resource centre
Space exploration
Article by: Hermen Jan van Ree is a senior consultant at DHV Group and guest lecturer at University College London. Juriaan van Meel is a senior consultant at ICOP and researcher at the Danish Centre for Facilities Management
Source: www.fm-world.co.uk
Creating a successful workspace is no easy task. Fundamental questions need to be addressed such as:
> What do people actually do in an office?
> What types of activities need to be facilitated?
> What kind of office spaces best support key activities?
Driven by economic pressures, advances in technology and changing work styles, organisations seem to have renewed their interest in new ways of working, wanting to create more efficient, flexible and dynamic work environments. This time it is not only IT or consultancy organisations, but a wide diversity of companies in the private, public and education sector. New office concepts seem, at last, to catch on and become mainstream phenomena.
As before, this renewed interest comes with exotic buzzwords, abstract concepts and rather extravagant claims for how office concepts will improve business performance.
Strategic objectives
At the start of any office design project it is important to raise a very basic question: What are we aiming to achieve with (re)development of a new work environment? Although many projects are initiated for practical reasons such as the lack of space or an outdated and worn interior, it is important to recognise and acknowledge the strategic potential of the physical work environment.
Obviously the main purpose of an office or work environment is ?to support its occupants in performing their tasks and activities – preferably at minimum cost and to maximum satisfaction. Alongside this functional purpose, however, office buildings have an important social and symbolic function.
The design and layout ?of spaces can, for example, encourage interaction or stimulate creativity. Furthermore, the physical office can convey a strong cultural message to employees and visitors about the organisation’s identity or brand. In general, we distinguish nine objectives often associated with new office concepts:
Enhance productivity
What enhances productivity and how can office design contribute?
> Reduce costs
What is the need for cost reduction and how can space per full time earner (FTE) be optimised?
> Increase flexibility
What flexibility is required and how can zoning and partitioning help?
> Encourage interaction
What stimulates interaction ?and how can layouts contribute?
> Support cultural change
To what culture do we aspire and how can office design express ?this culture?
> Stimulate creativity
What encourages creativity ?and how can layout and design contribute?
> Attract and retain staff
What do employees value and how can work environments chip in?
> Express the brand
What is our brand and how can office design convey this message?
> Be sustainable
How can design and fit-out help to reduce environmental impact?
For those involved in office design, these objectives will sound very familiar if not clichéd. The true art of a successful (re)development project, however, is to go beyond the clichés and to carefully specify each objective, clearly indicating the project-specific meaning of words like ‘productive’ or ‘flexible’. After all, everybody wants an office that is productive, efficient, flexible and sustainable.
Furthermore, it is important to note that many of the objectives distinguished are closely related to one another, but that some of them can also be conflicting. For example, financial objectives might conflict with the desire to increase employee satisfaction. Being open about possible conflicts and juggling priorities can be difficult, but it will significantly contribute to the success of a project. It will provide a framework for decisions to be made during the design process and it will help explain to end-users why certain changes will take place.
When translating objectives into a tangible work environment, a number of important decisions have to be made. Again looking at the design process from a strategic, managerial point of view, we believe that there are six critical topics for decision-making:
These choices are fundamental in nature and determine the overall direction of an office concept. Furthermore, they will directly affect occupancy costs and have a significant impact on employee satisfaction – as they touch upon deeply rooted organisational conventions such as interaction, status, privacy and territoriality.
For these reasons, we believe these issues are best addressed by management understanding the present and aspired strategy, processes and identity of the organisation. Once decisions have been taken on each topic, they provide a framework for more detailed decisions and user participation in the later project stages.
Office spaces
Once the basic choices have been made, the (re)development project becomes more operational. At that point, it is time to focus on tangible spaces. Management may for example have opted for an open work environment, but that still leaves them a wide variety of options. An open floor filled with large numbers of identical workbenches, for example, is significantly different from an open floor with a diverse mix of team units, meeting spots, lounges and study booths.
To aid decision-making concerning office spaces, our book, Planning Office Spaces, distinguishes three different types of spaces: work spaces, meeting spaces and support spaces. Although one can arguably identify additional types of spaces (for example, social spaces and central spaces), we found that this basic typology works well when involving managers and end-users in the briefing and design process.
From each of the three space categories identified, organisations have to select those spaces that match the activities and processes to be accommodated. In order to fully grasp the impact of each office space, our book not only provides a concise description for each space type, but also highlights its spatial requirements as well as relevant pros and cons. Furthermore, inspiring examples of real-life projects for each space type in ?use are provided.
