Are you designing for people who work within a structured organizational reporting chart, are you designing for a group that works as a team, or are you designing for Stars, a person with an individual following and lots of staff to support them?
Some stars ban together for the purposes of insurance, image and 401K plans.
How does work get done in is this company?
Designing for the Stars is quite interesting and exciting.
Designing a space for an engineering company, a limited liability partnership is interesting. The challenge –
The outside Image--- look like one company.
The internal Image and workings are more individual.
There are four equal bosses (it is, after all, a partnership).
Each boss has their own dedicated staff and has an opinion about everything.
They have opinions and attitude about furniture, wall treatment, floor treatment and the overall look. Ultimately, it is the color scheme that holds it all together. Each individual private office has its own design, workspace,furniture and color scheme but the image of the entire office is tied together by a fabulous carpet.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Change - too much?
How much change is too much?
I designed the interior of an office in NYC. It was in an established building (definition - a great location but some of the 36 floors were dated. So dated that a "hazmat” team was invited to remove the VAT tile still on the floor we were vacating.)
The new space was located on a different floor than the organization currently occupied, it was consolidating. They wanted to update their work area as part of the relocation. It looked lovely when it was finished, warm, inviting, very professional but not too high end.
Everyone still occupied private spaces, but with window treatments, pictures on the walls and new but not expensive furniture. The office had a coordinated color scheme and it visually flowed from one area to another. It was a not for profit organization. It had to look good but not too good.
However, a day or two after move in , one of the employees said:
“I don’t know if I can work here any more, I need better clothes”. The creeping FUD again. (FUD – Fear Uncertainty and Doubt)
Does the design of an office dictate the type of clothes worn to work? Or the quality?
I designed the interior of an office in NYC. It was in an established building (definition - a great location but some of the 36 floors were dated. So dated that a "hazmat” team was invited to remove the VAT tile still on the floor we were vacating.)
The new space was located on a different floor than the organization currently occupied, it was consolidating. They wanted to update their work area as part of the relocation. It looked lovely when it was finished, warm, inviting, very professional but not too high end.
Everyone still occupied private spaces, but with window treatments, pictures on the walls and new but not expensive furniture. The office had a coordinated color scheme and it visually flowed from one area to another. It was a not for profit organization. It had to look good but not too good.
However, a day or two after move in , one of the employees said:
“I don’t know if I can work here any more, I need better clothes”. The creeping FUD again. (FUD – Fear Uncertainty and Doubt)
Does the design of an office dictate the type of clothes worn to work? Or the quality?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Design Concept FUD
Another question for an Office Design Concept
Where are they going ? What are the space opportunities and constraints?
Mental weeding is my topic today. That relates to an office design concept how?
The creeping FUD, enters all projects. Fear, uncertainty and doubt. We need to pull the weeds out of our mind and out of our design concepts.
We need to ask more questions.
Were are they going? It is an internal move or an external move?
1. Are they relocating across the hall and the design concept needs to reflect the existing workings of the space.
Or
2. Are they relocating to another city, a new space and the organization is looking for new concept of working.
Design a workable space. ha - easier said than done.
I designed an office space using a new concept for an old and established company. The organization wanted a more open, more transparent relationship among the customer service staff. The president thought they needed to communicate more and more easily.
We choose a very open, low partitioned workspace. We previewed the concept with the whole office. We conducted a two hour presentation and town hall meeting, with the president speaking about how important it was to have good communication. He was an integral part of the change.
It all was great until ... the new concept (furniture) was installed and people moved into their new space.
– There was an up roar by the workers
– Within a year, high partitions were installed. The space was again, cluttered, private and not pretty. A breakdown in communication.
–
– How did the creeping FUD change this concept and whose FUD was it?
– What is the solution?
Where are they going ? What are the space opportunities and constraints?
Mental weeding is my topic today. That relates to an office design concept how?
The creeping FUD, enters all projects. Fear, uncertainty and doubt. We need to pull the weeds out of our mind and out of our design concepts.
We need to ask more questions.
