Recently, two of my colleagues pulled off a surprise baby shower for me, all while sitting in an open office environment. Needless to say, I was completely surprised! As you can probably imagine, a lot of work goes into planning a surprise party. Granted, some of it can be done through good ole’ e-mail communication, but at some point, all that scheming has to occur somewhere beyond that.  

So, how did two people that sit immediately to my left and right, without any walls or workstation panels separating us, pull this off?  This can’t be easy in any work environment, but somehow they were able to keep it a secret. So, does this mean it’s possible to have private conversations and work on top secret information in an open office environment without your surrounding colleagues hearing or seeing your work? Well, it definitely seemed to work in this situation.  
As my colleague Jodi Williams and I continue to embark on a journey to debunk open office myths, here we present you with busted myth #1: You can’t have private conversations or work on confidential information while sitting in an open office work environment.
 
Now, I know some of you out there may still find this to be a challenging issue, especially if you are sitting in an open office and shouldn’t be because of the nature of your work OR because you don’t have access to private spaces, etc. We heard you…we’ve been reading all of your comments and blogs on the internet [...]

Don’t just work from home. Creep out your employees from a distance!
I saw this article recently about the robot that visits your cubicle. Advertised as a “telepresence robot”, Anybots aim to connect workers more seamlessly through the use of video cameras, still camera and a microphone. The basic concept is that, working anywhere from a laptop, you can log into one of these robots which reside in your office and the robot essentially becomes your “avatar”. Your Anybot can zip around the workplace interacting with coworkers; stopping by your desk, sitting in on meetings or impromptu collaboration sessions, heading over to the factory to see what’s coming off the production line, etc. The video demonstration on their website gives you the idea.
While I do see some of the fundamental advantages of “Robot Boss”, I still can’t help but think of all the hilarious and awkward scenarios that could play out in our workplace culture:

It looks like a Segway had a one night stand with a vacuum cleaner. I hope the cleaning staff doesn’t try to use Robot Boss to buff the floors.
People will definitely dress up Robot Boss in embarrassing clothing. Mine would have a handlebar mustache and dress accordingly for the seasons and holidays. 
If you put a piece of paper over the sensors, can you laugh as Robot Boss crashes into walls because it can’t see straight?
Will people eventually prefer Robot Ross to in-person boss? If in-person boss wears cheap cologne, then yes.
I’d like to see Robot Boss take a client out to lunch. Good luck catching a cab, Robot Boss!
I’d be freaked out if [...]

Wherever I go… it goes!!!
For my birthday this past year, I received a Kindle. While I was instantly excited, I was also a bit skeptical. I am a serious book purchaser, and was concerned what this new toy would do for my dream home library. Now that I’ve had a chance to spend some quality time with the Kindle, I can say with confidence that I LOVE IT! What I really love about it are the functions that I was unaware of when I opened it. I had no idea that I could send, receive, and edit documents from the little booger. The best benefit for me is the ability to travel as an even lighter road warrior. Instead of having to bring my laptop, work documents, plus two books and a magazine, now I can just bring my Kindle and my laptop. Sometimes, when I’m really wild, I don’t even bring the laptop. Thanks Kindle (and Dan for giving it to me)!

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I really appreciate simple charts, graphs, information in general. This Fast Company Infographic is equal parts: accurate / straightforward / funny. It boils down worker personalities into three categories based on how much you work and how much you talk. Created by designer Joey Roth, the poster doesn’t aim to analyze the information but rather act as a jumping off point for further conversation.

Simple infographics like this are a great reminder that your organization is full of a diverse group of individual work styles that often perform better in different settings. But still as Designers we continue to see offices being designed with one, maybe two varieties of workstation specifications. With workers coming in every shape, size and style it’s crazy to think we’re sometimes delivering such limited solutions. Granted, you can find TONS of styles and configurations for the numerous workstations on the market, and there are always those forward thinking/early-adapter clients but when it comes down to it, Designers (and clients) tend to play it safe and hassle-free, because the work it takes to specifcy (Designer) and then maintain (Client/Facilities) multiple varieties of workstations for a single project would be a logistical headache.
I’ve seen a good deal of new workplace furniture trends that are moving in the right direction to support various work personalities, but it also takes the Designer and Client buy-in to actually get these solutions implemented. We joke about things like Dilbertville and yes, we’ve convinced clients to take down high furniture panels, but some clients are hesitant and we end up seeing most people sitting in [...]