Work spaces
With the term work spaces we refer to spaces for ‘classic’ office activities such as reading, writing and computer work. Although one can argue that any space can be a workspace in this time and age, we use the term to refer to spaces that are specifically designed to accommodate desk-related activities. In describing the different work space types, the main discriminator has been the degree of enclosure and level of flexibility. Options range from small open offices to large enclosed offices. Another important distinction is down to whether workstations are allocated to one individual or shared by multiple employees. We identified nine generic types of work space, each supporting different activities, requiring different floor areas, ?and having different advantages.
Meeting spaces
With the term meeting spaces, we refer to spaces that are specifically designed for interactive processes, be it quick conversations or intensive brainstorms. Again, one can argue that whole office buildings actually function as a meeting spaces these days.
Yet it still makes sense to identify and think about the need for specific meeting spaces that are designed to stimulate and accommodate specific types of meetings. The most important discriminator between the various meeting space types is the number of users and the degree to which the space is open or enclosed. Another important distinction is the character of the meeting space, which is related to the nature of the meeting. Different types of meeting (formal or informal, scheduled or impromptu) ask for different kinds of space.
Support spaces
In addition to work and meeting spaces, there are also essential support spaces – spaces designed for secondary activities such as filing and printing as well as taking a break and receiving guests.
An important consideration when designing support spaces is their social potential. As is well known, support spaces act as meeting points. Think of the almost proverbial chance encounters that take place at the water-cooler or copy machine. Thereby, such spaces can positively impact on internal communication and social cohesion and should be positioned strategically.
Implementation
All previous sections are very much focused on the ‘product’, being the physical work environment. Just as important, however, is the ‘process’ during which this environment is created. Even the best designed office concepts may not reach their full potential due to a badly managed implementation process. Think of concepts that are badly communicated, in which the voice of end-users is simply not heard, or in which managers ignore the leading role they should play in such a process.
The main challenge when implementing a new office concept, however, is resistance. In trying to realise change, resistance is a fact of life. The office is no exception, especially when walls, doors or private space are taken away. However, resistance can be reduced, and sometimes even turned into acceptance, by carefully and pro-actively implementing and developing the new concept. Among other things, this means engaging, informing and involving end-users and making a careful analysis of the actual needs of the organisation. In addition, however, successful implementation also asks for a certain degree of hard-headedness, dedication and passion for the envisioned change.
In short, we identified six recommendations for successful implementation of new office concepts:
Analyse
Thoroughly analyse the organisation to develop a successful office concept (through employee surveys, utilisation studies and scenario analysis)
Communicate
Clearly communicate from the start of a project to engage employees (through presentation, new letters, intranet, and the like)
Involve
Carefully involve stakeholders to ensure optimal solutions (through such avenues as workshops, focus groups and excursions)
Integrate
Constructively involve HR, IT and PR departments to deliver integral solutions (through change programmes and working groups, for example)
Care and preserve
Carefully monitor the new office to guarantee proper use (through POE’s, planned checks, instruction books, for example)
Be brave
Dedication and belief in the envisioned change contribute ?to the success of a project
In our book our objective was to make office design accessible to non-professionals, taking a step-by-step approach and listing relevant topics to be considered in a condense yet concise way. We envision managers and employees as well as consultants and designers at the start of a project stumbling upon our book, reading it on the train or over lunch, and quickly grasping the relevant issues.
GLOSSARY
Open office
An open work space for more than ten people, suitable for activities which demand frequent communication or routine activities which need relatively little concentration
Team space
A semi-enclosed work space for two to eight people; suitable for teamwork which demands frequent internal communication and a degree of concentration
Cubicle
A semi-enclosed work space for one person, suitable for activities which demand medium concentration and medium interaction
Private office
An enclosed work space for one person, suitable for activities which are confidential, demand a lot of concentration or include many small meetings
Shared office
An enclosed work space for two or three people, suitable for semi-concentrated work and collaborative work in small groups
Team room
An enclosed work space for four to ten people; suitable for teamwork which may be confidential and demands frequent internal communication
Study booth
An enclosed work space for one person; suitable for short-term activities which demand concentration or confidentiality
Work lounge
A lounge-like work space for two to six people; suitable for short-term activities which demand collaboration and/or allow impromptu interaction
Touch down
An open work space for one person; suitable for short-term activities which require little concentration and low interaction
Small meeting room
An enclosed meeting space for two to four people, suitable for both formal and informal interaction
Large meeting room
An enclosed meeting space for five to 12 people, suitable for formal interaction
Small meeting space
An open or semi-open meeting space for two to four people; suitable for short, informal interaction
Large meeting space
An open or semi-open meeting space for five to 12 people; suitable for short, informal interaction
Brainstorm room
An enclosed meeting space for five to 12 people; suitable for brainstorming sessions and workshops
Meeting point
An open meeting point for two to four people; suitable for ad hoc, informal meeting
