About Place
Hosted by Ryan Anderson, VP of Global Research and Planning at MillerKnoll, About Place explores the evolving role of place in our lives, at work and beyond. Each episode features conversations with thought-leaders, designers, researchers, and more, all of whom bring expertise and understanding about how the places we create can positively impact how we work and live.
Episodes
S5 E11: An outlook on AI, people, and place, with Ryan Anderson
Our final episode of season 5 dives into key takeaways from this season, starting with a lesson about amenity-rich workplaces, and ending with an important question: How is AI impacting human interactions at work, and how must workplace design adapt?
Host:
news.millerknoll.com/Ryan-Anderson
linkedin.com/in/ryaningr/
For more About Place, visit:
millerknoll.com/ideas-in-action/about-place-podc
S5 E10: Lessons in learning at Gensler, featuring Randy Howder
Set within San Francisco’s historic Mills Building, Gensler’s LEED Platinum and Fitwel 3‑Star-certified workplace reflects the firm’s commitment to research-driven, human‑centered design. In this episode, Randy Howder shares insights that shaped this destination workplace, which attracts people through inclusive, culture-forward space planning rather than return-to-office mandates.
Guest:
https://
S5 E9: Opportunities for engagement, featuring Lindsay Wilson
Lindsay Wilson, president of the fourth-largest architecture firm in the US, has a clear perspective on what makes spaces successful. In this episode, she explores how we experience great design, the shifting role of the office in our social networks, and the growing influence of brain health on her work at Corgan.
Guest:
corgan.com/firm/leadership/lindsay-wilson
linkedin.com/in/lindsay-wilson-a6b
S5 E8: AI and workplace discovery, featuring Ian Ellison and Chris Moriarty
On their Workplace Geeks podcast, Ian Ellison and Chris Moriarty mine today’s workplace research for applicable insights. In this episode, they join us for an in-depth discussion on the impact of AI in facilities management and how it’s helping organizations uncover insights on the effectiveness of RTO strategies.
Guests:
linkedin.com/in/ian-ellison/
linkedin.com/in/chris-moriarty-4029aa2/
linke
S5, E7: Architecture as social infrastructure, featuring Jeanne Gang
To Jeanne Gang, founder of Studio Gang, architecture is about building relationships. It makes sense, then, that despite having built everything from museums to high-rises and growing her Chicago-based practice into a global architecture firm with offices in New York, San Francisco, and Paris, her stories focus on something else entirely: the power of spaces to build community.
Guest:
studiogang
S5 E6: Designed to save lives, featuring Dr Anthony Chang and Laurie Placinski
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, BAMF Health is shaping the future of cancer care. We’re joined by Dr Anthony Chang, Founder and CEO, and Laurie Placinski, VP of Real Estate, Design and Partnerships, to discuss the technologies driving their breakthrough work and the clinical spaces built to keep pace. Also, learn how their design approach supports safety, comfort, and improved outcomes for patients and
S5 E5: The future of work takes shape, featuring Debbie Lovich and Brian Elliott
In 2020, MillerKnoll teamed up with Debbie Lovich, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group, and Brian Elliott, CEO of Work Forward, for Future Forum—a global research initiative exploring how work was changing across talent, technology, and space. In this episode, they return to discuss how those dynamics have evolved, what’s driving the next wave of change, and how organiz
S5 E4: Connecting spaces, tech, and people, featuring Izabella Lorenz
As organizations work to strike the right balance between seamless digital experiences and meaningful in-person interactions, one company is leading the way. In this episode, Izabella Lorenz, Global Workplace Experience and Real Estate Strategy Leader at Zoom, shares how the company designs its spaces to support both virtual and in-person connection—and what other organizations can learn from thei
S5 E3: Designing for menopause, featuring Kate Usher and Lori Daughtrey
Menopause is rarely discussed at work—but its impact on an organization’s culture and bottom line is undeniable. In this episode, menopause consultant Kate Usher and workplace designer Lori Daughtrey explore how organizations can better support their associates through this life stage, including inclusive workplace policies and design strategies that benefit everyone.
Guests:
menopauseinbusiness.
S5 E2: AI and relationship-based work, featuring John Maeda
To engineer, designer, and executive John Maeda, the future of AI looks optimistic. From improving design workflows to elevating memory augmentation, thoughtful applications of AI are helping people do what they do best at work and beyond. In this episode, we dive into all things AI and explore novel use cases that will affect our work and places of work in the future.