 
Interesting conceptual project from textile designer Celine Marcq: reactive wallcovering that abstractly visualizes energy use. The idea is that your wall can help indicate how much electricity you are using, ideally making us all more conscious in general. This would be especially helpful for those people who have bad habits of leaving everything plugged in. The ambient light is a reminder that even though something isn’t turned on, if it’s plugged in it’s still pulling in electricity. Gets rid of the whole “out of sight, out of mind” mentaility that gets us in trouble in oh so many instances.

Monitoring and displaying energy isn’t necessarily a brand new concept. Several quality companies are leading the effort to track energy usage. My colleague David Ivey recently posted on HOK Life about measures we’re taking in our Chicago office, implementing  Lutron Quantum and EcoSystem to monitor and display energy usage. These measures have helped our Chicago office be recognized as one of the top ten LEED projects in 2009 according to Interiors and Sources Magazine
The reactive wallcovering is definitley a step in a more aesthetic direction to keep us informed of energy usage. I’m sure pretty soon our offices will be these Matrix-esque environments displaying all types of information. Hopefully the visual overload won’t be too seizure-inducing. I would like to hear of any other examples of aesthetic ways to monitor energy or raise awareness that any of you readers have come across.

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One of the great things about our Atlanta office location is accessibility:  10 minute walk from my house to the train, 15 minute ride, and 5 more minutes to the office.  From there, when hunger strikes (and I didn’t’ bring my lunch) it’s only a 10 minute walk to…Paris? 
A few weeks back my good friend and fellow architect, Luca, invited me to lunch.  “I know this great little French bistro – you’ll enjoy it!”  “Oui!” I accepted and we met on Peachtree Street – the main thoroughfare in downtown Atlanta.  It was a hot, humid, Wednesday afternoon and the typical crowd of business people, tourists and conventioneers were crowding the steamy sidewalks looking for shelter and a cold glass of sweet tea.  “Which way?” I asked.  With a nod and an outstretched hand gesturing north in a way that only a true Roman can do, we started our journey.
Now, I’ve lived in Atlanta for a long, long time, I studied architecture and planning at Georgia Tech and I’ve worked downtown for many years so I’m very familiar with the city and the unique Atlanta-Southern culture.  Downtown Atlanta is not known for its vibrant and diverse street scene.  It has a few lively pockets here and there, but not much continuity between them.  And you have to know where they are or you will wind up wandering aimlessly and never find anything of interest (but something may certainly find you…).  
Thus, I know what to expect when I encounter a downtown side [...]

The Builders Association is a leading trade association serving the commercial construction industry in Chicago. They are a reliable source to keep up on relevant issues in the local construction community. I was recently asked to write an article for their June newsletter to discuss how the Architecture and Design community is viewing the current state of the market, what firms are doing to weather the economic storm and what market sectors look to have growth in 2010. Check out the article here: School’s In

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Today Angie Earlywine, HOK Senior Workplace Strategist, was featured on KMOX Radio Total Information Program to share key findings from IFMA’s Distributed Work Research Report.  Talk show hosts Debbie Monterrey and Dan Gray talk with Angie about how businesses are decreasing their need for office space.
Click here to listen to the podcast – Too Much Office Space

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The way a space communicates a basic message suggests a lot about the overall design.  Were the details well-considered, or were these last-minute items forgotten?  Is there a clear concept throughout the space?  Is the guest experience welcoming?  Will you be back?
The following are some noteworthy restroom signs I’ve captured over the past few weeks.

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To be honest, I used to hate hearing about companies that offer cool perks to their employees. I always wished I worked for those other companies. But lately I’ve been hearing about more and more companies offering interesting benefits. Hopefully innovative perks become more of the norm. Regardless of a companies motives behind the perks, I think it’s a great way to attract new employees (young talent with high expectations of a “cool” workplace) as well retaining some of the more seasoned employees (those who like their job just fine but maybe things are getting stale).
Here’s an article I found highlighting some companies who are offering interesting perks:
10 Perks We Love
While some perks are just plain cool (massages, dry cleaning service) other benefits are a great way for a company to express their gratitude and commitment to a work/life balance (travel perks, flex hours, work at home options, gym memberships). The challenge for employers is to balance these perks for their diverse workforce. A kid fresh out of school might not see the benefit of daycare reimbursement but would jump at the chance to work at home or have travel incentives. The key is to celebrate the diversity of your staff and provide appropriate perks, which may change over time. With an emerging younger, more socially conscious workforce, as well as more people working later in life, there is opportunity for some very innovative and fun incentives.
And this got me daydreaming of some other potentially cool perks (some of [...]