Engineering Agility: Yokogawa’s Shift to a Smarter Workplace
Bahrain
Yokogawa’s existing workplace was spatially rigid, limiting its ability to support:
Varied departmental needs and management hierarchies.
Focused individual work and spontaneous team collaboration.
Organic interaction between levels of the organization.
Additionally, the staff count required careful spatial calibration to avoid overcrowding or underutilization.
The design needed to connect multiple floors without compromising functional zoning or user flow.
Grounded in a descriptive-explanatory case design, the strategy combined spatial analytics, human-centric planning, and activity-based zoning. The design team employed social constructivist principles, viewing the workplace not merely as a static environment but as a dynamic interaction zone shaped by human behavior, professional rituals, and technological flows.
Key interventions included:
Hoteling and hot-desking strategy to decentralize space ownership and increase utilization.
Mixed-mode seating to accommodate shifting task types.
Vertical and horizontal circulation redesign, ensuring intuitive movement across the workspace.
The space was reimagined through:
Collaboration hubs and meeting pods strategically placed to encourage project-specific interaction.
Lounges promoting informal, cross-departmental dialogue.
Quiet zones designed for deep focus and sensitive operations.
A modular furniture system allowing reconfiguration based on real-time usage.
Circulation paths were redrawn to eliminate bottlenecks, enabling seamless navigation and visual connectivity across the workspace.
Yokogawa, a global leader in industrial automation and control systems, engaged in a workplace transformation initiative to create an environment that fosterscollaboration, precision, and innovation. The challenge was to support diverse work modes ranging from high-focus engineering tasks to informal cross-functional dialogue while optimizing the use of space across vertical and horizontal zones. The solution introduced ahoteling-based layout, flexible activity zones, and collaboration-centric design features. The result was adynamic, agile workplacethat significantly enhanced connectivity, user experience, and functional alignment across teams.
Yokogawais a multinational engineering and technology company, specializing inindustrial automation, process control, and test & measurement systems. With operations spanning over 60 countries, Yokogawa emphasizesprecision, innovation, and interdepartmental coordination—necessitating a workspace that aligns with its operational ethos and technological focus.
Achieved Full Capacity Targets through Smart Space Planning
Yokogawa reached its staff accommodation goals without expanding its real estate footprint, thanks to a flexible, activity-based layout. Every square meter was optimized to support core business functions, creating aright-sized workplace for a growing team.
Unified Workspace with Transparent Management Integration
Yokogawa’s new workplace removes physical and symbolic barriers by placing all employees—including managers—in a shared, open-plan environment. Instead of isolating leadership, the layout promotes visibility, approachability, and collective ownership.
While functional needs still vary, managerial zones are subtly marked by 1.5-meter partitions, offering just enough separation for focus—without cutting off connection to the team.
This approach achieves key goals:
Rooted in the principle of intersubjectivity (Schutz, 1971), the space actively shapes culture through shared spatial experience. It’s not just a flexible office—it’s a more human, equitable one.
60% Fixed Hoteling Capacity + Rotational Use
The workplace operates on a 60% desk allocation model, where a core portion of employees have access to unassigned desks on any given day, while others rotate as needed. Despite this ratio, the total available seating—including lounges, desking, and solo pods—is enough to support 100% headcount if all employees are on-site simultaneously.
Personal Lockers for All Staff
To support this dynamic model, every employee is assigned a personal locker, allowing them to store personal items securely while working flexibly across various settings. This maintains a sense of ownership and stability—even without a fixed desk.
Boosted Collaboration & Engagement via Shared Spaces
Newly added collaboration hubs, lounge areas, and café-style zones foster informal interactions, ideation, and cross-team visibility. These changes have led to increased voluntary use of shared areas and a measurable rise in employee engagement.
Multi-Modal Work Enabled by Design
The workspace supports a variety of work modes—whether deep-focus tasks in quiet pods, collaborative work in open zones, or solo video calls in enclosed booths. Employees have the freedom to choose how and where they work, improving both efficiency and satisfaction.
This workplace transformation has reshaped how we work and collaborate. The flexible, open layout reflects Yokogawa’s values of precision, collaboration, and forward thinking. Empowered with choice in how they work, employees are more engaged and connected, while thoughtful details like personal lockers and multi-use pods make a meaningful difference. The result is not just an office, but a space that truly supports our people and culture.
This workplace transformation has reshaped how we work and collaborate. The flexible, open layout reflects Yokogawa’s values of precision, collaboration, and forward thinking. Empowered with choice in how they work, employees are more engaged and connected, while thoughtful details like personal lockers and multi-use pods make a meaningful difference. The result is not just an office, but a space that truly supports our people and culture.
Yokogawa’s workplace transformation is more than a spatial redesign—it’s a strategic alignment of space, people, and purpose. By shifting to a hoteling model, opening up management visibility, and designing for multiple work styles, the company has created an environment that mirrors its own ethos of precision, innovation, and collaboration.
Every design decision—from the introduction of shared zones to the integration of soft zoning for leadership—was rooted in a belief that space should support how people think, interact, and grow. The result is a workplace that doesn’t just meet operational demands—it elevates employee experience, strengthens culture, and prepares Yokogawa for the future of work.
In building a space where engineers, managers, and teams work side by side—fluidly moving between pods, lounges, and collaboration zones—Yokogawa has created not just a more efficient office, but a more connected, human-centered organization.
Designed with scalability in mind, the workplace provides a flexible and iconic setting that can seamlessly evolve with future growth, organizational change, and technological advancement.
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