Guest:
instagram.com/john
S5 E1: The purpose of place making, featuring Cheryl Durst
As more business leaders recognize design as a core business strategy, the designers they work with have become strategic collaborators and deep experts in every facet of their organization. In this episode, Cheryl Durst, Executive VP and CEO of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), unpacks today’s multi-faceted notion of the term “designer,” and how these place makers can help org
S4 BONUS 5: Crafting comfort
The workplace is more than a destination for work to get done. It’s an experience that should evoke the natural comfort that enables people to work their best and have meaningful experiences. Our guests at Design Days share their thoughts on this changing template for office design.
Guests:
Laura Beth Mertz: pdrcorp.com/about-us/our-team/designarchitecture-team/laura-beth-mertz
Brady Mick: linke
S4 BONUS 4: New design differentiators, featuring Chris Leong
At MillerKnoll, VP of Interiors Chris Leong designs spaces that put our research and insights on the workplace into practice. Listen in as he joins us from the new MillerKnoll workplace to discuss its design, differentiators for the well-planned workplace, and why architecture should be a little... strange.
Guest:
news.millerknoll.com/Chris-Leong
Host:
https://news.millerknoll.com/Ryan-Anderso
S4 BONUS 3: Exceptional ergonomics, featuring Steven Souter
For more than three decades, Colebrook Bosson Saunders has been creating award-winning ergonomic tools that seamlessly connect people and technology at the office and beyond. In this episode, ergonomics and workplace design expert Steven Souter dives in to the three facets of ergonomics and the invaluable role that each plays in the places we work.
Guest:
linkedin.com/in/stevensouter/colebrookb
S4 BONUS 2: What's working for the workplace
At Design Days, we tapped guests with unique perspectives on the workplace to hear what’s exciting them about the future of office design. Listen in as we discuss what’s next for occupancy studies, the power of applied research, why people are coming to the office, and much more.
Guests:
Dawn Hayne: asid.org
Helia Taheri: arcadis.com
Rob Kirkbride: officeinsight.com
John Michael: millerknoll.co
S4 BONUS 1: Insights from the Archives, featuring Amy Auscherman
We kick things off with archivist Amy Auscherman in a conversation about the evolution of modernism and the ways it has shaped how we live and work. Hear little-known stories from early Herman Miller collaborators and about the indicators that Amy’s watching to gauge the future of workplace design.
Guest:
instagram.com/acid_free/
millerknoll.com/about/archives
Host:
linkedin.com/in/ryaningr/
Preview: Fresh insights about place
What better way to expand our insights from Season 4 than to share bonus episodes, including several conversations from the new MillerKnoll workplace during Design Days? Listen in as we talk to leaders in archives, A&D, CRE, and more to get closer to the burning question: What’s next for the workplace and what is design’s role?
Hosted by:
Ryan Anderson, Vice President, Global Research &
S4, E11: A future for relationship-based planning
Sociologists sounded the alarm on technology’s more negative effects on people and places many decades ago. In season 4’s final episode, we revisit the past to chart a new way forward for the workplace. Listen in to discover how space planning can rebalance our relationship with technology and prioritize human interactions to create workplaces where people want to be.
Host:
linkedin.com/in/rya
S4, E10: Safe to fail
Innovation at work happens when we feel safe to fail, but how can we feel safer with our teammates in an era of distributed work? In this episode, sociological researcher Caitlin Begg and Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmonson deepen our understanding of psychological safety and discuss how spending more time together as teams can enable smarter risks and unlock innovation.
Guests:
auths
S4, E9: From occupancy to outcomes
This season, we've tapped into the ways organizations are innovating to support new ways of working and people coming back to the office. For this episode, we turn to Sara Klinges, Head of Real Estate and Workplace Effectiveness at Genentech, to find out how social, technological, and place-based strategies can fuel workplace effectiveness long term. Listen in as we discuss the perks of team-based
S4, E8: Working toward enticing
Enticing Office, a workplace study authored by environmental psychologist Nigel Oseland in collaboration with MillerKnoll, revealed key factors that attract people to the office, even when they have the option to work from home. Now Nigel joins us for an episode that dives into the topic of making workplaces desirable. Learn insight-driven and sometimes surprising ways designers and organizations
S4, E7: The impact of aesthetics
As a field that studies the effects of aesthetics on how people think and feel, neuroaesthetics can be a valuable tool for designing workplaces that make everyone feel comfortable and enabled to do their best. In this episode, Joseph White, Director of Design Strategy at MillerKnoll, and Suchi Reddy, Architect and Founder of Reddymade Architecture and Design, cover what you need to know about this
S4, E6: Learning from innovations in healthcare
The demands of design for healthcare environments can teach us multitudes about creating healthier, more efficient workplaces. For this episode, we’re joined by Michelle Ossmann, PhD, MSN, Director of Research at MillerKnoll, in a conversation on the innovations advancing design for healthcare environments and how to apply them in your next facility project.
