In this episode of What the F is Happening to the Office?, host Bob Fox sits down with Jeremy Reding, Global Workplace Leader & Senior Principal at DLR Group, architect, educator, and workplace futurist.
If you care about how work connects to people, culture, performance—and where AI fits in—this one’s for you. If you enjoy this, please share this with others who are passionate about workplace design.
Jeremy traces his roots from the Seattle Design Nerds and the city’s Design Festival to leading global workplace strategy for top tech companies. We dig into AI-driven team rooms, immersive storytelling in space, low-tech counter-movements, and how to balance tech, culture, and wellbeing without losing the human experience.
What They Discuss
1. From maker culture to workplace: Public, hands-on design experiments (Seattle Design Nerds/Festival) sharpened Jeremy’s focus on user experience and immersion in office design.
2. AI reshapes planning: For AI teams, the sea of desks gives way to small 4–6 person prompt rooms feeding into larger critique rooms for rapid iteration.
3. Senior talent matters more: As AI handles production, experienced curators (senior engineers/designers) guide prompts, evaluate outputs, and set direction.
4. Human first, then tech: Great offices start with culture and purpose alignment; technology should be invisible, seamless support—not the driver.
5. The low-tech counterwave: Expect tech-free zones and more authentic materials/craft alongside advanced sensing, automation, and mixed reality.
6. Wellbeing gets smarter: Adaptive environments (lighting, air, nudges) personalize comfort and health—while protecting time for real, in-person connection.
Meet Jeremy Reding
Jeremy leads the firm’s Workplace sector. He serves as a lead designer for many of the DLR Group’s global technology clients, including Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Microsoft. Jeremy leads studios in all DLR Group locations to deliver workplaces that work for public and private sector clients.
Jeremy provides this design and thought leadership across DLR Group’s 30 locations to create award-winning, technology-enhanced, and employee-centered workplaces for public and private clients. He also teaches a post-pandemic graduate design course at the University of Nebraska where he can work with students to explore what-if scenarios that inform the future workplace.
Key Moments
01:08 Introduction – Who designs AI workplaces?
02:25 Origins in experimental design (Seattle Design Nerds)
06:02 Public Involvement in Design
07:18 Scaling up – from grassroots to citywide design festival
11:22 From festivals to workplace design – immersive storytelling
16:28 Post-pandemic priorities – intentional connection & culture alignment
18:36 Sources of inspiration – cross-industry insights & teaching future designers
22:06 Balancing authenticity with technology in workplace design
23:53 Designing culture into space – beyond logos and colors
26:20 AI & Future Design – new ideas about the workplace
27:00 How AI companies shape new workplace typologies
28:32 AI in the design process from creation to curation
30:16 Space planning today
32:09 Metrics, density, and user experience
36:09 The counterbalance – tech-free zones & human imperfection
38:56 Health and wellbeing as a design driver
40:26 Personal Use of AI
41:46 How AI is Changing the Profession
43:18 Advice to the next generation of designers
45:00 How to Approach the use of AI
45:45 How AI is transforming design practice today
