The old and the new.

The design of an office space has not often been closely related to the needs of that space. For example the main focus of a company building can often be seen only in the reception area and the façade, there only to enhance the corporate image, and to 'look good'. Also the space is designed purely to maximise the amount of work available, cramming in as many people as possible. Thirdly the space is often restricted by planning permission, usually resulting in high rise sky scraper buildings, restricted by their box shapes and plain façades. 

This is the Larking administration building, the photo taken in 1907. As you can see from this although the design industry is almost trying to convince the public that office design has taken such a huge leap forward, it can be proved that the design principles still remain the same. Office spaces were then, and still are used to maximum efficiency with uninteresting layouts and warehouse imitation like designs. The core ideas remain the same, it is just the technology and the materials used that has evolved, giving us a sense of moving on. 

Although our work ethic has changed over the years, now including working within a team, using the space as a group, different timings and work patterns, and home from home etc, this has not changed how we design our work spaces. 

The picture to the left is the floor plan of the Larkin building, from 1904, and below a modern office space floor plan from 1990. As you can see when the photographs are taken away and only the simple layout is shown, the similarities are great. 

It seems to me that the next step is to investigate the modern ways in which our workers now carry out their practices, and design a space that tailors to each one of these needs. 

Bibliography: 
Worthington, J (1997). Reinventing the Workplace. 2nd ed. London: Architectural Press.

Inspirations

Weil am Rhein, Germany
Sevil Peach Gence Associates


Bibliography:


Myerson, J (2003). the 21st century office. London: Laurence King

DZ Bank, Berlin, Germany, Gehry Partners

Question 4. from the design brief

How does the workplace contribute to the meaning of work?

"The office was once designed as workhouses, reflecting the idea that work was something to be endured rather than enjoyed.Some employees were not even allowed to converse, let alone to flirt or gossip. But, in the people-centred economy of the 21st century, imaginative new offices are emerging in which social interaction is encouraged rather than frowned on. The neighbourly office is designed as a social landscape to bring people together in a community of purpose. It is a complete corporate society and its repertoire of town squares, garden fences, entertainment zones, quiet spaces and lively bars increasingly mirrors the dynamic of the modern city, with its chance encounters its colour and bustle."

-The 21st century office, by Jeremy Myerson and Philip Ross, published by Laurence King publishing in 2003

The workplace should contribute to work in two ways, to make it fun, and to keep it serious and focused. This is a very hard line to divide by.

Maslow's pyramid of needs is a good example of how one need affects the next.

Bibliography:

Noon, M (1997). The realities of work. London: Palgrave McMillan.


Tay, L. (2011). Maslow's pyramid of needs. Available: http://changingminds.org/explanations/needs/maslow.htm. Last accessed 12th November 2011.

Question 3. from the design brief

What effect does work have on peoples lives and aspirations?

As with all debate questions the answer can be argued in two ways. 

The first is that work has a positive effect on peoples aspirations encouraging them to move up the work ladder and work towards their ideal job (and their ideal pay). Companies are usually seen to give their employees perks and support plans such as medical care, dental, company cars and such like, encouraging their employees to work towards the next level. In a lot of companies this does work, however the employee must already be passionate or good at what they do. If there is no passion then there will be no motivation. 

The other side of the argument would be that if someone gets into a job that they didn't really want as their career or something that was intended to be temporary, then it can be hard to be motivated to move up in the company. Similarly if someone leaves it too long after getting a degree, or is out of employment too long, they are seen to have lost their skills.

For example if after completing a degree the student then goes home and back to their part time pub job, and ends up there for too long, it can be hard to then make their way into their desired employment.

Another example is students going travelling. People often get carried away, staying too long, and then either lose motivation for getting into employment or find it very hard to justify where they have been and what they have been doing for the past so many years. 

Bibliography:
Noon, M (1997). The realities of work. London: Palgrave McMillan.

Question 2. from the design brief

What do employees want from their work?

One of the key features of keeping an employee happy in their work is a good work-life balance. What constitutes a happy work-life balance will vary from person to person, dependant on a wide range of different circumstances and preferences. 

This structure can work both ways, for example much attention has recently been given to people working too much and therefore not spending enough time with themselves, at home or with their children. However to reverse this thought process, the unemployed and people working only part time, can be seen to have too much time on their hands and too little structure to their day. 

For those not earning as much as they'd need to, their work-life balance can also be thrown off. For example they may need to have more than one job or work extra hours to earn more money just to make ends meet, however their private life is also effected as they do not have enough funds to enjoy their leisure time. 

The work-life balance can largely vary between different groups in our society, for example parents managing child rearing and paid work, managers and those high up in their companies working long hours simply to get through their large work loads, carers trying to fit paid work around their caring responsibilities, and so on. 

The phrase itself can be somewhat conflicting. When talking about work it is thought of as part of our daily routine, as part of our life, whereas this phrase is trying to differentiate the two. 

Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) identified three main causes for conflict of the work sphere and the negative effect it has on the non-work sphere:

1. time based conflict: time spent on one sphere resulting in less time than needed being available for other spheres.

2. strain based conflict: strain experienced in one sphere making it difficult to fulfil obligations in other spheres

3. behaviour based conflict: role behaviours required in one sphere being inappropriate for role behaviours needed in other spheres. 

One example of time based conflict is someone in a job whereby they can be on call or on standby whilst in their non-work sphere.

Similarly another example is someone who works in a job where the work load cannot be finished in the scheduled work day and must be taken home for completion.  