For more About Place, visit:
millerkn
S4, E5: No final design
CBRE’s Workplace360 concept produces vibrant offices for the commercial real estate firm’s global workforce. Listen in as Peter Van Emburgh, Senior VP and Global Head of Real Estate and Karen McCallum, Managing Director of CBRE Design Collective, share the strategy behind Workplace360, how they keep the concept fresh across a global portfolio, and what organizations can learn from their progress.
S4, E4: Aspiration meets reality
A new mixed-use retail and office space in Bentonville, Arkansas is redefining work and play in the mountain biking capital of the world. Apart from a six-story indoor bike path and art installation, Ledger includes places to shop, gather, work, and move — refreshing notions of what an office building can be. Listen in as architects Christian Callaghan and Haruka Horiuchi dive into a discussion on
S4, E3: Always innovating
Workplace strategy experts Domino Risch and Kirsten Brown share how companies in Australia are layering workplace hospitality, new technologies, and a “give-it-a-go" attitude to guide workplace innovation and catapult the market into one of the most progressive in the world. And as flexible space outpaces commercial real estate as the new office go-to, they discuss what it takes to integrate authe
S4, E2: Planning for excellence
Designing the perfect operational model gets easier when organizations prioritize their stakeholders in the process. In this episode, Assal Yavari, VP of Global Real Estate and Safety at Workday, shares how rigorous feedback systems help prioritize employees—and drive successful return-to-office rates. We also learn how the team uses “centers of excellence” to nurture talent.
S4, E1: Powered by play
What does workplace planning look like at a global company in the business of play? Timothy Ahrensbach is LEGO Group’s Global Director of Workplace Innovation. Listen in as he shares intuitive models for planning workplaces that are inclusive, productive, and of course, a bit playful. Plus, learn about the developments powering the LEGO Office 2.3 concept.
Season 4 Preview: Let's talk about place
In this season of MillerKnoll’s podcast, we’re deepening our focus on the impact of the workplace on organizational outcomes—and our lives. What new ideas or practices are making the places where we work and live better around the world? How can we all apply them? We get into it in this season of About Place. Start listening.
millerknoll.com/ideas-in-action/about-place-podcast
S3, E11: A last look forward
Two experts from MillerKnoll’s Global Research and Insights team recap last episode’s conversation on the Harkin Institute’s inclusive design, before revealing new insights from our Global Workplace Assessment and examining the current state of work location policies. Next season, we’re reshaping the podcast to examine the future of work, plus our clients’ most pressing near-term needs for support
S3, E10: Designing for progress
The road to inclusivity stops for many buildings at ADA compliance, but two architects for The Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement at Drake University are charting a different path. Listen in as they discuss replicable design principles of the institute, which combines sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity for people with an array of disabilities.
S3, E9: Advocating for inclusion
Thirty years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there’s one research institute still pushing for more inclusive spaces for all. The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement at Drake University was created to deliver lasting support for social justice issues such as disability advocacy. Listen in as its founders, Ruth Harkin and former U.S. senator To
S3, E8: Evolving the workplace
What does it take to create workspaces people actually want to be in? Using smart technology as a sandbox, our guests explore how workplaces can forecast employee needs, measure results, and use data to ideate new people-centric solutions for using space. Listen in as Alea Fairchild, Ph.D., Director of the technology policy think-tank The Constantia Institute, and Jeremy Pollack, CEO and co-founde
S3, E7: Back to basics
Office density before the pandemic didn’t provide an ideal workplace experience for anyone. That’s just one of the takeaways from our chat with two experts from the Global Research and Insights team at MillerKnoll. Listen in as Katie Finlayson, our Workplace Strategy Manager, and Bertie Van Wyk, our Insight Programme Manager, touch on employee connection and belonging and unpack the power of purpo
S3, E6: Reimagining cities
For this episode, we welcome two guests from the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies (CIFS). Carsten Beck is Director of Research and Lovisa Volmarsson is an Advisor and Futurist. Our conversation started with a question about the implications of remote work on urban centers, but wandered into issues of livability, sustainability, economics, and public policy. The discussion generated plenty o
S3, E5: Leading toward belonging
Like most weeks this season, we welcome two guests to this episode. However, since both have a knack for looking at issues from multiple angles, it feels like we’re packing in more insights per minute this time. Pallavi Shrivastava is Head of Workplace Consulting, West Asia for global real estate services firm JLL. Mike Petrusky is Director of Podcasts for global worktech company Eptura. He also h
S3, E4: Redesigning work
Our guests for this episode come bearing research from their respective organizations to spark business leaders to think differently about the physical environment. Despina Katsikakis is an Executive Partner and Global Head of Total Workplace for global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. Kevin Delaney is CEO, Editor-in-Chief, and co-founder of Charter, a future-of-work media and re
S3, E3: Still a work in progress
When the insights come at you as fast as they do in this podcast, sometimes you need a chance to reflect and consider how they apply to your world. So, this season, we’ve invited members of our Global Research and Insights team to join Ryan to discuss the themes that surface every couple of episodes. This week, we welcome Michelle Ossmann, PhD., Director of Healthcare Knowledge and Innovation, and
S3, E2: Redefining wellbeing
