The future of office space: Moving a start-up healthcare organisation

In a world where the concept of work is constantly evolving, the physical spaces where we conduct business are changing too. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a shift towards remote work. So, what does the future hold for office spaces? To shed light on this topic, Oliver Levesley, Senior Agent at Knight Frank, spoke to Dr Benyamin Deldar, Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer, from Deep Medical, an emerging healthcare tech company that recently made a significant move to a new office space on Coleman Street in the heart of the city in London.

The search for the ideal flexible office space

Selecting the right office space is a crucial decision for any company. It's about finding a space that aligns with your organisation's mission, values, and the type of work you do.

For Deep Medical, an artificial intelligence company focusing on using AI to predict patients who cancel or miss their healthcare appointments to reduce the backlog and challenge health inequalities, the process of finding the ideal space was no small task. According to Ben, there were several key factors they considered.

Nuanced needs for office spaces

Given the sensitive nature of the data and models they’re building, security was paramount. The new office needed to provide a sense of security, ensuring that confidential patient information would be handled with the utmost care and diligence.

Creativity fuels innovation and problem-solving

Fostering a space that nurtures creativity is key for Deep Medical. They sought a workspace that would encourage creative and out-of-the-box thinking. With their work using the latest technology, a traditional office environment with rows of desks wouldn’t encourage the dynamic atmosphere that they need.

The additional square footage also enables space for creativity to thrive. From pottery classes to a pool table, the space is designed to encourage dynamic problem-solving and innovative thinking. This was key for the organisation.

Giving clients confidence

While Deep Medical might be a startup, many of its clients are established healthcare institutions, such as the NHS. They needed an office space that projected maturity and confidence, ensuring that clients knew they were dealing with a reliable and professional organisation.

Their new space at Coleman Street aligns perfectly with their mission to address critical healthcare challenges and shows clients they’re a purpose-driven organisation.

A glimpse into offices in 2030

With office spaces evolving rapidly, we asked Ben what he envisions for the office space in 2030. While he doesn't anticipate radical changes within such a short time frame, he does foresee a shift in perspective. He believes the future office won't be just a place to work; it will be a dynamic extension of the work environment.

Wellbeing takes centre stage

One of the prominent changes he anticipates is a greater focus on employee wellness. The traditional office setup of endless rows of desks may no longer be conducive to the kind of work that’s more commonplace nowadays, which tends to involve more creativity. Employees will seek environments that promote physical and mental wellbeing. Oliver agrees, “I think the opportunity for a cognitive escape, whether that's exercise, creative aspects, fresh air and natural light, has been something we've seen grow in demand in terms of what's being asked of us when providing companies with new office space.”

Adapting to new employee dynamics

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the way we work, introducing remote work on a massive scale. Ben highlights that this change in dynamics means that when employees do come into the office, they have higher expectations. The time spent together physically must be valuable, fostering collaboration and problem-solving.

Finding the right office space

Deep Medical's journey to find the perfect office space was aided by our market experts. They streamlined the process and ensured a suitable space was found that aligned with their unique requirements.

Ben pointed out, “It saved us a lot of time, certainly as being a startup. We hadn't been through this process before and then selected an office, but we knew what felt right and being able to listen to that and help categorize that in terms of what the available spaces were for us.”

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