Lida Lewis
PASSIONATE DESIGNER
EDUCATOR | THOUGHT LEADER
Applied Workplace Research
When moving to a new space above the E Street Theater in Washington, DC, OTJ Architects held a "call for ideas" for our new office space. As a workplace designer with a vested interest in the outcome, you know I had to take this opportunity to propose what I'd do in the space! ;)
The site had already been selected--and it wasn't without its challenges. Above the theater, this meant that core drilling for just about everything would be almost impossible! Additionally, the selected space was quite small--too small to fit all the projected 100 staff with all the required support and ancillary spaces. As a second floor space, though, it would be visually quite connected to the street life, and of course was a prime opportunity for pursuing sustainable design.
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For this opportunity in particular, though, primarily I wanted to take the chance while the design was still in concept and all possibilities were still open, to propose the best thinking I knew of from a workplace consulting strategy. It was time to dive in--and I was ready, database of articles to hand, the latest in products open in my browser, and a blank slate ready to be designed. Just how I like it!
Key Issue: Non-Dedicated Space
One of the first ideas I wanted to employ was that of a wholly free address space. This design had multiple advantages for the problem to hand. With staff spending plenty of time away from their desks on site in formal and informal meetings, or working in the materials library on palettes, spending time off site at client sites for coordination or construction, visiting vendors, working with contractors, and any number of things between...as with most workspaces where, on average, people report spending 80% of their time at their desk, but only 40-60% doing so. This also provided the advantage of mixing senior and junior staff, and those on all different studios, breaking down silos and increasing the potential for the free, organic exchange of information.
"Herman Miller's research shows that workstations are not occupied 60 percent of the time, across industries, and private offices are unoccupied 77 percent of the time:'
---What it Takes to Collaborate
"Eliminating ownership of a desk, office, or workstation without providing a richer, more varied set of work settings that truly supports the full range of work activities will generate resentment, dissatisfaction, and lower levels of performance:'
---Implementing Innovative Workplaces
"Changing postures is physically energizing and mentally stimulating, and it supports different work modes. Workplace designs that allow people to vary postures help keep them refreshed and engaged, and support overall wellbeing:'
---The Next Office, 360, Issue 63
"Collaboration is a creative process," she says, "but it is also highly dependent on the creative thinking of individuals, and much of this happens when people can sit back and reflect, or read or research adjacent topics, or simply take the time to turn off the tasks and emails and think deeply about a topic."
---Stee/case's Anthropologist On Remaking Offices To Create Happier Workers
Key Issue: Choice + Mobility
Furthermore, being able to move to choose your own work environment meant returning control to the occupants of their thermal, acoustic, and olfactory surroundings. Thus freed from the "one butt, one seat" requirement, it was more a question of providing a variety of workspaces to support the type of work which might be undertaken throughout the day.
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If an adaption was made to a freedom of choice in work environment, and a truly mobile suite of tools--laptops, mobile phones, and the like--we could future proof against future work needs, and respond to changing work requirements.
As staff adapted to what it meant to work independently, and deliberately and consciously reconnect in the physical workspace, we could become a more flexible workforce. This workforce, more aware and adept at integrating remote workers, would thereby prepare for future work which may take employees temporarily or permanently offsite to address the needs of far flung projects in multiple work sites across the region, and the country.
"Choice and control is the new status symbol - workers want freedom to choose where and how they work:'
---The Next Office, 360, Issue 63
"Today's star performers are looking for the freedom to work anywhere, anytime. This does not necessarily mean working from home or in another office. They expect employers to trust them to manage their time and to decide for themselves the most productive place for them to work:'
---Changing Data Needs for the Changing Workplace, 2015
" ... One of the most profound drivers of people's feeling about their workplace is allowing for personal choice-in how, when, and where to work. Giving workers the option to work from home or from an alternate location within the office improves workplace satisfaction, even for people who don't take advantage of it. Simply having the ability to make a personal choice makes workers feel valued and empowered:'
---Happiness (Or is it really purpose) at Work
'.. by enabling people to unchain themselves from a particular work schedule or physical space, virtual work gives people more control of their lives. Research has shown that those who have control over how and where they work are likely to have higher job satisfaction, better psychological well-being, and better work-life balance:'
---The Promise and Puzzle of Mobile Work, 2012
Key Issue: Zoning
Of course, to truly provide choice, there must be a difference in experience from one area to another. And in such a small area, that's a challenge! Because of this, I took the plan and layered even more information, creating what I now see as one of my earliest forays into creating what I now think of as an "experience plan". Taking the space plan, and the ranges of experiences I wanted to create--in this case, a range of acoustic and public to private exposures (adding to the plans of experiential variety already outlined above) to further work with the design to ensure a mix of opportunities for occupants to enjoy throughout the day.