Were are they going? It is an internal move or an external move?
1. Are they relocating across the hall and the design concept needs to reflect the existing workings of the space.
Or
2. Are they relocating to another city, a new space and the organization is looking for new concept of working.
Design a workable space. ha - easier said than done.
I designed an office space using a new concept for an old and established company. The organization wanted a more open, more transparent relationship among the customer service staff. The president thought they needed to communicate more and more easily.
We choose a very open, low partitioned workspace. We previewed the concept with the whole office. We conducted a two hour presentation and town hall meeting, with the president speaking about how important it was to have good communication. He was an integral part of the change.
It all was great until ... the new concept (furniture) was installed and people moved into their new space.
– There was an up roar by the workers
– Within a year, high partitions were installed. The space was again, cluttered, private and not pretty. A breakdown in communication.
–
– How did the creeping FUD change this concept and whose FUD was it?
– What is the solution?
Friday, August 13, 2010
Office Design Concept
5 Questions for an Office Design Concept to be developed.
1. What are we trying to accomplish? ( see previous blog)
2. Where are they going ? Space opportunities and constraints.
Why are they going?
3. Who is being relocated?
4. How are they going to work together?
5. When does the concept need to be approved and by whom?
Where are they going? Why are they going?
In developing a concept a good “need” to know is why are they moving?
1. Financial – Got a better deal and the cost to move is less than the cost to stay.
This is a rare occurrence. But with less expensive sq. ft. cost, companies are moving to lovely locations that cost less per square foot. The decision maker here is the actual cost to move the phones, computers and furniture. More importantly, will there be any down time? Will there be a lost production cost?
2. Reducing the size of the occupied square feet - It is an easier decision for a large corporation than for a small company. Every move is a cost money thing to do. The financial impact on a small company is greater. A larger company may have unoccupied square feet available for use. This is usually a tension filled atmosphere with slings and arrows flying thru the air. Grumpiness prevails for good reason. People know that someone is being laid off but no one knows who.
3. Increase the size of the occupied square feet – A growing organization has a very positive attitude to the changes about to happen. More room to work and more people to help get the job done.
What does the design concept have to do with why they are moving or where?
It is all based on relationships. The physical relationship of the individual to the work that is being done; the amount of space required to do the work, the communication required for the work, both thru one on one conversation or on line.
For example: If the concept is to encourage the Research and Development and to encourage the exchange of ideas frequently,. an open office space might be the solution.. This would be especially true if each person were in a ceiling high office.
Brainstorming how the company will function in the new space and understanding why they are moving will provide key insights into the design concept.
Love this part of the job, it is exciting and fun. Creativity abounds with the possibilities, stones are turned over and old concepts tossed. It is fresh invigorating and helps an organization reinvent themselves and their operating procedures.
1. What are we trying to accomplish? ( see previous blog)
2. Where are they going ? Space opportunities and constraints.
Why are they going?
3. Who is being relocated?
4. How are they going to work together?
5. When does the concept need to be approved and by whom?
Where are they going? Why are they going?
In developing a concept a good “need” to know is why are they moving?
1. Financial – Got a better deal and the cost to move is less than the cost to stay.
This is a rare occurrence. But with less expensive sq. ft. cost, companies are moving to lovely locations that cost less per square foot. The decision maker here is the actual cost to move the phones, computers and furniture. More importantly, will there be any down time? Will there be a lost production cost?
2. Reducing the size of the occupied square feet - It is an easier decision for a large corporation than for a small company. Every move is a cost money thing to do. The financial impact on a small company is greater. A larger company may have unoccupied square feet available for use. This is usually a tension filled atmosphere with slings and arrows flying thru the air. Grumpiness prevails for good reason. People know that someone is being laid off but no one knows who.
3. Increase the size of the occupied square feet – A growing organization has a very positive attitude to the changes about to happen. More room to work and more people to help get the job done.
What does the design concept have to do with why they are moving or where?
It is all based on relationships. The physical relationship of the individual to the work that is being done; the amount of space required to do the work, the communication required for the work, both thru one on one conversation or on line.
