How is AI changing our world of work, and what does this mean for spaces, organisations and collaboration?

Artificial intelligence has moved from a future scenario to an integral part of the world of work. It is reshaping tasks, collaboration and the requirements placed on spaces – often more quietly and fundamentally than headlines suggest. Over recent months, the IBA Forum has explored these developments from a range of perspectives. Time, then, for a stocktake: what trends are emerging, and what do they mean for offices, organisations and collaboration?

A key message from the pre-read of the “New Work Order” study on collaboration with AI is that AI does not reduce collaboration – it fundamentally transforms it. AI agents take over routine tasks, prepare information, generate summaries and suggest next steps. As a result, teams do not collaborate less, but differently: with a stronger focus on alignment, interpretation and contextual understanding. Rather than painstakingly gathering information, people increasingly discuss its meaning and implications.

The interview with Tina Klüwer reinforces this perspective. She emphasises that AI’s greatest value lies not in replacing human capabilities, but in extending them. AI can make patterns visible, highlight options and prepare decisions. What matters, Klüwer argues, is that organisations integrate AI meaningfully into existing workflows and enable employees to work effectively with these technologies. This includes understanding outputs, questioning them critically and using them responsibly. Collaboration therefore becomes more complex rather than simpler. It requires more shared reflection, deeper discussion and a higher level of collective decision-making. In hybrid working models, an interesting dynamic is emerging: while digital tools enable location-independent collaboration, the need for physical interaction is increasing – particularly where trust, creativity or sensitive decisions are involved. The question is no longer whether offices are needed, but what exactly they are needed for.

As this shift unfolds, the role of the office is also changing. It is increasingly becoming a platform for interaction, exchange and collective work, rather than a place for individual, focused tasks. Several contributions within the IBA Forum point in the same direction: physical spaces remain essential wherever social dynamics arise – when people think together, debate, prepare decisions and experience organisational culture. For workplace design, this has clear implications. Environments must support a wide range of use cases. Alongside focused workstations, there is a need for spaces for workshops, project work, hybrid meetings, spontaneous exchanges and areas for retreat. The office thus becomes a curated experience space, where rooms, furniture and technology are intentionally aligned with specific activities. AI and digital tools move closer to the user, but ideally remain unobtrusive. Technology does not disappear, but it recedes into the background – shifting from visible infrastructure to a supportive presence, for example through intelligent booking systems, adaptive media technology or personalised information services.

A further step is represented by the concept of so-called cognitive environments. These are workplaces that respond to their users through sensors, the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI, adapting dynamically to changing needs. Depending on the situation, lighting, acoustics and climate can be adjusted, spaces reconfigured and relevant information displayed where it is needed. The space itself becomes a learning system and a bridge between human and artificial intelligence. It collects usage data, recognises patterns and supports employees without constantly demanding attention. At the same time, questions of transparency and control become crucial: users must understand what data is being collected, how it is processed and how they can influence the system. In this perspective, workplaces are no longer seen as static infrastructure, but as adaptive environments that actively contribute to productivity and wellbeing. They help foster concentration, enable recovery and support collaboration in a targeted way – always aligned with the specific task at hand.

The impact of AI extends far beyond individual workplaces. It is increasingly influencing the planning of buildings, districts and urban structures. AI can analyse vast datasets, simulate scenarios and support planning decisions more effectively – for example in questions of location, accessibility, mixed-use concepts or space utilisation. This provides planners with new tools to compare options and assess long-term implications more reliably. At the same time, the human perspective remains indispensable. Creativity, contextual understanding and judgement cannot be automated. Architecture and urban development may become more data-driven, but they still rely on human responsibility and interpretation.

At the same time, AI agents are reshaping organisational structures. Oskar Trautmann describes how these autonomous systems can independently perform tasks, exchange information across systems and manage processes in real time. In many ways, they act like additional team members – continuously analysing data and proposing actions. This accelerates processes, shifts role profiles and challenges traditional hierarchies. Employees increasingly take on coordinating, evaluative and creative roles, while operational tasks are automated. Organisations evolve into hybrid systems in which human and artificial intelligence work closely together. However, as Tina Klüwer points out, this transformation does not happen automatically. It must be actively managed. Organisations need clear responsibilities, new competencies in dealing with data and AI, and a culture that encourages experimentation and learning. Only then can AI agents realise their full potential without creating friction or overload.