Gensler’s Experience Index Shows How Smartphones Are Changing Our Physical Spaces
As technology improves, the rate at which people can switch between tasks has grown faster and more efficient. Now, people expect these transitions to be as seamless in their physical world as they are in the digital — like when switching between apps on a smartphone.
A study conducted by architecture firm Gensler found that people tend to fall into one of five “modes” when they are in a space: task, social, discovery, entertainment and aspiration modes, Fast Company reports.
When spaces present the possibility of experiencing multiple modes, they were found to have the most positive reactions from customers.
Eataly is one such example, coming in as one of the top-ranked places, along with Applebee's. Customers enjoy these spaces because they offer several experiences, including food shopping, which satisfies the task mode; the ability to meet friends or family for a drink, which falls into the social mode; holding business meetings, which is the work mode; window shopping, which is the discovery mode; and watching chefs while they cook, which falls within the entertainment mode.
Eataly is far from the only company feeding this trend. WeWork and Samsung recently announced a coordinated effort to achieve a multimodal spaces with a combined concept that will allow people to work while they wait for their technology tuneups.