For example: If the concept is to encourage the Research and Development and to encourage the exchange of ideas frequently,. an open office space might be the solution.. This would be especially true if each person were in a ceiling high office.
Brainstorming how the company will function in the new space and understanding why they are moving will provide key insights into the design concept.
Love this part of the job, it is exciting and fun. Creativity abounds with the possibilities, stones are turned over and old concepts tossed. It is fresh invigorating and helps an organization reinvent themselves and their operating procedures.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Design Concept
The basics.
What are we trying to accomplish?.. Three possibilities.
1. Stay the same – duplicate exactly the layout, office size, travel communication paths, size of offices, and maintain the physical relationships currently in place. The location maybe on a different floor or in different building altogether.
2. Become economically efficient - Reduce the size of the space, remove redundancies and streamline travel communication paths. Reduce the size of the ceiling high offices and reduce the size of the workspaces where appropriate. Spending less on office space is a priority in this concept.
3. Become modestly and generously efficient. Cost per person for office space is always a consideration. Conference rooms and meeting areas to accommodate a location to share ideas, add a cost but, also provide a modest and generous atmosphere for the birth of new products and efficiencies. Travel paths are numerous providing people with easy access to each other. .
The design concept will reflect the ideas, attitudes and strategies of management.
The LRF Design Group works with companies to make them more effecient and therefore more profitable. The design concept is a good place to start..
What are we trying to accomplish?.. Three possibilities.
1. Stay the same – duplicate exactly the layout, office size, travel communication paths, size of offices, and maintain the physical relationships currently in place. The location maybe on a different floor or in different building altogether.
2. Become economically efficient - Reduce the size of the space, remove redundancies and streamline travel communication paths. Reduce the size of the ceiling high offices and reduce the size of the workspaces where appropriate. Spending less on office space is a priority in this concept.
3. Become modestly and generously efficient. Cost per person for office space is always a consideration. Conference rooms and meeting areas to accommodate a location to share ideas, add a cost but, also provide a modest and generous atmosphere for the birth of new products and efficiencies. Travel paths are numerous providing people with easy access to each other. .
The design concept will reflect the ideas, attitudes and strategies of management.
The LRF Design Group works with companies to make them more effecient and therefore more profitable. The design concept is a good place to start..
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Programming a workspace
Programming an office space? It sounds like what you do to your TV recording device, In a way it is!
What do you want to see?
What time is it on ?
How far in the future are you recording?
For programming your office, it is the same.
What do you want to see? - What functions need to be performed in your office?
When is the program on? – How many square feet do you occupy?
How far in the future are you planning?? Where will your company be in 3 - 5 years?
Gathering information to program an office space requires good questions.
Our first question was determining the number of people.
Quest # 2 is – How much space does each individual person/job description/task require in order to do the work?
Sometimes, a tape measure is needed to answer this question.
In a large corporation, each individual workstation has a square foot, a foot print – i.e. each person has a 6X8 cubicle. 48 aq. Ft. of space.
In a small company, - more likely it is a desk, a chair, two filing cabinets, a side chair, a storage cabinet. For this you need a tape measure is required – legal or letter filing, a desk from IKEA is a different size than a desk from Staples. Draw a small sketch of the space to account for the equipment and for people to access desks, chairs and filing cabinet.
For accessibility, measure how much space is needed to use the equipment. For instance, how much space do you need to pull the draw open of the filing cabinet plus the space of the person standing next to or in front of it. A 14” by 30” filing cabinet, requires almost 30” to pull the drawer open to reach the files in the back, plus the person working in the file drawer. 14”x 60” plus 24” for a person. The numbers start escalating.
For the "do it" yourselfers – sketch it out, draw a work station on graph paper for each person and work area.
What do you want to see?
What time is it on ?
How far in the future are you recording?
For programming your office, it is the same.
What do you want to see? - What functions need to be performed in your office?
When is the program on? – How many square feet do you occupy?
How far in the future are you planning?? Where will your company be in 3 - 5 years?
