WeWork parent The We Company is expanding its design capabilities beyond the workplace with the launch of the ‘future cities initiatives’ and is hiring designer Dror Benshetrit to head it up.

Benshetrit, founder of New York-based Studio Dror will take the helm on the initiative alongside former Google executive Di-Ann Eisnor.

Together the two will “build a team of engineers, architects, data scientists, and biologists who will work to fuse nature, design, technology, and community in our cities in order to measurably improve the lives of citizens”.

Benshetrit’s eponymous firm has already worked on a number of ideas-driven projects, which include the design of an island in Turkey, a masterplan of the first self-driving car neighbourhood in Canada, an art installation that recreates the feeling of standing on the moon, and a new lightbulb concept.

Eisnor, meanwhile, was previously director of growth for Waze, a GPS navigation app that offers live-updates with travel times and improved routes. Google bought the app for over USD$1 billion.

“I am thrilled that the Studio Dror team joins The We Company’s journey to reimagine not just the future of work, but of space and how we use it, and in doing so, help our cities thrive and become more livable, more human and more inclusive,” says Benshetrit.

The launch of the initiative comes as after the recent transition of co-working company WeWork into wider parent brand The We Company. Since launching in 2010, We has collected a huge amount of data on how people work and live and has been using that information to shape more than 600 co-working spaces.

The company has also recently expanded into co-living spaces, schools, and wellness centres and has acquired an extensive portfolio of software companies.