What’s the confluence of innovation and real estate and what impact does it have on designing workspaces?
Innovation is thrilling – it means we can improve the way we work, live and experience our environment, both indoors and outdoors. Read a short story from an interview with our Innovations & Partnerships Lead, Gaia Arzilli.
Gaia Arzilli is our Innovations & Partnerships Lead for Europe, who, in the latest dialogue with Will Darbyshire, a PropTech journalist at Unissu, explained how innovation runs through the veins of our company’s strategy.
Being an innovation scout doesn’t only include actively searching for and discovering innovations that are out there in the external world that can be implemented and used for the good of others. Her role intertwines with many departments. It’s no surprise that one of her tasks is to increase and improve collaborative methodologies to involve all departments within the company.
Exploring the innovation market can be both thrilling and challenging at the same time. Many of the innovations are connected to their young nature as start-ups. Thus, bringing innovation to a mature company from the outside pool is only one step in a process where minimum disruption and friction are desired.
She finds innovation ‘thrilling’, believing that everyone deserves to have ‘meaning’ in their work, and is ‘blown away’ by the progressive and fearless approach to real estate taken by the board of directors that appointed her. We believe that making people feel like their work has an impact and meaning is more important than only thinking about KPIs.
Our ultimate goal is to create space that enhances people’s health and wellbeing – whether it’s our own employees, our clients’ employees or those who use our coworking spaces. This is the lens through which we look. Everything we do – all of the brands, sub-brands, initiatives and projects – they’re all focused on creating space that makes people feel happier and healthier. Happy, healthy people are more productive. It’s a fact.
If you would like to read more about why Gaia feels like she has a job that makes a difference for the future, you can find the full version of the interview on the Unissu website.
Editor’s note
Gaia Arzilli is the Innovations & Partnerships Lead at the international workspace provider, HB Reavis, a company currently behind five of Europe’s ten biggest developments. She joined our company eighteen months ago and was tasked with representing the business and its work in Europe. She has a prolific CV, covering global politics, NGOs, sustainability, mentorship, consultancies, and, yes, chocolate (Gaia has been a member of the advisory board for an Italian chocolate company for over twelve years).