AI transformation requires spatial transformation – an interview with HCD

AI is transforming customer service – but what does that actually mean for the places where people will work in the future?

As routines are automated and tasks taken over by AI, the focus of human work is shifting: complex consultancy, empathy, responsibility, collaborative learning and creative cooperation are becoming increasingly important. This also changes the requirements for modern working environments. HCD’s thesis is therefore clear: AI transformation requires spatial transformation.

In this interview, Sandra Stüve and Michael Stüve from HCD discuss how the ‘Human-AI Hub’ is rethinking the spatial dynamics of human-AI collaboration, why the workplace is becoming a strategic factor in this transformation, and how this concept can be experienced in practice at the Customer Impact Summit. This is because HCD not only contributes the content-related perspective as an Impact Partner, but, as an Experience Partner, also shapes the spatial design of the summit.

A conversation about the future of work, new demands on workplaces – and the question of why, when it comes to AI, we shouldn’t just be talking about technology.

Sandra Stüve:
HCD designs working environments – with a focus on people and the organisation. We start by asking: How should we work in the future? What processes, forms of collaboration and needs are there? And what do people and companies need to ensure that work can function really well? From this, we develop the right working environment.

Michael and I bring two different perspectives to the table. I focus more on the organisation, the people and transformation. Michael thinks very much in terms of space, architecture and implementation. Together with our interdisciplinary team, we support companies through every stage – from organisational development and site selection, through planning, design and construction, right through to acceptance marketing for new workplaces.

Michael Stüve: Fundamentally . In the past, the relationship was relatively clear-cut: person, desk, workplace. Today, people work in a hybrid way, tasks change more rapidly, teams come together in different configurations, and technology is taking on more and more functions. The workplace must respond in a much more nuanced way to what people are actually doing there. But what has always been true of a good workplace still holds true today: it must be suited to the tasks, the processes and the people.

Sandra Stüve:
And we’re currently experiencing the next big step. AI isn’t simply changing a tool in the workplace. It’s changing tasks, roles and processes. Routines are being automated, whilst judgement, responsibility, empathy, complex consultancy, collaborative learning and innovation are becoming more important for people. It is precisely this that is also changing the demands placed on workplaces. The key point today is this: as work changes, so too must the place where it takes place.

Sandra Stüve: If it is respectful, cost-effective and visionary. A workplace must support people in doing their jobs well and with enthusiasm. At the same time, it must work for the company – both organisationally and financially. And it must enable development.

Michael Stüve: And then there’s a second triad for us: Right. Beautiful. Unique. ‘Right’ means that the space suits the processes, activities and people. ‘Beautiful’ means that we create places where people enjoy being, where they feel at ease. And ‘unique’ means that a workplace conveys a company’s identity. A working environment must not be interchangeable. You must be able to sense which company you’re actually at.

Sandra Stüve: A great deal. The workspace influences every working day. Can I concentrate? Can I speak in confidence? Can I easily find the people I need to discuss something with? Can a team collaborate spontaneously? Is there a quiet space to retreat to? How tiring is a working day for me? And from the company’s perspective, this raises equally specific questions: How well do processes and collaboration work? How is space utilised? How attractive is the workplace? Does it support the culture and the brand? And does it facilitate the change the company is currently seeking to achieve? That is why we consider the working environment and organisation together. For us, space is a tool. If we use this tool correctly, it can facilitate collaboration, support change and provide tangible help to people in their day-to-day work.

And this is precisely where things get particularly exciting when it comes to AI. Because when technology fundamentally changes tasks and roles, the question automatically arises as to whether our current workplaces are even prepared for this.

Sandra Stüve:
AI can make people faster and more efficient. At the same time, it shifts the nature of human work. People must evaluate AI outputs, make decisions, take responsibility, learn together and develop complex solutions. In customer service in particular, this is complemented by challenging and empathetic conversations. And these tasks will remain the preserve of humans in the future; they will not be carried out by machines. These activities have spatial requirements. Anyone conducting a difficult conversation with a customer needs peace and privacy. Those who coach AI agents or carry out quality assurance may need different settings. Collaborative learning and innovation, in turn, require yet other spaces.

Michael Stüve:
Then there is the technical aspect. Voice prompting, video and AI assistance systems must, of course, be integrated into the workplace. That is why our thesis is quite clear: AI transformation requires spatial transformation.

Sandra Stüve: The Human-AI Hub is our answer to the question of what a working world in which people and AI collaborate productively should look like. It is important to note that this is not just about human-AI collaboration. Precisely because AI is increasingly able to take on or support individual tasks, human-to-human collaboration will remain particularly important – but in a different way to today. Exchange, shared learning, reflection, creativity, relationships and the joint resolution of complex problems will continue to require people. And places that support precisely that.

