What do your people need from their environment in order to do their best work?
And what does that mean for your next lease, move, or fit-out?
Space Sense helps organisations answer those questions before they commit, so the space you lease, build, or change is shaped by what your people and business actually need, not by assumptions.
Space Sense is a small, independent consultancy that offers clear, evidence-based advice on the property decisions that are too expensive to get wrong.
Workplace Experience | Strategy | Change Management
If you're at one of these points, it's worth a conversation
This work pays off most when there's a decision ahead where the stakes - and the costs - are high.
A lease decision is coming up, and you need more than numbers to guide your decision
A remodel, restack, or right-sizing is underway, or about to be signed off
You're formalising a hybrid model and the office no longer quite fits how people work
Occupancy costs feel too high, or too much space is sitting empty
The space and the culture have drifted apart, and it's starting to show
A major workplace change is coming, and it needs to be handled properly
The first conversation is free.
Space shapes culture
Your office is more than a place to get work done. It's where social ties form, where tacit knowledge passes between people, and where a shared sense of identity takes root.
In a hybrid world, the role of the physical workplace has never been more important - or more fragile. Getting it right means understanding the people who use it, not just the square metres they sit in.
I help organisations think through these questions clearly, so that when property decisions get made, they're grounded in something real.
And this has very real outcomes for employee productivity, wellbeing and retention, as well as business costs, brand and resilience.
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Space affects people's ability to collaborate, focus, and feel psychologically safe. It shapes wellbeing in ways that are easy to underestimate - until they start affecting performance.
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Your office sets the tone for how people come together. It shapes identity, supports tacit learning, and plays a quiet but powerful role in social cohesion and institutional memory.
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A well-considered workplace drives cost savings and efficiency — but its real power is its impact on culture, engagement, talent retention, and long-term resilience.
ABOUT
Connecting real estate decisions with human outcomes
Space Sense is led by me, Georgie Chennells. With over 15 years’ experience working across architecture, commercial property and people, I combine workplace strategy, change management, and human-centred research to help organisations realise the full potential of their space.
By aligning people and space factors with organisational performance and vision, the strategic value of the space can be realised.
Based in Cape Town and operating across Southern Africa.
PROSCI® Certified Change Practitioner
B.Arch, UCT
BA Hons Brand Leadership, Vega
GBCSA AP: Net Zero & Green Star Interiors
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Strategic support where it’s needed
I work with organisations at an inflection point - whether that's a lease coming up, a major remodel, or simply the need to take stock of how work has changed.
Workplace Strategy
The core question: what do your people need from their space, and what does that mean for your property decisions? I study this, then turn it into a clear direction you can act on. The output isn't a report that sits on a shelf; it's a decision you can take to a lease, a brief, or a budget with confidence.
Needs analysis | Utilisation & occupancy studies | Workplace experience analysis | Mobility profiling | Scenario mapping | Hybrid workplace planning
SERVICES
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Change Management
Workplace transitions only deliver their full value when people are brought along for the journey. I help organisations manage the human side of change, from leadership alignment to employee adoption.
Change management | Impact assessment | Leadership visioning | Stakeholder mapping | Behaviour shift | Comms planning
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Advisory & Support
This is really about solving your specific workplace challenges. Customised solutions might include research and advisory, structured surveys, workshops, leadership sessions, or more.
Visioning support | Workplace experience diagnostic | Leadership workshops | Comms support | Custom support
Advice grounded in evidence, not opinion
APPROACH
Good property decisions start with knowing how your space is actually used, not how everyone assumes it is. Before I recommend anything, I typically look at the real picture:
How your space is used: utilisation and occupancy across days, teams, and settings
How people experience it: where they focus, collaborate, struggle, or stay away
How people move and work: mobility profiling and the patterns behind hybrid attendance
What it costs: cost per seat, per head, and per square metre, and where that money is working or wasted
From there, I map the options against your business objectives, so when the lease, build, or change decision gets made, it's grounded in something real and defensible at board level.
CASE STUDIES
Work that made a real difference
A selection of projects across industries, organisation sizes, and types of workplace challenge.
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![A brainstorming or planning board with handwritten notes and colorful sticky notes arranged around a central stick figure drawing. The sticky notes contain various ideas and keywords such as 'touchdown,' 'present,' 'focus,' 'cup of coffee,' and 'at a higher supernova level.' Some notes are taped or attached with string, and the background has sketches and diagrams related to project planning or team collaboration.]()
Workplace study for right-sizing and design briefing
Pharma - Medium size
Holistic workplace needs analysis to support lease decision-making and property remodelling - utilisation data, mobility profiling, scenario mapping, and strategic recommendations.
Robust research & insights to support property decision
Leadership aligned on way forward
Hybrid model adopted by global HQ
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![A computer screen displaying a presentation slide with the title 'What the building could support' and a detailed space budget table, along with a pie chart illustrating different space types within a building. The slide includes categories such as central resources, individual focus, group collaboration, and circulation with respective percentages.]()
Workplace strategy for business evolution
Academic Institution: Property Division - Medium size
Research and insights to support evolving workforce needs ahead of a building remodel - aligning ways of working, spaces, and settings with broader business strategy.
Workforce needs identified and evidenced
Property decisions grounded in data
Change management foundations laid
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![Bar chart comparing percentages across three buildings A, B, and C in five categories with color-coded segments: green, lime, blue, pink, and yellow. Building A has high percentages in green (67%) and very high in yellow (94%), while Building C shows a high percentage in blue (75%) and lower in green (31%).]()
Workplace assessments at scale
Financial Services - Large size
Bespoke methodology to measure 'workplace future fitness' across a 50+ building portfolio, delivered as part of a broader CBRE Excellerate & Profica-led programme.
Data-driven insight for national property portfolio
Building-by-building benchmark reports
Future-proofed portfolio strategy enabled
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![Diagram displaying a shift towards a more expansive workplace and mindset with various depicted transitions, including from single fixed work locations to hybrid work styles, traditional performance management to evolving methods, and face-to-face meetings to multi-modal meetings.]()
Enterprise workplace change management
Financial Services - Large size
Supported a major national financial HQ through a complex restack, building remodelling, and evolution to hybrid working. Co-created the change strategy with Openroom Consulting.
Organisation prepared for major transition
Leadership engaged and risks mitigated
Formalised hybrid working successfully adopted
Trusted by teams across Southern Africa
As an independent consultant, I work directly with clients or embedded within larger CRE or change teams - whatever creates the most value for the project.
If you have a workplace decision coming up, whether it's a lease renewal, a relocation, a hybrid shift, or a culture question, then getting a clear, independent perspective early makes for better decisions.
The initial conversation is free.
Articles and resources
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