Developing the “right” new workplace concept is a design task not only on the architectural and organisational levels but on the mental level as well. Building upon expert/laypeople communication, change management and person-environment-fit research, my PhD-thesis seeks to answer what activities work best to help users construct a viable mental model of their future work environment early. Three studies will investigate: Which research exists regarding early user involvement and how can it be integrated? (Literature analysis) What process activities do users report as helpful for developing a mental model? (Case studies) Does Virtual Reality help users to get a bet-ter understanding of the options and implications of a new workplace environment? (VR focus group workshops) It is expected to find that early support in the mental model construction will make the workplace project more successful with less user frustration and higher productivity.