"Once we satisfy critical adjacencies between workers and work activities, we should also explore the spatial impact of zoning on acoustical comfort. An "Interaction Area" where loud, noise generating activities can be clustered, should be segregated away from a "Focus Area"that supports individual activities requiring focus and concentration. And these spaces need to be separate from those that support very private, confidential or personal work and conversations-a "Privacy Area:"'
---Five Principles for Promoting Acoustic Comfort in the Workplace
"lt turns out that background noise messes with our minds--especially when that noise is a person's voice, and especially when that noise is a person's voice on the phone. These so-called "halfalogues;' in which we only overhear one side of a conversation, are so infuriatingly unpredictable that our brains can't focus on much else. And in an open office, phone calls in nearby cubicles happen all the time:'
---Can Better Acoustics Make Open Offices Suck Less?
"When people are constantly interrupted, they develop a mode of working faster (and writing less) to compensate for the time they know they will lose by being interrupted. Yet working faster with interruptions has its cost: people in the interrupted conditions experienced a higher workload, more stress, higher frustration, more time pressure, and effort. So interrupted work may be done faster, but at a price:'
---Reinventing the Workplace - Re Work
95% of employees say they need spaces for focused work - 40% say they don't have them:'
---The Next Office, 360, Issue 63
"Workers who have the ability to block out distractions at work are 57% more able to collaborate, 88% more able to learn, and 42%more able to socialize in their workplaces. Collaboration and engagement with others stills drives innovation and productivity, but for employees to effectively collaborate, they must first be able to effectively focus."
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"Simply put, if you give your employees spaces where they can put their heads down from time to time and focus on individual tasks, overall performance will increase. Currently, three out of every four workers in the United States are struggling to work effectively. To increase productivity, we need to bring focus back into balance:"'
---Reinventing the Workplace - ReWork
Key Issue: Lab / Test Space
n this workspace, each soft seating group, workstation cluster, or collaboration space would be of a completely different product, by a variety of manufacturers. By using this strategy, employees could directly experience a variety of the types and characters of varying workplace products directly. They could even rate the varying products--either through direct feedback solicitation by facilities or by the furniture manufacturer, through anonymous surveys, or simply by monitoring, through the reservation system, what workspaces are utilized the most often.
Additionally, as new furniture concepts and products are developed, new product could be cycled into the workplace. As no workplaces would be permanently assigned, the designated grouping or space could be blocked off as "unavailable" for the time period required to remove one set of product and install another.
To facilitate easy integration of new product, the overall aesthetic should be eclectic, accommodating and displaying a range of design types from modern to traditional, sleek to rustic.
Key Issue: Virtual Tools
To enable all the other functions proposed for this workspace, and to future-proof as much as possible against changing new technologies, the power and data infrastructure of the space would need to be divorced from as many of the connections to hard construction as possible. Low profile raised floor systems, and under-carpet power distribution with elevated power outlets, would remove the infrastructure from the surrounding permanent structure. Furniture types or accessory systems which integrate easy access and reconfiguration of power and data through open wiring access and accessory structures which carry power and data in easy access independent configurations would also assist in making easy future reconfiguration or removal.
Wireless access would be available throughout, and collaboration spaces would integrate a variety of display types and sizes. Some touchscreen enabled devices could be of assistance for electronic review of designs and drawings, and collaboration spaces replete with multiple displays to enable easy collaboration with off-site clients and non co-located employees across the country would increase the effectiveness of remote communication.
