Beyond The Cube

June 7th, 2010 in Trends    No Comments

Beyond the cube, workplace design now embraces such lofty concepts as enhancing communication, facilitating work-in-process, managing technology and providing an up-to-date alternative to “cube life”. Sound too easy? Let’s break it down.

• Planning principals begin with storage and work surfaces, not cubicle panels.
• Natural light is shared and collaboration is enhanced.
• Work in Progress is displayed & organized as the user wants it.
• Wires, cords and connections are smartly managed and easily accessible.

Access to natural light can be increased by lowering panel height. If privacy is then an issue, incorporate translucent privacy screens. (more…)

Does Your Current Workspace Support Your Workers and Their Work?

June 7th, 2010 in Design    No Comments

Gone are the workplace concepts of the 1970’s. Floor plan designs created isolating and non-stimulating environments. Physical barriers of cubicle design, circulation patterns, and the lack of daylight views for most employees blend together to inhibit collaboration and inspiration.

Teams are therefore slower complete tasks, thus affecting team, and individual results.

Workplaces also must be reinvented to accommodate new technologies, beyond just the impact of wireless technology. New hardware and software is causing workers to think and behave differently, and therefore, accomplish daily tasks in a new way. (more…)

Office Design Responds To Need For Flexibility, Communication

March 13th, 2009 in Design    No Comments

Office spaces are becoming more sophisticated and flexible as designers respond to technological advances and changing communication needs. This article sees current trends in office design as reflective of the desire to address a multigenerational workforce with supportive and sustainable design. In the words of one expert, “It not only fosters communication, forms a sense of community, facilitates learning, but most of all it addresses generational gaps.” (more…)

Office Interiors: Getting It Right

October 4th, 2007 in Design    No Comments

Effective office design engenders a sense of well-being among employees and helps to improve their productivity.  This article notes, however, that design alone won’t change workplace culture.  Open-plan layouts with glass walls to ensure visibility may benefit communication and collaboration but may also contribute to anxiety and the feeling of a lack of privacy.

The author insists that it is the designer’s task to manage the process and get the balance right.  More often than not it is the softer elements of design – color, humor, relaxation – that helps to achieve this.  Readers are provided examples where color, texture and workspace ambience are used to effectively achieve design objectives that improve employee sense of belonging, promote strategic thinking, and engender impressive productivity gains.

Source: Design Week; Oct 4, 2007

Engineers, Architects Eye Future of Glass Design

September 28th, 2007 in Design    No Comments

Glass engineering and design is increasingly taking center stage in office building design as owners and tenants search out security, energy-efficiency and attractive views.  This article notes that glass is becoming a greater structural element, shouldering more of the stress and strains than ever before.  New engineering strategies and technology are discussed, including:

• Tennis racket-like systems of cables holding glass panels;
• Structural steel tube frameworks using finger-like elements to grab glass panels at the corners;
• Triple-coated panels that reflect infrared light and reduce the level of heat entering a building; and
• The use of a laminate to transform a glass curtainwall panel into a photovoltaic cell.

Source: Paul Rosta, Commercial Property News; Sep 28, 2007

Raise Ceiling, Raise Spirits

May 5th, 2007 in Design    No Comments

Researchers Studying The Effect Of Ceiling Height Found Higher Ones Stimulate Creativity, While Lower Ceilings Promote A Subject’s Attention To Detail

A study to be published in the August issue of the Journal of Consumer Research affirms what architects have intuitively long known – a person in a high-ceiling environment will process information in a more abstract, creative fashion, while those in a room with relatively lower ceilings tend to process in a more concrete, detail-oriented fashion.  This article discusses the study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Minnesota and gives a brief overview of the field of “atmospherics,” which examines the ways in which people’s environment affect their thinking and well-being.  The article also explores some of the implications of this study, such as hospitals with post-surgery recovery rooms designed with tall ceilings that help patients focus on the bigger picture rather on momentary anxiety or pain.

Source: Shannon Proudfoot, The Ottawa Citizen (Ontario); May 5, 2007

Inspiring Offices: Office Design That Drives Creativity

March 31st, 2007 in Design    No Comments

With office design so closely linked to business outcome, this author is concerned that designers “understand the importance of creating workspaces that get people’s juices flowing.”  It’s not about a functional desk or a creative conference room, but rather “the whole experience of being in this workplace and thinking through every step of a daily routine.”

The author interviewed several leading architects about offices that they designed to support and influence creativity, with a focus on the principles they followed to achieve their stellar results.  The article ends with a list of six tips for designing offices that inspire creativity.

Source: Jay W. Schneider, Building Design & Construction (Chicago); Mar, 2007

Focus on Workplace Design

March 1st, 2007 in Design    No Comments

The Gensler U.S. Workplace Survey is the focus of this article.  The survey of over 2,000 office workers is designed to gauge how workplace design affects their productivity, creativity and work attitudes.  It reaffirms that better office design can lead to increased productivity and an enhanced bottom line.  Employees, however, believe that corporate America is still too focused on design costs, rather than value.  Among the article’s other points:

• U.S. corporations often underestimate the impact that workplace design and layout has on employees;
• Respondents believe their work output could increase, on average, by 21% if their office environment were better designed;
• Nearly half of respondents say that better workplace design would make them amenable to longer workdays.

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