AstraZeneca’s workplace design strategy for a unified global experience

A world leader in biopharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca manages a vast real estate portfolio spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Driven by strong corporate values and a deep commitment to sustainability, the company is dedicated to being a great place to work for their global workforce.

To create a supportive and sustainable global workplace design strategy, AstraZeneca implemented a workplace strategy centered on adaptive design and responsible growth to effectively navigate the scale and diversity of its worldwide operations.

An adaptive and supportive workplace strategy

Senior Director of Workplace Solutions, Andy Parry recently outlined five key strategies that define AstraZeneca’s mandate for agility. These strategies are central to guiding the organization’s shift away from fixed construction toward a more flexible and resilient workplace design.

“We were drawn to Framery by the unrivalled performance, user simplicity, and ability to record usage data. They are the clear market leader, with a compelling sustainability story, plus a clean, simple design that stood out among other pods.”

Andy Parry
Senior Director of Workplace Solutions | AstraZeneca

This modern approach sets adaptive architecture as the new standard in support of a quality workplace experience across the globe, highlighting the importance of reliable partners like Framery to help deliver on this vision.

• Prioritizing individual focus and employee choice
• Reduced reliance on built rooms and improved layout flexibility
• Unifying the global workplace experience
• Ensuring suppliers meet sustainability standards
• Using smart technology to optimize the workplace experience

Prioritizing focus and choice through workplace design

To truly improve the employee experience, the office must provide employee choice and support privacy and confidentiality when needed. Providing a variety of working spaces allows workers to choose the type of environment they need for the task at hand, enhancing both well-being and productivity.

“Framery smart pods give employees the ability to quickly find a place to work that is still connected to their neighborhood, and reliably provide the privacy and confidentiality they require for the task in hand.”

Andy Parry
Senior Director of Workplace Solutions | AstraZeneca

To address the need for private spaces, AstraZeneca provides Framery smart pods. These pods serve as a critical tool for focus, ensuring employees can achieve and maintain the sustained concentration needed for deep work, and have the confidentiality required for sensitive calls without disturbing colleagues. This directly supports employee choice by guaranteeing quiet spaces for individual tasks.

A 50/50 split of rooms and pods

Maintaining workplace agility is crucial for business future-proofing. AstraZeneca is actively shifting its workplace design strategy to embed flexibility into the office. By incorporating modular, movable spaces into the floorplan, this approach moves decisively away from high costs and slow build times of permanent construction.

“Our goal was future-proofing our business. We moved toward a more balanced split between built rooms and movable pods to ensure the workplace remains flexible enough to adapt to whatever comes next.”

Andy Parry
Senior Director of Workplace Solutions | AstraZeneca

To maintain this agility, the organization has adopted a strategic 1:1 ratio of built rooms to movable and modular soundproof pods. This hybrid model allows the estate team to adapt workspaces instantly without capital-intensive renovation. By installing Framery smart pods in offices across the globe, they have implemented scalable, flexible infrastructure, making the workplace portfolio future-proof.

A unified employee experience

A consistent workplace experience in every office is key to a unified corporate culture. Creating a unified global experience means providing equal access to quality, supportive tools in every location. This requires a robust supply chain that can deliver identical quality and aesthetics regardless of geography to standardize workplace performance and experience.

“Whether in Mexico City or Chennai, we need to provide a consistent user experience. Framery’s ability to supply globally ensures that our employees have the same high quality of performance and privacy, no matter which office they step into.”

Andy Parry
Senior Director of Workplace Solutions | AstraZeneca

To provide a consistent workplace experience across its global footprint, AstraZeneca relies on trusted partners like Framery with the capacity to deliver product excellence and professional support anywhere in the world. This strategic partnership ensures that product quality remains exceptional and consistent, guaranteeing identical performance and experience across all sites from Bangalore to Barcelona and beyond.

Holding suppliers accountable to sustainability standards

Upholding supplier sustainability standards is non-negotiable when managing a global footprint. Managing a vast global footprint demands that every physical expansion strictly adheres to corporate environmental commitments, requiring transparent impact validation from every supplier. Prioritizing partners who validate their global efforts in sustainability helps companies meet environmental mandates for responsible growth.

“Sustainability is a key differentiator for us when selecting a supplier. Framery matched our high criteria with their materials, manufacturing methods, and their responsible approach to global supply.”

Andy Parry
Senior Director of Workplace Solutions | AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca partnered with Framery to ensure their growth remains environmentally responsible. Framery’s commitment to longevity, use of recycled materials, and supply chain transparency provides AstraZeneca with the necessary assurance and reporting resources for corporate compliance. Prioritizing sustainable partnerships with suppliers like Framery is an essential part of AstraZeneca’s sustainability strategy.

Using smart technology to optimize workplace strategy

The best workplaces use effortless technology that improves the working experience for employees, and provides critical operational data to the facilities management team. Incorporating smart office technology into the workplace strategy is the first step in using data-driven design to maximize space efficiency without sacrificing user-friendly tools.

“We value the simplicity and user-friendliness of Framery smart pods, and the anonymous usage data allows us to make informed decisions about our portfolio.”

Andy Parry
Senior Director of Workplace Solutions | AstraZeneca

Framery smart pods and smart office solutions provide AstraZeneca with intuitive technology for every user, and a workplace management platform that shares real-time utilization data about how the spaces are used. This valuable data allows the real estate team to monitor usage rates globally, making evidence-based decisions to optimize space and reduce operating costs. This approach helps AstraZeneca bridge the gap between strategic oversight and functional access to privacy.

A blueprint for modern workplace design strategy

Creating a great workplace doesn’t have to be complicated. AstraZeneca has generated a consistent, supportive, and modern global workplace design strategy by prioritizing employee experience with modular, movable soundproof spaces for focus and privacy.

“The Framery team is excellent, professional, and easy to work with. They provide the high-quality customer service our global offices require, supporting us throughout the entire process.”

Andy Parry
Senior Director of Workplace Solutions | AstraZeneca

By maintaining unwavering standards for product quality, and prioritizing sustainable partnerships with suppliers like Framery, AstraZeneca guarantees a unified global experience for every user in every office. Leveraging real-time data from Framery smart office solutions will help ensure that AstraZeneca continues to deliver maximum support and performance into the future.

This successful framework serves as a powerful blueprint for organizations of any size, from a single office floor to a complex global campus, and everything in between.