Work Culture Festival 2026: Soziales Raumdenken: Vom Büro zur Begegnung, Photo: © Amelie Marie Fischer & Dr Ann-Sophie Lauterbach

Oct 29 12:15 Hall 6, Board Stage Connected Cultures

Social Thinking About Space: From Office to Connection

Offices are built – workplaces emerge. Despite modern architecture, new workplace concepts, and flexible office layouts, many offices still fall short of their potential. Why? Because workplaces are more than design and square footage. They only gain meaning through people: through encounters, routines, collaboration, and leadership.

In the context of hybrid work, the dynamics between employees and leaders are fundamentally changing. Different expectations around presence, collaboration, and belonging meet new challenges within the social fabric of the office. How can leaders shape workplaces in ways that make employees want to come to the office – without relying on return-to-office mandates?

Amelie Marie Fischer and Dr Ann-Sophie Lauterbach explore in their keynote how space is socially constructed, which tensions shape hybrid work environments, and which concrete leadership levers can foster belonging, collaboration, and employee satisfaction in the office.

Photo: © Amelie Marie Fischer & Dr Ann-Sophie Lauterbach

Presentation language: German

Participants

Close

Four days. Lots of highlights. And that’s just the start.

The programme is constantly expanding with new talks, panel discussions, workshops and interactive spaces.

News Speaker Program Exibitors Partners

de / en

Tuesday Oct 27 Wednesday Oct 28 Thursday Oct 29 Friday Oct 30

Hall 6

Theatre

Workplace as Social Infrastructure: Ecosystems of Culture, Emotion and Identity

Architect & Expert for Collective Living and Urban Collaboration

Cooking is like music

Chef & Entrepreneur

What Happens When a Doctor and an Entrepreneur Come Together to Rethink the Future of Healthcare? (live podcast)

Physician and Entrepreneur

Futurist for Culture and Innovation

Why the Human Element Makes the Difference in a Digital World

Managing Director at Europäischer Hof Heidelberg

Board Stage

Social Thinking About Space: From Office to Connection

Engaged Scholar at the Future of Work Lab at the University of Konstanz

Researcher at Dresden University of Technology

RESI Rocks: Sustainable Architecture Meets a New Work Culture

Partner at Alpha IC GmbH

Partner at Alpha IC GmbH

The Office as a Playful Arena: What Spaces, Realities, and Shared Experiences Do We Need to Improve Together with AI?

Trend expert and futurologist

Beyond Green Buildings: Redefining Workplace Sustainability in the Age of the AI

Global Design Strategy Lead at JLL

Workplace as Strategy: Designing Organisations, Not Just Offices

Global Design Strategy Lead at JLL

Co-Founder & Principal of Studio O+A

Global Head of Workplace at Siemens Healthineers

Others

R-evolve Update: The Digital Product Passport

Sustainability Expert & Head of European Level

Environmental Law Specialist

Product Technical Director at Grupo Forma 5

Workplace as Social Infrastructure: Ecosystems of Culture, Emotion and Identity

Ole Scheeren

Work Culture Festival 2026: Workplace as Social Infrastructure: Ecosystems of Culture, Emotion and Identity, Photo: © Shard Island

Cooking is like music

Cornelia Poletto

Work Culture Festival 2026: Cooking is like music, Photo: © Melanie Dreysse

What Happens When a Doctor and an Entrepreneur Come Together to Rethink the Future of Healthcare? (live podcast)

Toan Nguyen & Dr Anne Latz

Work Culture Festival 2026: What Happens When a Doctor and an Entrepreneur Come Together to Rethink the Future of Healthcare?, Photo: © Leading Minds

Why the Human Element Makes the Difference in a Digital World

Dr Caroline von Kretschmann

Work Culture Festival 2026: Why the Human Element Makes the Difference in a Digital World, Photo: © Leading Minds

Social Thinking About Space: From Office to Connection

Amelie Marie Fischer & Dr Ann-Sophie Lauterbach

Work Culture Festival 2026: Soziales Raumdenken: Vom Büro zur Begegnung, Photo: © Amelie Marie Fischer & Dr Ann-Sophie Lauterbach

RESI Rocks: Sustainable Architecture Meets a New Work Culture

Andrea Schmidt & Daniela Merkenich

Work Culture Festival 2026: RESI Rocks: Sustainable Architecture Meets a New Work Culture, Photo: © Karolina Parot

The Office as a Playful Arena: What Spaces, Realities, and Shared Experiences Do We Need to Improve Together with AI?

Birgit Gebhardt & Winni Ransmayr

Work Culture Festival 2026: SIMULATE – The Office as a Playful Arena, Photo: © Birgit Gebhardt

Beyond Green Buildings: Redefining Workplace Sustainability in the Age of the AI

Dr Guzmán de Yarza Blache

Work Culture Festival 2026: Redefining Workplace Sustainability in the Age of the AI, Photo: © Dr Guzmán de Yarza Blache

Workplace as Strategy: Designing Organisations, Not Just Offices

Dr Guzmán de Yarza Blache, Primo Orpilla, Alina Rehorst

Work Culture Festival 2026: Workplace as Strategy: Designing Organisations, Not Just Offices, Photo: © Dr Guzmán de Yarza Blache

R-evolve Update: The Digital Product Passport

Dr Martin Führ, Klaus Bröhl, Álvaro López Arroyo, Volker Weßels (Moderator)

Work Culture Festival 2026: R-evolve Update: The Digital Product Passport, Foto: © iStock, ismagilov

Save the date WW – Work Culture Festival 2026