month at COP26 in Glasgow, Gensler announced its global green materials initiative. With more attention now than ever before on the built environment’s role in decarbonization, this effort will assist our clients in understanding how low-carbon building materials and design choices can guide their business decisions and yield long-term results.

Flexible design and healthy density are key for easing return-to-work hesitation, as well as attracting and retaining talent.

There is a battle for talent taking place right now, as many employers are contending with the so-called “Great Resignation.” Other organizations are balancing the launch of their return-to-office plans with valid employee concerns over the lingering pandemic. To address both, many companies are reimagining office density and embracing smart and flexible workplace design, changing and improving the ways we engage with our workforce to drive creativity and innovation.

The most successful cities will become mixed-use ecosystems of interconnected neighborhoods.

With rapid technological advancements and new ways of daily connection driving how we live, work, and play, cities have become truly borderless. With new awareness of how our metro regions, urban cores, and neighborhoods work together to advance local economies, planners’ views have changed on the connections between climate, mobility, and work, along with access to housing, education, and retail. The result is a shift in how people relate to cities and their components.

We look forward to our continued collaboration and partnership with our clients in addressing the important real estate and design decisions that await in the year to come. Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season, and we’ll see you in 2022.