Making workplaces the place to be - with inspirational city maker Sandra Poelman
- Nina Fountain
- Apr 27, 2022
- 2 min read
Sandra Poelman is an international placemaker based in the Netherlands, with an exciting history of taking cities around the world from being hopeless to hotspot. She is a complete inspiration - a woman who thinks big and stops at nothing. Placemaking is the art of attracting people to a place, bringing the vitality of human interaction to a place that would be otherwise dull and lifeless. Imagine places that draw you in because they are attractive, desirable and enjoyable.
When we achieve that in the workplace, we create magic. However, for many people the workplace has inordinate challenges. Take a listen as Sandra outlines how she influences people with a range of interests to be inspired to make places, not just buildings. The space and buildings we occupy ‘at the office’ will always have a place. Making that space an attractive place to be is crucial to organisational culture and design.
"When people are feeling good and are proud of their environment, it means so much... [Involving many people] makes it come to life."
Key moments
1:03 - Where placemaking started for Sandra with a local employer in her city letting 40,000 people go
3:52 - Adding value to a city with economic and people payoff by creating 'breeding grounds'.
7:01 - Who is part of the ecosystem that inspires future planning
10:30 - How being in complete control doesn't necessarily give the largest value to placemaking.
12:00 - What happened in Eindhoven, the transformation.
14:25 - What needs to happen to get people 'unstuck' to achieve their vision
18.08 - How long the placemaking process takes
23:50 - How important is human-centred design?
26:11 - What makes an ideal workspace
