LOS ANGELES—Residential designs are beginning to inform office design, according to Patricia Rhee, a principal at Ehrlich Architects, which, along with Ware Malcomb, is responsible for the design of the elevon creative office campus. For the unfamiliar, elevon, which is currently under development in El Segundo, CA, is a for-sale mixed-use office complex with a design certainly fits into this trend. The 46.5-acre, 15-building campus boasts 210,000 square feet of communal and indoor-outdoor spaces throughout—which likens the campus to a neighborhood more than a work environment. To better understand the emerging design trends in the office space and why people are gravitating toward work environments with a residential atmosphere, we sat down with Rhee for an exclusive interview. Here is what we found out:

GlobeSt.com: What are the major office design trends you are seeing right now?

Patricia Rhee: People want to be part of a neighborhood/community, even at work. We are focused on the comforts of home being tangible and readily available in the work environment. Flexibility that accommodates different ways of working and the rapid growth (and shrinking) of companies is key, along with the flexibility to convert desk space into meeting space and vice versa. This means communal, ad hoc collaborative spaces—where people can run into others that aren't necessarily from the same company—but especially outdoor spaces. Amenities today go beyond just a café. Elevon not only has the ubiquitous good coffee, but outdoor living room, bocci ball courts, on-site retail, dining and services and a dog park.

GlobeSt.com: The elevon project is especially interesting because it offers customizable, for-sale units. Why do you think companies want to own their own office space versus rent?

Rhee: Tenants want to buy a quality property and make interior investments in their own space, not just temporarily fitting out a space. Ownership also offers a lower occupancy cost with today's historically low interest rates and the continued value appreciation of premium real estate.  It also provides control over building systems if the user doesn't fit the 8-6 schedule of traditional office space. Ownership provides greater flexibility for growing or contracting tenants: It is much easier for an owner to lease space or sell their building than to sublease space in the middle of a lease term. And of course there are the tax benefits of ownership.

GlobeSt.com: These trends recall more personal spaces. How do trends in residential design affect office design?

Rhee: A common theme in our custom homes is complete openness to the yard and extension of the living space outdoors. People living and working in Southern California expect this same connection to the outdoors in their work environment. The glass roll-up door in our own office gets opened nearly every day of the year, and the adjacent patio is the most multi-functional space in the office: It's a lunchroom, meeting room, private phone room, break space and the site of our pecha kuchas, summer barbecues and events.

GlobeSt.com: The spaces at elevon seem to have been created with optimum flexibility in mind. Why is it important for office tenants to have this amount for flexibility in their office space?

Rhee: The way people work is constantly evolving, keeping pace with technological changes. Flexibility in the use of the building, indoor and outdoor spaces needs to accommodate this.

GlobeSt.com: Although popular, these are still relatively new trends. How do you see this office space evolving, and are these design details "trends" or are they here to stay?

Rhee: As technology evolves so will the way people work. If you have an open flexible plan for the work environment, that goes a long way.