In a market slowed by the economic context, companies that continue to invest in office fit-outs are turning towards quality and concentrating their budgets in the spaces where teams collaborate.
In the projects carried out by Workspace Studio in 2026, social and connection areas account for almost half of the total budget of an office fit-out. This is the clearest shift in priorities in an otherwise cautious market, where overall demand is being held back by a tense economic and political context, and companies that move forward with a project are weighing every allocation carefully. Workspace Studio, a fit-out and workplace transformation company with a turnover of EUR 30 million in 2025, sees this reorientation directly in this year’s project portfolio, which covers over 20,000 sqm of fitted-out space.
The budget breakdown shows a clear focus on interaction. In a turnkey project, which includes finishes, installations, furniture and architectural solutions, approximately half of the budget goes to collaboration and connection areas, from meeting rooms to cafeterias and team spaces. A quarter supports individual workstations, while the remaining quarter covers support spaces: reception, circulation areas, technical areas and utilities. For individual workstations, a smaller footprint means a higher investment per square metre, a sign of rising expectations around ergonomics. At turnkey project level, the average investment in 2026 stood at around EUR 1,000/sqm, up approximately 15% compared to the previous year.