Gathering information to program an office space requires good questions.
Our first question was determining the number of people.
Quest # 2 is – How much space does each individual person/job description/task require in order to do the work?
Sometimes, a tape measure is needed to answer this question.
In a large corporation, each individual workstation has a square foot, a foot print – i.e. each person has a 6X8 cubicle. 48 aq. Ft. of space.
In a small company, - more likely it is a desk, a chair, two filing cabinets, a side chair, a storage cabinet. For this you need a tape measure is required – legal or letter filing, a desk from IKEA is a different size than a desk from Staples. Draw a small sketch of the space to account for the equipment and for people to access desks, chairs and filing cabinet.
For accessibility, measure how much space is needed to use the equipment. For instance, how much space do you need to pull the draw open of the filing cabinet plus the space of the person standing next to or in front of it. A 14” by 30” filing cabinet, requires almost 30” to pull the drawer open to reach the files in the back, plus the person working in the file drawer. 14”x 60” plus 24” for a person. The numbers start escalating.
For the "do it" yourselfers – sketch it out, draw a work station on graph paper for each person and work area.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Office space - how much?
Programming office space - Part 1
If you ask a potential client “how much space do you think you need?”, the answers are fun.
They range from “not much” to about the size of “this room”.
Doesn’t matter where you are sitting – the comparisons are always made to your current location.
As a designer, you carefully examine where you are and mentally calculate the square footage of your surroundings. Depending on the adjective used, you double the space, add half again as much or cut it in half. Your potential client, although thoughtfully looking around, doesn’t have a clue about the actual space being needed in their new environment.
How do we get to the real square feet?
Step one: Ask good questions – get you client thinking. They will soon be aware that they need you to convert all these questions in to the number of square feet of useable/ rentable space.they need
Question 1 – “How many people will be occupying the new space”. I love asking this question “.
12 people seems to be the mental anguish point. . Under twelve, the answers start physically. With one full hand open, the person responding often holds each individual finger while naming people.. It is as if each finger has a new name and title. As the fingers are consumed with names, a paper and pencil emerges.
It is curious that under 15 people the actual job function (job description) or job title is rarely mentioned.
At about 15 people, the organizational chart is pulled from a desk and job titles are discussed with numbers of people now and in the future. A workstation requirement for a person, who has a job function or title, is so much easier to determine.
There is an interesting management lesson to be learned by observing this scenario.
12 – 15 people can be managed with attention to the person, how they function and how they contribute to the overall department or company. A synergistic relationship.
Over 15 … it’s an accounting function. A necessary accounting function for large companies.
This in only part one.
If you ask a potential client “how much space do you think you need?”, the answers are fun.
They range from “not much” to about the size of “this room”.
Doesn’t matter where you are sitting – the comparisons are always made to your current location.
As a designer, you carefully examine where you are and mentally calculate the square footage of your surroundings. Depending on the adjective used, you double the space, add half again as much or cut it in half. Your potential client, although thoughtfully looking around, doesn’t have a clue about the actual space being needed in their new environment.
How do we get to the real square feet?
Step one: Ask good questions – get you client thinking. They will soon be aware that they need you to convert all these questions in to the number of square feet of useable/ rentable space.they need
Question 1 – “How many people will be occupying the new space”. I love asking this question “.
12 people seems to be the mental anguish point. . Under twelve, the answers start physically. With one full hand open, the person responding often holds each individual finger while naming people.. It is as if each finger has a new name and title. As the fingers are consumed with names, a paper and pencil emerges.
It is curious that under 15 people the actual job function (job description) or job title is rarely mentioned.
At about 15 people, the organizational chart is pulled from a desk and job titles are discussed with numbers of people now and in the future. A workstation requirement for a person, who has a job function or title, is so much easier to determine.
There is an interesting management lesson to be learned by observing this scenario.
12 – 15 people can be managed with attention to the person, how they function and how they contribute to the overall department or company. A synergistic relationship.
Over 15 … it’s an accounting function. A necessary accounting function for large companies.
This in only part one.
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