This week’s guests explore workplace wellbeing in both theory and practice. Gethin Nadin is a psychologist and Chief Innovation Officer at Benefex, a UK-based employee experience software company. He also consults with organizations like BT Consumer, where Andrea Kilgour serves as People Director. Together, they challenge listeners to think more strategically about employee wellbeing, from the rol
S3, E1: Facilitating connection
To kick off Season 3, host Ryan Anderson welcomes Matthew Boyle, Senior Work Shift Reporter at Bloomberg News, and Annie Dean, VP of Team Anywhere at software development firm Atlassian. The dynamic among the three of them is fast-paced and the insights come one after the other. Listen as Matthew shares takeaways from his reporting on what he calls “the messy present of work,” while Annie adds pra
Season 3 Preview
Welcome to Season 3! To kick off this season, your host—and our VP of Global Research and Insights—Ryan Anderson offers his thoughts on the state of the workplace today. Get his take on the variables affecting the future of work around the world, how the workplace can better support flexibility (hint: it’s not just through hybrid policies), and why organizations need to do more to address employee
Season 2 Wrap-Up
We’ve come to the end of another season, but there’s still time to look back in our season wrap-up. Host Ryan Anderson puts a bow on Season 2 by sharing new data that challenges listeners to shift their focus from returning to the office, and toward a reimagining of the office for this new era of work. For more MillerKnoll insights, visit millerknoll.com/ideas-in-action.
S2, E10: The metaverse demystified
As our Digital Marketing Strategy Lead at MillerKnoll, Chris Coleman has been helping Ryan Anderson answer questions from customers wondering whether they should start hosting meetings or other work functions in the metaverse. These questions get asked so often that Ryan invited Chris to join him on the podcast to share a digestible explainer of all things metaverse—or, as Chris prefers to refer t
S2, E9: Workplace strategy for employee experience
This week, we welcome Corinne Murray, founder of Agate Studio. As a leading workplace strategist, Corinne helps organizations think differently about how they approach the creation, management, and evolution of their places of work. In an enlightening conversation, Ryan and Corinne explore the nuanced world of the future of work, touching on several approaches employers can use to evaluate both th
S2, E8: How human experience can shape real estate
Disruption has been the theme of Ronen Journo’s 28-year career, so his perspective on this period of rampant experimentation in corporate real estate is particularly prescient. Ronen is Senior Managing Director and European Head of Management Services & Operations at Hines, a privately owned real estate investment, development, and management firm. In this episode, he and Ryan discuss how the pand
S2, E7: Moving beyond accommodation
Inclusive design is a topic not nearly enough people are talking about. This week’s guests are working to fix that. Jolene De Jong is an Applied Insights + Design Specialist at MillerKnoll and Joseph White is the company’s Director of Design Strategy. They recently collaborated on a white paper for the peer-reviewed CRE Journal. In it—and in this episode—they unpack the need for architects and des
S2, E6: The business case for flexible working
Host Ryan Anderson could not wait to share this episode with you. Our guest, Cali Williams Yost, has spent her career helping organizations reimagine not just where, but also how and when their people work to improve performance and well-being. With a mix of infectious enthusiasm and the truth-bomb directness of someone who has been advocating for these shifts for 27 years, Cali makes a strong bus
S2, E5: Expanding the concept of workplace
On this week’s episode, we chat with Craig Robinson, Chief Growth Officer at flexible workplace provider, Industrious. With more than 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate business, Craig helps organizations to be more innovative in their approach to real estate by expanding their concept of "workplace" and providing greater employee choice while managing costs and risk. Join host R
S2, E4: Fixing what’s broken
Our guest this week is on a mission to convince organizations everywhere to take the double disruption of COVID plus inflation as an opportunity to change for the better. Debbie Lovich is a Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group. She brings her sharp wit and analytical mind to this conversation about the need for leaders to model flexibility, how our reasons for being in t
S2, E3: The pros of dynamic work
Season 2 rolls on with a visit from Samantha Fisher, Head of Dynamic Work at Okta, an identity and access management company that’s actually expanding its number of offices even though it does not require its 5,000-plus employees to come into the office. In an insightful conversation with host Ryan Anderson, Sam breaks down the implications of enforcing a standard eight-hour workday and shares how
S2, E2: Rethinking the future of offices
Host Ryan Anderson welcomes Phil Kirschner of global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. A self-proclaimed “accidental workplace strategist,” Phil fell into managing workplace strategy transformation efforts at Credit Suisse more than a decade ago and never looked back. As a result, his openness to supporting new ways of working fuels this fast-paced exploration of the need for executiv
S2, E1: The science of social connection
Kristin Leimgruber, Ph.D., joins us to kick off the season. Kristi is a behavioral researcher at BetterUp, the virtual coaching and mentorship platform whose science-based approach helps people thrive in the workplace. She and host Ryan Anderson link the rise in workplace burnout with the decline of our sense of social connection at work—an unintended consequence of remote work. It’s an important
Season 2 Preview
Host Ryan Anderson takes time to share some highlights from Season 1 and set the stage for Season 2 by answering the two most frequently asked questions he gets asked once people find out what he does for a living: What is the current state of return-to-office? And what does it mean for the future of the workplace? For more MillerKnoll insights, visit millerknoll.com/ideas-in-action.
