Transcription

1 PRISM WALL m-p Companies that encourage informal interactions and collective problem solving through office design and layout strengthen the sense of community within the workplace. The design of office spaces has shifted in recent years, as the acceptance of non standardized work methods, due to the popularity of new digital products, has grown. These methods include informal meetings, digital conferences, and hot desking or working temporarily from locations other than one s main desk. New office practices not only allow contemporary workers to take advantage of the freedom and independence of new digital products but are crucial to the process of ideation and creative problem solving. Therefore the design of the workplace has to make up for the loss of social contacts and allow for the creation of a strong community, which is also necessary to do good work. I have learned that no one design facilitates the best working scenario, but a variety of activity spaces is necessary to accommodate each individual or group s preferred working methods. The workplace is improved by adopting a variety of flexible activity spaces that encourage both private work habits and collaborative efforts that develop open and spontaneous communication.

2 OVERVIEW I researched mid-century office design, mainly of the Herman Miller company. Herman Miller and George Nelson revolutionized modular office designs by incorporating the research of human interaction and psychology into their original designs. George Nelson created the action office, which today we would call the cubicle. Chair-desk combinations, and partition devices within an open floor layout were standard organizational items, and continue to be used today.

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4 THE NEW YORK TIMES My first on-site place of study was the New York Times offices. I observed the sales, research, and print departments. Renzo Piano s design of the building and interior includes primary work desks in standard gridded arrangements, as well as a variety of comfortable spaces that invite informal interactions. What makes the New York Times offices an exceptional study is the bridge between technology and workspaces. Every design detail from lighting, temperature control, efficient elevators and personal work desks are carried out with great attention.

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6 PAPERLESS POST These are the Paperless Post offices, a clearly different business structure than the New York Times. Paperless Post is an Online stationary company with a young approach. The following is two quotes from employees about what design flaws they feel are daily distractions. The office generally prefers no noise/quiet, so when conversations happen they tend to be hushed.

7 There is no privacy anywhere, you can get interupted at any time.

8 Knoll identifies five activity spaces that support private and collaborative work habits.

9 PRIVATE SPACES What do people actually do in an office? What kind of office spaces best support individual work? Here you see partially or fully enclosed spaces that mediate noise and visual distractions. My research has show that informal interactions won t flourish if people cant avoid interaction when they want to.

10 COLLABORATIVE SPACES What kind of office spaces best support collaborative work? What types of activities need to be facilitated? Crucial design features include meeting rooms for small or large groups, and up to date technology used for presentations and digital conference systems.

11 COMMUNITY Companies that offer designed spaces for a communal environment within the workplace improve the collaborative working conditions. Support spaces like cafeterias, lounges, and sunlit enclaves tend to attract a random variety of people and can therefore be a great way to stimulate interaction.

12 IDEATION SKETCHES My first sketch concepts were for a desk system that would seat two people on ones side with partial visual privacy, and space on the other side for multiple people who could interact with ease. This idea did not pass the sketch phase, it was too much of a redesign and lacked a strong coercive quality.

13 I brainstormed different desk and seating methods, but found challenges as to how coersive they were. Because I am trying to encourage the reshaping of the office environment, I conceptualized an object that could be interactive, useful, and supports social values related to innovation and collaboration. Developing a unit that had a strong visual presence was important because it needed to indicate to the user how it is to be used by its very shape.

14 PROTOTYPES ONE TWO THREE

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16 DODECAGON DIVIDER / PRISM WALL HIGH DENSITY FOAM DETACHABLE WEDGE Final conception of Prism Wall

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18 Prism Wall in mock-real-life setting

19 Prism Wall in mock-real-life setting