Design Perspectives: Lorraine Kasznia

Lorraine Kasznia has long been a driving force in the evolution of workplace design. One trend she sees gaining significant momentum is the growth of inspired spec suites: pre-built, move-in-ready office spaces. While these suites are constructed without a confirmed tenant, they are often designed with a target audience or type of organization in mind.  

In major metro areas, spec suites are rapidly growing as they offer landlords a competitive edge by providing move-in-ready, trendy spaces that attract tenants seeking speed, flexibility, and lower upfront costs, leading to faster lease-ups and higher occupancy, especially in Class A buildings. In fact, in Chicago, spec suites accounted for over 40% of all leased square footage last year, underscoring their increasing relevance in today’s workplace market.

Now more than ever, spec suites are a powerful leasing strategy that redefines how we experience and interact with office space. In this edition of Design Perspectives, Lorraine explores how the design of these ready-to-lease environments are being reimagined, especially in competitive urban markets like Chicago.  Here, Lorraine highlights the innovative design strategies that are transforming them into dynamic, flexible, and desirable workplaces.

Spec suites have been around a long time. What’s changed? 

Originally, spec suites were simple, neutral spaces designed to help tenants imagine how their business might fit into an office setting. Today, they’ve evolved into fully designed environments with distinctive elements tailored to modern business needs, placing a strong emphasis on employee experience and functionality.

Pre-pandemic, our design teams targeted an average space need at 150 square feet per person. Now we aim for closer to 200 because the way we use space is shifting. Tenants need more amenities, meeting spaces and flexibility. We’ve seen the number of private offices increase over the last few years, but organizations are rethinking them to also be multipurpose spaces, such as huddle rooms. Cafés need to act as touchdown zones, and everything needs to work harder and smarter. In the end, spec suites help companies visualize new ways of working and spur employee engagement.

What are the key drivers when designing spec suites? 

It’s all about understanding the market and creating impactful spaces. Generic design rarely resonates... It’s forgettable and fails to foster the kind of energy that keeps employees inspired and engaged. Unique design stands out and cultivates a sense of pride and purpose. Over the years, I’ve learned that the most effective spec suites don’t choose between these high-impact ‘wow’ moments and flexible nurturing environments—they interlace them. When design is intentional, it creates spaces where tenants can envision not just where they’ll work, but how they’ll thrive. 

If you could include one feature in every spec suite, what would it be? 

 It’s hard to pick just one! I’d say a breakroom or café space with access to natural light. It sounds simple, but it impacts everything from mood to productivity to team dynamics. Our goal would be to create a hospitality zone that becomes the heart of the office, for work and social purposes. This is deeply important to the user experience and company culture.

What workplace trend are you most excited for spec suites to embrace? 

The focus on employee experience is exciting and challenging when designing a spec suite.  People are back in the office, but virtual meetings are part of the rhythm. It’s common to see colleagues just feet apart, each on their own virtual call. As designers, this gives us an opportunity to rethink how we design spaces that support both collaboration and focused, heads-down work.

Hospitality design best practices are gaining traction in corporate workplace environments as companies focus on creating spaces that feel welcoming and experience-driven. The goal is to offer an environment that feels even better than working from home and more like stepping into a boutique hotel or an upscale lounge. This approach not only helps attract and retain talent by fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging collaboration, but also delivers a “wow factor” that instills pride. Today’s offices need to be more than just functional. They need to be buzz-worthy destinations people genuinely want to spend time in.