Government updates office design standards to reflect modern, flexible working trends

The Government Property Agency has issued a revised Government Workplace Design Guide, setting out a new framework it says will help deliver more consistent office design across the civil service while reflecting how officials now work. Published on 2 July, the guide centres on Core Design Requirements, a model intended to support inclusive, accessible, sustainable and digitally connected workplaces across the government estate.

The updated document is aimed at anyone commissioning, planning, designing or managing new offices and substantial refurbishments. According to the Government Property Agency, it is designed to establish common standards without removing the flexibility departments need to respond to local operational demands and building constraints.

The revision replaces the 2020 version of the guide and follows a review that incorporated feedback from departments and industry bodies, as well as benchmarking and cost analysis.

Mark Bourgeois, chief executive of the Government Property Agency, said the new guide provides ‘a key framework for delivering workspaces that are inclusive, sustainable and digitally connected’.

He said the updated standards offer the clarity needed to create modern offices that support collaboration, wellbeing and performance, while also aligning with the government’s Plan for Change and its transition to net zero. The agency has also published a series of technical handbooks covering architecture, fire safety, sustainability, biodiversity, building services and historic buildings.

The Core Design Requirements framework is meant to reduce redesign costs by setting clearer expectations at the outset, while still allowing projects to adapt as circumstances change. The guide gives greater weight to digital connectivity and interoperability, reflecting the more dispersed way civil servants now work across different locations.

It sits within the wider Government Functional Standard for Property and forms part of a broader workplace transformation programme that includes the Government Hubs Programme, through which the agency is consolidating office accommodation across the UK.