Innovate, Adapt & Thrive: Community-Based FM, Hybrid Work Trends & Smart Building ROI
On World FM Day 2026, EuroFM brought its network together for an online celebration of Facility Management and its growing role in shaping the future of our built environments.
The session was opened by Natalie Hofman, Chair of EuroFM, who reflected on the importance of Facility Management as the backbone of organisations, workplaces and communities. She emphasised that FM is no longer only about maintaining buildings or keeping operations running smoothly. It is increasingly about creating environments that support people, respond to change and help organisations become more resilient. In a world shaped by climate challenges, technological developments, shifting workplace expectations and geopolitical uncertainty, Natalie called on the FM community to keep sharing knowledge, embracing innovation and staying agile. Her message was clear: the future of Facility Management is not something that simply happens to us, it is something we create together.
The first presentation was delivered by Bintang Prabowo, winner of the EuroFM Best Research Paper Award 2025. He presented his research on Community-Based Facility Management in an Urban Experiment Area, focusing on the case of Svartlamon in Trondheim, Norway. This unique district, Norway’s first urban ecological experimental area, shows how FM principles can be applied beyond individual buildings and scaled up to the level of neighbourhoods and urban communities.
Bintang explained how Svartlamon is built around community ownership, participation, shared responsibility and grassroots governance. Residents are actively involved in decision-making, maintenance, infrastructure, social activities and the long-term care of their environment. Through the example of the five self-built houses, developed between 2010 and 2017, he showed how co-creation can blur the boundaries between users, designers and managers. The result is not just physical maintenance, but also stronger social cohesion, trust, belonging and collective pride. His presentation challenged traditional FM thinking by shifting the focus from “managing for people” to “managing with people.”
After Bintang’s presentation, Catharine Broadnax, Associate Partner at Urbanite Advisors, stepped in for Tamás Polster, who was unable to attend due to illness. Catharine presented insights from Urbanite’s Future of Work occupier survey and the Vibrancy Index. Drawing on research among 150 occupiers representing around 3.4 million employees, she showed that many organisations are now becoming more confident in their hybrid work strategies. While media attention often focuses on either full-time office returns or fully remote work, the reality is more nuanced: most companies are settling somewhere in the middle, with two to three office days per week becoming the dominant pattern.
Catharine also explored what makes office locations attractive and effective. Public transport, the quality of the urban environment, access to talent and the vibrancy of the surrounding area are increasingly important drivers in real estate and workplace decisions. Through Urbanite’s Vibrancy Index, she explained how the energy and amenities of a neighbourhood can now be measured and connected to office attendance and workplace performance. For Facility Managers, this underlines the growing connection between building experience, location strategy, community, sustainability and the future of work.
Overall, EuroFM’s World FM Day celebration offered two different but strongly connected perspectives on the future of Facility Management. Bintang’s presentation showed the power of community, participation and local ownership in shaping inclusive built environments. Catharine’s presentation highlighted how hybrid work, urban vibrancy and workplace experience are reshaping the role of offices and facilities. Together, they reinforced the central message of the day: Facility Management is a strategic, human-centred and future-focused profession that helps people, places and communities thrive.