Michael Stüve: That is why a Human-AI Hub is not just a new standard workstation. We need focus areas and our HCD Private Places for in-depth discussions, spaces for coaching and quality assurance, areas for learning and service design, technically integrated workstations for voice prompting and video, as well as relaxation and recreation areas for recharging. The space orchestrates different activities. And that is precisely why it is not enough to simply introduce AI into an existing working environment and hope that the rest will fall into place.

At the Customer Impact Summit, this idea is not merely discussed. HCD is bringing it to the event in two distinct ways – in terms of both content and the physical space.

Michael Stüve: As an Experience Partner, we have planned the spatial layout of the entire event and are supporting its implementation. We translate content, formats and desired interactions into a spatial narrative. Where do people arrive? How do they find their way around? Where do they listen? Where do they meet others? Where can they continue discussions, work or retreat? The space thus becomes part of the event concept.

Sandra Stüve: And as an Impact Partner, we contribute our perspective on the subject matter: what does AI transformation mean for people, organisations and workplaces? We find this dual role particularly exciting. We get to champion a particular idea whilst also helping to shape where and how people discuss and experience it. That fits in almost perfectly with HCD.

Sandra Stüve:
Management Circle and HCD have known each other for a long time. We’ve been working closely together on the CCW for many years and, every year, we organise ‘the next^{experienceDesign by HCD’}there together. So we have a pretty good understanding of each other’s way of thinking and working. The decisive moment for the Customer Impact Summit came during a conversation about the future of work. We discussed which tasks AI will take on in future – and, conversely, what that means for people working in customer service.

If AI is going to transform work so fundamentally, surely the workplace can’t simply remain the same. AI transformation requires spatial transformation. That really was an ‘aha’ moment.

Michael Stüve: And that then turned into a commission. Management Circle didn’t just want to include this idea as a talk in the programme; they wanted to weave it into the Summit itself. We were commissioned, as an Experience Partner, to plan and support the event’s spatial layout, whilst at the same time, as an Impact Partner, we can contribute our perspective on the Human-AI Hub. This is, of course, a setup that fits our DNA perfectly: thinking ahead and putting ideas into practice.

Michael Stüve:
The fact that we don’t start with individual spaces, but with the question: What is actually supposed to happen here? An event creates many very different situations. People arrive, find their bearings, listen to talks, meet exhibitors, have conversations, process information, get on with their work in between, or simply want to step away for a moment. These different needs must work together within the space. That’s why we’re planning the hall as a cohesive experience. The space is designed to provide guidance, encourage interaction and, at the same time, allow for different levels of engagement for each individual.

Sandra Stüve: And it was important to us that people could experience for themselves during the summit what we at HCD are also discussing at the summit. Our Meet & Work Lounge epitomises this. It serves as a central meeting point, a place to work, a quiet retreat and a venue for small workshops. A slice of proven practice right at the heart of the summit.

Michael Stüve: That isprecisely what makes the project so appealing to us. Content and space must tell the same story. If people are talking on stage about new forms of collaboration, yet the space around them merely reflects a traditional conference layout, then potential is being wasted. An event space must reinforce the content. It must encourage encounters, enable new ways of working and allow people to try things out.

Sandra Stüve: This works particularly wellat the Customer Impact Summit. The content focuses on AI transformation, new technologies and the future of customer service. At the same time, we create spaces where different forms of work and interaction become possible. In this way, the space itself becomes part of the solution. For me, that’s what a genuine experience is all about.

However, visitors don’t have to see what this looks like in practice on a presentation slide – they can try it out for themselves on site.

Sandra Stüve: The bestthing is to give it a go. The Meet & Work Lounge is specifically designed as a place to try things out and make use of the space. You can work there, retreat to a quiet spot, meet someone, discuss an idea further in a small group, run a mini-workshop – or simply take a moment to let all the impressions from the summit sink in. Even on the massage table.

Michael Stüve:
That’s why, for us, the lounge is ‘Proven Practice’. We don’t put a slide on stage and explain how spaces might function in the future. We create a space and say: Come and sit down. Make use of it. See what happens. And, of course, we’re particularly looking forward to talking to the summit participants there about their own working environments.

Sandra Stüve: With a fairly simple one: if AI is changing my work, my processes and my staff’s tasks – why, of all things, should the workplace remain the same? When it comes to AI, we’ve reached a point where there’s a great deal of talk about technology. For us, people, the organisation and the physical space are just as much a part of this discussion.

Michael Stüve: Because ultimately, technological possibilities must translate into good work. To achieve this, people need the right tools. And space is one of them: AI transformation requires spatial transformation.