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With a focus on increasing comfort, communication and creativity among workers, many office designers are
THINKING OUTSIDE THE CUBE
Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip "Dilbert," will be relieved to hear that the "cube" is not dead. It's not even on the workplace endangered species list.
"I think the cubicle has gotten a bad 'rep,'" said Margaret Serrato, senior associate with TVS Interiors Inc. "There's a lot to be said for it as a good, efficient use of space.
The older models were bland and didn't provide a lot of sound abatement, but manufacturers are making them more attractive these days."
One improvement is the use of raised floor units to deliver heat and air from the floor - so each worker can control the temperature in his or her space from a nozzle on the desk. Glass on the top of divider walls so people can see out is another.
"So is plug-and-play technology, which allows people to use their laptops and other equipment wherever they work," said Tony Martin, director of design and associate principal of CDH Partners. "Today's modular furniture has shaped countertops, desks, storage spaces, a greater variety of fabrics and special lighting."
The design stations at CDH Partners have filing cabinets on wheels with cushions on top, so that someone literally can pull up a seat when collaborating on a project.
"Modular components are a highly flexible use of space that allow a company to adapt interior layouts to meet changing needs without having to tear down walls and start over," Martin said. "It's easier and less costly to update than permanent construction."
New trends are using "the cube" and other design elements more creatively.
"One trend we're seeing is for more casual work environments," said Paulla Shatterly, associate principal at CDH Partners.
Martin said the changes started with the dot-com era 10 years ago, which brought new approaches to corporate structure and workplace design. Emerging companies had some new and crazy ideas to make offices more like playful, high-energy think tanks - things like in-house basketball courts and furniture on wheels. While some of the extreme ideas have disappeared along with a lot of the startups, the concept that corporations don't have to look and feel stuffy has survived.
At CDH Partners, a chandelier with tiny bulbs to simulate a cluster of stars in the two-story foyer is a decorative element to attract attention at night. In place of fluorescent lights, the company opted for task lighting at drawing boards and desks and pendant fixtures overhead that show off the rich, beamed ceiling.
The interior is designed to let the 115 architects, designers and staff work efficiently.
They work in modular studios, to give each of them his or her own space, but in an open environment that invites collaboration and reflects an informal approach to doing business.
Set in the middle of the woods in Marietta, the older office building has a new wing set at an eye-catching angle, interesting colors and lots of windows with views of the trees, stream and bridge outside.
"We added a huge deck that will accommodate everyone. People can have impromptu meetings there or just sit out and work on a nice day," Martin said.
A café-style break area allows for extended lunch breaks and movies on Fridays.
"Although it's hard to quantify, savvy companies are beginning to recognize what we have asserted all along: that good design has economic value," Martin said. "It's a means of enhancing the quality of life that goes on in any space, whether it's a business, church, school or medical facility."
Good design contributes to the bottom line in that "an inviting, comfortable, healthy and functional physical environment helps attract and retain talented people, and it helps them work more productively," Shatterly said.
A good example is a recent CDH Partners project to renovate the neonatal intensive care unit at WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
"These are very sick babies, and sound was a problem in the space," Shatterly explained. "Every time they heard a noise, it startled them. Their monitored vital signs would change, and a bell would go off to alert the nurses."
CDH Partners put in carpet to reduce sounds and installed softer, smaller lights in the ceiling. The designers painted the space in soothing blues and greens and added a fun Caribbean theme to lighten the stress levels of nurses.
"The result is that everyone calmed down," Shatterly said. "With a lower level of lighting and less noise, the bells don't go off nearly as often, and it's much easier for the babies to get better faster."
While furnishings, light and color all add to the overall effect of a work environment, the underlying critical element is the communication pattern, according to Serrato at TVS Interiors. The workplace strategist is an expert on how office layout relates to communication.
"To have workers be more effective, to foster the kind of idea generation and creativity it takes to compete in today's business world, informal interactions are critical," she said. "People need opportunities to see and be seen for a workplace to have vitality."
Using a computer modeling tool to conduct Space Syntax analysis, TVS designers can map existing space to see where movement and interaction occur and how different configurations either detract from or enhance office communication.
"Poor space planning, the way cubicles or managers' offices are arranged - even the size of the coffee area - can cause workers to feel isolated or bombarded in a company," Serrato said. Ideally, companies want to encourage unscheduled encounters between workers that spark new ideas and help them accomplish tasks and build relationships. Serrato looks at distance, visibility and layout when asked to evaluate a physical environment.
"Most people agree with Tom Allen of MIT's 30-meter principle, which says that people will only wander about 99 feet from their working space, so, if you want people to interact, you have to put them in a position to do that. You have to create the paths," she said.
Access to natural light through windows is considered part of a healthy work environment, which has businesses rethinking the old arrangement of managers' offices around the outside of buildings, with other employees in interior offices and cubicles with high, opaque dividers. Closed management offices and formal conference rooms have given way to doorless offices, to reflect greater accessibility to leadership, and technology-laden and centrally located meeting rooms, where teams can complete projects.
What designers aim for is a layout that creates optimal connections, gives people equal ways to move around and fits a corporate culture and mission. If a business says it's creative and dynamic and that people reach across the organization to get things done, but there's little movement or visibility in the office space, then the physical impression doesn't support the message.
"When we've shown clients better ways to effect circulation and communication, they've been quite pleased and seen positive changes in their companies," Serrato said.
One other trend bringing design changes is the "green" building movement supported by the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.
"As part of the wellness movement, more companies want to create healthier work environments. Architects and manufacturers are supporting that with energy-efficient, nonpolluting, recyclable materials that improve indoor air quality," Serrato said.