An example of strain based conflict could be that the pressures from home such as illness or family issues create difficulties in concentrating on the work sphere. This can also be reversed in the sense that a stressful bad day at work can spill into the non work sphere making the person tired or grumpy when they arrive home. 

And finally an example of behaviour based conflict may arise when people use behavioural devices from the work day (such as a teacher giving instructions or talking down to a pupil) and unconsciously bring those behaviours home with them. This would therefore cause conflict between the members in the household. 

Work-life balance can be achieved when the persons ability to sucessfully pursue their work and non work lives happens without making excess demands on one or the other. What constitutes 'balance' will vary depending on the individual and their preferences and their circumstances. 

Bibliography: Noon, M (1997). The realities of work. London: Palgrave McMillan.

Question 1. from the design brief

Why do people work?

People work as a necessity to earn money to live. It it through money that we can provide food, housing, clothes and so on, and so from this satisfaction comes job satisfaction. 

However with most societies they (supposedly) provide a welfare system to ensure that citizens welfare does not fall below the basic level of survival. So in some cases is there really a demand to work? 

Unemployment benefit, housing allowances, and free medical care were specifically designed as a safety net preventing people from becoming poor and needy.

This is the main example of the government stepping in so as not to let the public solely rely on market forces. 

Politicians have previously argued that these implemented systems could be a deterrent for people to work, as it provides a supposedly satisfactory standard of living. It has also been proven that someone could undertake a weeks worth of low paid work, in employment and still receive less than some people would by claiming benefits. 

As you can see it is not technically necessary to work in todays society. Therefore you could say that people work to generate money, to gain consumer power. The main difference between the employed and the unemployed is that the employed have more consumer power and so more control over their choice of lifestyle. 

And so given the important link between work and spending power, it is hardly surprising that when asked, most people will say that earning money is the prime reason they work (or want to work in the case of the unemployed.)  

Bibliography:

Noon, M (1997). The realities of work. London: Palgrave McMillan.

Research

After choosing the brief to create an office area for the future, the first thing I wanted to do was properly research. After going to the library I found books such as 'Tomorrow's Office' and 'Reinventing the Workplace'

Another source of research I looked into was the programme, 'The secret life of buildings'. This was a programme where architecture critic, Tom Dyckhoff, explores the impact the design of buildings can have on us - on our identity and self-esteem, and on relationships, our chances at school, and even our weight and immune system. There was one particular episode which focused on our office spaces.  

The programme synopsis:

"Tom Dyckhoff makes some revelatory and shocking discoveries about how the buildings in which we spend our working life can physically change our brain, and shows why open-plan offices are bad spaces to work in.

Armed with this new knowledge, Dyckhoff meets and challenges pre-eminent architects including Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid to re-evaluate their creations.

He brings them face-to-face with the people who use their buildings every day. He even tries working in their buildings himself while taking part in an experiment to measure the impact on his brain.

What do the results show about working in these spaces? Have we become so obsessed with iconic exteriors that we've stopped thinking about the people inside them?

And is it possible to design a building that makes us feel happy while making us more productive too?"

Bibliography:

Worthington, J (1997). Reinventing the Workplace. 2nd ed. London: Architectural Press.
Raymond, S (1997). Tomorrow's Office. Hong Kong: Taylor and Francis

Project Brief

Tomorrow's Workplace

Choose a working environment and re-design it or an aspect of it that makes flexible working easier or reduces 

the energy consumption of working environments. Ideally, your solution will do both.

Process and presentation

You have four A3 presentation boards and a written summary not exceeding 250 words in which to describe your solution. In addition to presenting the finished solution, describe your process:

– what were your observations? Show how your analysis of these observations gave you insights into the design opportunity

– your insights might be research-based or intuitive, or a combination of both: relate the concept clearly to these insights

– make sure the judges know what specific issue or issues you have had to resolve in the process of designing your solution

– tell the story so that we understand the context for your solution and the benefits it delivers

Background

New design solutions are needed to address issues of environmental, social and economic sustainability in the workplace. Increased demands for flexible working and greater pressures on environmental performance are key challenges for the workplace of the future and present a unique opportunity for designers. Flexible working is increasingly in demand as workers balance more active and diverse personal and professional lives, as well as working until later in life.  In addition, the traditionally high energy consumption of working environments necessitates change for imperative environmental and economic reasons. Flexible working is aimed at moving employees away from the traditional office-based, nine-to-five, full-time job on a permanent contract. The previous ‘one size fits all’ approach is a thing of the past replaced by a variable proposition that can relate more to the employees, or the employer, or both. For an employee, flexible working may allow them to organise their employment to fit in better with other aspects of their life. For the employer, flexibility might enable them to organise resources in line with the needs of customers or with workplace capacity constraints. The benefits of flexibility include an improved work-life balance for the employees and maximised efficiency and resourcefulness for employers. The result is improved employee retention and improved services for customers, which in turn means increased competitiveness and greater profitability for businesses.

Significant developments in technology and communications in recent years have facilitated not just flexible working from home but, increasingly, working whilst on the move. A range of public environments such as airports, train stations, restaurants, cafes, hotel lobbies, parks and urban public spaces now constitute regular 

settings for many working people’s daily business activities. These places are used not only for lone working, but for meetings and collaborative workshops as they often offer mutual convenience for people with differing travel and time requirements.Thus as the demands for flexible working increase, areas and spaces that were 

previously designed for only infrequent or casual work use are not always suitable for business meetings as they often lack the appropriate seating, table space, spaces and plugs for technology and gadgets, papers, etc. Issues of ergonomics and the need for easy access to wireless connections are becoming increasingly important as well.