my office is lame

CREATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENTS - Do you work in one?

Monday, 03 December 2007

Chances are if you talk to any CEO within the traditional corporation model they will most likely agree that productivity is primarily measured in monetary terms (i.e. profits and margins). If numbers continually rise or remain stable, then change within an organization should be avoided at all costs. If, at any time, productivity declines, the CEO will undoubtedly be the first to take notice, and a top-down chain of events could result in layoffs and downsizing and consequently evoke fear and panic from the bottom up through the ranks. But what about a change to the physical environment within which people operate – create – innovate? Most companies adapted to the so-called ‘open plan’ lining employees up in rows of cube-shaped spaces essentially allowing working minds to adjust according to stimulus created in the workplace. Individuals who became accustomed to hiding inside their own closed off sanctuaries were suddenly forced into listening and discussing openly and candidly work-related problems and ideas abandoning the ability of retreating into isolation. Those who had a difficult time acclimating were either kicked out or discredited for not being able to operate effectively. During this phase in the evolution of work space design many larger companies who could afford to do so, spent money on architecturally impressive buildings from the outside – modern, sleek, media-attracting structures – while simultaneously neglecting following through within where the work generally takes shape. The office cube became synonymous with monotonous, uninspiring highly systematic office space. A new era of work space design was dawning, and design professionals across the world began to seriously consider the practices of an organization as an essential prerequisite for subsequent design briefs. Jump Studios in London have made a substantial contribution to the new generation of work spaces in their innovative design for the Red Bull Headquarters. Ideas about work environment design centered around feelings associated with adrenaline and energy – directly associated with the brand itself. The offices are spread across three floors in a nineteenth century building in the West End. Visitors are received at the main reception from the top floor – an area that serves as the social space for the employees complete with a bar, café, various meeting areas as well as the central boardroom. A continuous carbon fiber feature links the entire space together – starting as a canopy outside the building, winding inside and around the boardroom, through the reception area, enclosing space for an actual slide between floors, and finally forming an additional informal meeting area on the lowest level. This ramp-like feature is a direct reference to the various extreme sports associated with Red Bull. A number of projects have also been completed by the Danish company of Bosch & Fjord that fulfill the changing needs of work space design. One recent project saw the creation of a series of meeting rooms, a reception area, a café and several meeting spaces for the Lego Group in Billund, Denmark – where the majority of the world’s Lego products are conceived, produced and manufactured. In the hands-on world of a company such as Lego, creative talent thrive in dynamic spaces that encourage interaction among people, products and thought, and the Bosch & Fjord design team successfully followed through by producing meeting rooms and furniture that truly inspire. And what about adaptability for the changing needs of an organization? Again, Bosch & Fjord believe that people should not accommodate a room; a room should accommodate the people. In an office, often the physical surroundings need to be shaped according to what is happening within the company. In this sense, the social aspect of design eliminates conventional hierarchies among employees, and thereby enhances communal exchange and communication. Bosch and Fjord created a furniture system for Innovation Lab’s new space at the IT University in Copenhagen. Rooms are designed within raw shipping crates that include three types of workstations: a small meeting room, a kitchen box and a large worktable that are packed, unpacked, arranged and rearranged with ease and flexibility. A new model without guidelines or conformity has been established for work place design yielding visually interesting and mentally stimulating environments. Steve Jobs hired Bohlin Cywinki Jackson to design the gigantic Pixar Animation Studios outside of San Francisco (BCJ have also designed ten Apple Stores worldwide). While Jobs insisted on including a swimming pool, soccer field, basketball court and fitness center, his main concern was about the longevity of the design. The interior space also includes a 10,000 square foot atrium used as a reception and lounge area, a café, screening rooms and a large theatre. The workspaces are laid out in 46,500 square foot wings accommodating offices for the 650-person staff. Interesting, office spaces are individual and full enclosed set out in units of six – each around a central meeting area. The San Francisco based firm Garcia + Francica installed the fit-outs based on Jobs’ recommendation of mid-century classics and his love of color. Pieces from Cassina, Ligne Roset, Eames, Aalto and Platner can be found throughout the entire space. Perhaps the most impressive aspect is a series of handwoven Tibetan floor coverings that add a level of comfort to the large office areas. The Los Angeles based Clive Wilkinson Architects designed the space for Google’s headquarters – known at the Googleplex with a combination of open and closed spaces allowing for maximum flexibility for all members of the organization. Employees are grouped in three or four-person clusters - and each shared space includes a meeting area with sofas. Other office amenities include a fitness center, spa complete with massage rooms, various video and table games spread throughout the complex as well as a full service café and snack rooms. Again vibrant colors are splashed around the space – colored glass panels, bright red walls, green, grass-textured flooring – all set against white work stations. Ultimately there seems to be no general guidelines set that reveal how to create the perfect office environment. From the designer perspective, it becomes apparent to understand the type of work that will be carried out in the space, and plan accordingly. The cookie-cutter open-plan office spaces are no longer an effective means of stimulating creativity. Physical dimensions such as light and surrounding noise undoubtedly affect the way people work with one another. Even subtle alterations in the color of a wall or the angle of a work station may result in highly sustainable creative thinking efforts. Not everyone does their best work from their own desk either. Individual work spaces may serve as an organizational area – a home base to return after meeting with coworkers in a nearby meeting room – or in a shared informal conference space – or even after a competitive round of ping pong or foosball. New and improved stimuli have only just begun to inspire a new way of working and relating to our corporate peers.