Maliha Haque, Associate at LOM architecture and design, outlines key learnings from the most recent Workplace Summit, which reflected an exciting and resilient future for London’s workplaces.

The NLA Workplace Summit 2025 convened leaders from government and the built environment to chart the city's future of workplace innovation. Across the City, Canary Wharf, and West End, a shared ambition is emerging: to create workplaces that transcend offices, growing into hubs of community, cultural resonance, sustainability, and, crucially, choice.   

Employers are re-evaluating the role of the office in the wake of shifting expectations around work. Demand is firmly shifting to well-designed, amenity-rich spaces that enhance collaboration and wellbeing, making the daily commute worthwhile. But the story extends beyond premium new builds. As Jeremy Myerson of WORKTECH Academy noted, there's a rising “flight to character”; where more of London's heritage buildings are repurposed into environments that provide a unique sense of identity. Today, character is becoming as important as efficiency, reflecting a broader desire for workplaces to align with a sense of belonging. 

Pandemic-era fascination with virtual offices has faded, replaced by pragmatic tech investments that deliver everyday utility. Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data-driven employee technologies have taken centre stage. Investment in these areas surged in 2024, yet the basic frustrations of hybrid meetings, Wi-Fi dropouts, and clunky booking systems remain unresolved.   

Despite its challenges, London is proving to be resilient. By 2024, its workforce stood at 6.65 million - 11% above pre-pandemic levels. The introduction of the Elizabeth Line has redrawn commuter maps, and Canary Wharf is repositioning itself as a cultural and residential hub as much as a financial one. 

Hybrid working is stabilising at around 3.5 office days a week, according to Transport For London data. This data provides more certainty on how to design workplaces, knowing how occupiers will use the building and plan for adaptability to suit.   

Developers aren’t just building offices; they are assembling ecosystems. Derwent London, for example, are highlighting variety in its portfolio: flexible layouts, social areas, quiet zones, wellness facilities, and interweaving cultural connections to place. Sustainability, material selection, and active transport facilities are now non-negotiable. 

At 1 Broadgate, that includes retail, restaurants, and a central axis enhancing pedestrian movement and linking the surrounding streets. It feels like an extension of the city, where work, leisure, and retail intermingle. 

Canary Wharf’s partnership with The Eden Project exemplifies the drive to intertwine workplaces with green infrastructure. The Eden Dock, with its public trails and biodiversity zones, is emblematic of a citywide movement to embed nature and resilience into redevelopment, reinforcing sustainability as a necessity rather than a perk. 

Presented projects shared themes of permeability, cultural integration, wellness, and flexibility.  

As summit participants affirmed, the goal is no longer to simply lure employees back to offices, but to make workplaces places people want to return to; spaces that echo the vibrance and adaptability that defines London itself. 

London has always thrived on its ability to adapt, to war, to political upheaval, to the pandemic. Through diversified portfolios, community engagement, and offices designed around choice, it’s clear through all the topics discussed in the summit, the capital is setting standards not just for workspace but for urban living. The office is no longer a container for desks; it is a stage for culture, a platform for innovation, and a communal anchor point in the life of the city. 

This year’s Summit remains hopeful; the city’s workplace market shouldn’t just serve work but should shape the future of the city itself.