Episode 9: Everyone wants belonging
For the final episode of Season 1 of Looking Forward, we welcome john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. After a thoughtful discussion of belonging in general terms, john and host Ryan Anderson pivot to focus on what organizations can do to foster belonging in the workplace. From the impact that belonging has on employee retention
Episode 8: Rebuilding our organizational networks
Our guest this week on the podcast is Andreas Hoffbauer, Ph.D., a sociologist by trade and the founder and director of the organizational and behavioral design studio Atelier Kultur. In a heady conversation with host Ryan Anderson, he explains how our organizational networks have been weakened throughout the pandemic—and how prototyping spatial interventions can help strengthen them. For more Mill
Episode 7: Putting our insights to the test
This week on the podcast, we offer a glimpse behind the scenes of our recently renovated Design Yard facility in West Michigan. Home to several teams that have embraced hybrid working, our transformed Design Yard provides choice and bolsters engagement. Matt Stares, Senior Vice President of Global Real Estate, Architecture and Development here at Herman Miller, and Gretta Peterson, our Senior Mana
Episode 6: Architecting interaction
Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes, Founder/Lead Architect of AKKA Architects in Amsterdam, is the type of guest we could talk with for hours—but you’ll have to make do with 37 minutes on this week’s podcast. She joins host Ryan Anderson to discuss how organizations can design spaces in a more participative manner and create environments that are ready for the future of work—a future in which workplaces act
Episode 5: Know your customer
Our guest this week is Steve Todd, AVP, Global Head of Workplace at Nasdaq, and creator of Open Sourced Workplace—a resource for real estate and workplace information. Steve joins host Ryan Anderson to share how he’s been able to move Nasdaq beyond a spreadsheet-driven understanding workplace ROI and toward a more user-centered approach—including some of the factors he’s identified that influence
Episode 4: Better experiences through smarter buildings
This week, Ryan welcomes Andrea Chegut, Ph.D., Director of the Real Estate Innovation Lab at MIT. A data scientist first and foremost, Andrea’s work involves listening to data and leveraging what she learns to help designers and business leaders align the built environment with the needs of people. In a fascinating conversation, she and Ryan cover the four biggest struggles corporate real estate n
Episode 3: Rethinking the concept of workplace
This week, host Ryan Anderson welcomes one of the most experienced and insightful leaders in the workplace strategy space: Adrienne Rowe, Head of Workplace Strategy at Raytheon Technologies. Their conversation starts with the current state of workplace strategy as an evolving field of practice, and springboards into a range of topics, from activity-based working to the challenge of balancing flexi
Episode 2: Remote work for inclusivity and better living
This week, Ryan tackles remote work with one of the world’s foremost experts on the topic, Darren Murph. Darren is Head of Remote at GitLab, a DevOps platform that helps co-located, hybrid, and remote teams collaborate and build software. Darren shares lessons that GitLab has learned as a completely officeless company with more than 1,400 remote employees—including boundary-setting at the organiza
Episode 1: Embracing a more flexible future
For our inaugural episode, Ryan welcomes Brian Elliott, Executive Leader of Future Forum, a consortium launched by Slack to help companies rethink work in our digital-first world. Topics include managing distributed teams, the effect of the pandemic on employee expectations—including the ripple effect those changing expectations are having on HR policy—and avoiding "false flexibility." For more Mi
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