Rob Harris discusses the role of offices in cities, their contribution to the economy, the people who build and own them, the organisations that occupy and manage them, and the nature of the space itself as a place of work. 

Rob does this through a London lens, as he shares some thoughts from his soon to be published history of the office. He will talk about five ages of the modern office: market, factory, corporate, digital and network.Rob will touch on the post-Covid office, speculating it foretells the ‘fifth age’, the Network Office. Many trends already in play went into ‘fast forward’, including the commoditisation of space. The workplace experience and the manner in which it is curated will assume greater importance. Buildings will increasingly take on the profile of hotels in their operation and management.