May 25, 2026

In this issue… the office market’s reset deepens as construction hits a 14‑year low and landlords lean harder on concessions, while architecture demand stays soft with the ABI slipping to 48.3 (below 50) even as new project inquiries rise. City-by-city signals diverge: Chicago’s downtown pipeline drops to zero, Miami tightens with surging rents, and Boston wrestles with too much obsolete inventory—fueling a record 2027 wave of office‑to‑residential conversions. Capital markets stay choppy as CRE sales fall with higher yields, and workplace uncertainty grows around AI’s impact on jobs and space needs and companies’ push for better utilization data. Industry moves include Workrite’s leadership refresh and partnership expansion to sharpen its future-of-work strategy. HNI draws scrutiny for maintaining its dividend despite a Q1 loss, with analysts probing weak workplace-furnishings demand, cost controls, and growth assumptions. Trends span art-filled offices and integrated interior systems, plus a wide slate of new workplace and education products.