June 1, 2017  by

Fluid Platforms and the Evolution of the “Third Place”

At the recent 2017 APA National Planning Conference in New York City, CallisonRTKL released Urban Shift, a compilation of trends and influencers driving the design and development of modern cities along with key project examples. This post is the second in a series that takes Urban Shift a step further in exploring how urban planners can address the environmental, economic and social shifts taking place around the world.

CallisonRTKL has long advocated blurring the distinctions between public and private realms, and still do. Our species is social, and we like to mix it up. Ignoring those distinctions makes public space more dynamic, more interesting, more fun. Now this inclination, based in urban design, is affecting more than just public spaces—it’s affecting our workplaces (and, as a byproduct, our careers) and our homes.

For a while now, we have all recognized the emerging importance of the “third place”—that ill- defined spot that’s neither home nor workplace. It came into focus a few years ago as a place that had some home-like attributes, an emotional pull and served as a place to escape work.

Now that’s changing. With an increasingly self-employed workforce, and a conventional workforce that generally supports an entrepreneurial spirit, the third place has largely become our office away from office (instead of home away from home); an acknowledgement that many of us work in unconventional venues. In the Starbucks I pass each morning, I recognize at least three coffee drinkers with open laptops who are there every morning at 8 a.m.

So let’s flip that paradigm around: with all that self-employed and contract labor commandeering public space for work, is the private workplace becoming more private?

Nope. Corporate America has largely recognized the desire for looser restrictions on their employees in emulation of the freelance lifestyle. As an example, two of my millennial nieces work for corporations that offer unlimited PTO and a none-too-demanding requirement of one day a week in the office. Their workplaces are fluid; every single day brings a new, varied composition of colleagues there to greet them.

Add to that the fact that America’s most vital cities include large student populations, a group undeniably comprised of trendsetters. Indeed, a healthy mix of town and gown is a necessity in urban areas with a thirst for talent and innovation. In Chicago, which sees a staggering 58,000 students in the Loop every day, restaurants, retailers and landlords reap the benefits. The study halls of yesteryear are now confined to antiquity status; students talk, study and meet with their classmates and professors anywhere everywhere; the more public, the better. Even the gorgeous new Restoration Hardware, in the repurposed 3 Arts Club, offers a first come, first served WiFi-enabled study table amidst their showcase of posh home furnishings.

The line between home and work is increasingly blurred by the day. High-rise residential developments are in a full-fledged battle for convenience-seeking residents, and among the must-have amenities are social work spaces that look a whole lot like—you guessed it—Starbucks (and it’s no mystery as to why; Howard Schultz and company have had this thing figured out for a while). Restaurants and retailers are following suit and incorporating home-like spaces for work.

All this dynamism and fluidity is placing increasingly high demands for adaptability on our existing building stock. Like careers, buildings that can accommodate just one function are becoming obsolete. We, our buildings and our cities must be multi-faceted and agile.

This dynamic is borne out in one of Chicago’s most iconic spaces and what was once, upon its opening in 1930, the largest building in the world. For decades, the Merchandise Mart functioned as a massive collection of furniture showrooms, but faced with largely decreasing square footage needs among their retailers, the Mart has reinvented itself. On the first floor is Luxe Home, a curated lineup of high-end residential products. Move up, and you’ll find office tenants Beam Suntory and Allstate (both with respectively large footprints) as well as 1871, a unique tech hub for more than 400 digital startups sharing space and resources. The Mart has been reborn, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see part of that building converted to apartments, completing its evolution from an 8-hour-a-day, single-use entity to a full 24-hour activity cycle.

Despite political trends to the contrary, cultural trends point toward the easing of boundaries. Our zeitgeist is to integrate, to blend and to fuel innovation by eliminating lines of distinction. The fluid lines between work, home, play, private, and public reflect our increasingly complex world and indicate the makings of a richer experience for us all.

CallisonRTKL

CallisonRTKL

For more than five decades, Callison and RTKL have created some of the world’s most memorable and successful environments for developers, retailers, investors, institutions and public entities. In 2015, our two practices came together under the Arcadis umbrella, expanding our sphere of influence and the depth and breadth of our resources. Our team is comprised of nearly 2,000 creative, innovative professionals throughout the world who are committed to advancing our client’s businesses and enhancing quality of life.
in Architecture / Design / People / Places / Residential / Urban Planning / Workplace / You Are Here 1 comments