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.  

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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 and

we understand. Open office environments are not the solution for every organization or worker type, but they can be successful, productive work environments when it’s been thoroughly researched, designed and implemented well.  Having private conversations and working on confidential information IS possible in an open office.

 

…and yes, you can even pull off something as big as a surprise baby shower.

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:

1. 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.
2. People will definitely dress up Robot Boss in embarrassing clothing. Mine would have a handlebar mustache and dress accordingly for the seasons and holidays. 
3. 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?
4. Will people eventually prefer Robot Ross to in-person boss? If in-person boss wears cheap cologne, then yes.
5. I’d like to see Robot Boss take a client out to lunch. Good luck catching a cab, Robot Boss!
6. I’d be freaked out if I went to a job interview and had to deal with Robot Boss, or a whole room of Robot Bosses!
7. If Robot Boss gets fired, who does security escort out of the building?
8. I expect Robot Boss to go to networking events and cheer on the company softball team.
9. How does HR deal with someone falling in love with Robot Boss?
10. I sure hope there’s a pause button for when Robot Boss needs to use the restroom.

This could be your Robot Boss

Ice cream is always a treat. Ice cream at the workplace is even a sweeter treat. I had ice cream and i’m pretty sure a good number of us at the office had ice cream too.  

Fortunate for us, our building’s property management company, Hines, hosted an ice cream social for all the tenants during lunch time for those passing through the lobby. There were four individual umbrella-ed Blue Bell ice cream kiosks manned by four ice cream connoiseurs and tables lined up with a buffet of toppings to pile up on top.

Judging by the turnout, it was a success. People were socializing, mingling, enjoying their creamy treats and taking a breather from their daily schedule. What i take from this is:

• People really like ice cream.
• Ice cream brings people together.
• Ice cream made me feel good and jolly for the afternoon.  
• Breaks from the daily schedule allows one to unwind, for a little bit.

A quick thought, aside to providing the customary coffee and tea bars, maybe ice cream machine or frozen yogurt bar would be an interesting add to one’s office space. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. I can only dream, but it sounds like a nice idea.

I think i’ll be bringing in some ice cream to the office in the future. If you’re in Houston and nice i’ll share.

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)!

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 essentially the same size/same configuration workstation (i.e. “worker bees” sit in one desk, managers sit in a slightly larger but similar desk…not much variety) . This approach still assumes all the worker bees and all the managers get their work done in the same style. And unfortunately many organizations still think that the only way their employees are actually ”working” is if they’re sitting at their desks from 9 to 5. It’s going to be up to the Designers to continue to educate our clients on current workplace and furniture trends. I’d like to hear from anyone who has useful case studies or success stories of cleints that went from “Dilbertville” to a more flexible office environment. If we can arm ourselves with more success stories, it will eventually be easier to get more clients to feel comfortable making the leap into a more efficient office space.

What is your current role?  I am a Senior Interior Designer in the Washington, DC studio.

What would you say are current “trends” when it comes to the workplace?  Cram as many people in as possible. 

Seriously, many of our corporate clients recognize that there is a large portion of their employees that do not need a dedicated desk or private office, so they are moving towards a shared open office environment where workstations are not assigned to any person in particular.  While this “trend” has been around for a while, we are seeing our clients getting more daring with their sharing ratios and providing more “private” areas in return.  These private areas are generally small, unreserved rooms for one to two people to have a private conversation, take a phone call or conduct a conference call without disrupting others seating in open office areas. 

Another trend I see is the return of the lunchroom.  This isn’t your elementary school lunchroom, it’s a destination space with finishes and details that rival some of your favorite restaurants.  The key is to create a space that everyone from the CEO to the intern will feel comfortable spending time in whether they are eating lunch or involved in an impromptu meeting. 

The last trend we are seeing is related to research on the generations in the workplace.  Clients are becoming more savvy and will sometimes ask if the space will attract the “millennials” which really shows that they too are doing their research.

What advice would you give others trying to make changes in the workplace?  Please make sure all employees are briefed on why the changes are occurring and provide them with tools to make the transition easier.  We all want a sense of security while in the office and losing your desk is potentially a scary thought for many. The more involved upper management is in promoting the changes, and actually “walking the talk,” the more comfortable everyone will be in their new workplace. 

Additionally, employees need direction on acceptable behavior when moving into open and/or shared workstations to avoid conflict with others who don’t enjoy sitting down to a desk with sticky soda residue or listening to every detail of their neighbors’ conversation with their podiatrist.

What is your favorite source for new workplace trends or information?  Actually, I find that many of the system furniture manufacturers have great websites with tons of white papers and research available online.  Also, I know that if I have a specific idea in mind, I can always ask our friendly Advance Strategies people for advice on how to get started or if they’ve come across anything new interesting! (Editor’s note: If you’ve read my bio, you’ll see that Amy is clearly kissing up)

What’s the funniest “collection” you’ve seen (photo evidence, please!)?  Oh no!  I don’t have photo evidence but I saw a My Little Pony collection that would make a six year old salivate.  And while this is not a collection, one of our clients keeps an artificial tree outside their workstation year-round that is appropriately decorated for whatever national holiday is next on the list.  For example, I have seen Halloween, Easter and 4th of July.

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.

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 street:  not much – your usual forgotten building façade with a lonely service door and a dead rat; the dumpster with its wonderful scents and aromas and mysterious trail of “liquid”; the parking garage exit that even Lee Martin or Steve McQueen would have a 50/50 chance of making it across without getting squashed like a tomato.  So, when Luca guided me toward a street three blocks off the beaten path and far north of anything remotely looking like the restaurant district, I was growing skeptical.  “He’s lost” …I thought…

We turned left and walked about half a block, arriving at the entrance to Social.  It’s a small bistro built into the lower level of an old early twentieth century brick fire station.  The owners designed and built the space themselves and did a remarkable job! We walked in and Luca introduced me to Ray, one of the owners.  With his arm outstretched  over the oiled walnut bar, he shakes my hand and welcomes me with a purely French “Bonjour!”    We chose to sit outside on the sidewalk at one of the three small aluminum tables.  It is situated on the north face of the building along a side street with relatively no vehicle traffic to speak of.  There are a few Bradford Pear trees providing shade to the few rays that do manage to trickle through – essential to outdoor seating in the Atlanta summer!! 

We sat and chatted for a few minutes before being served water and ordering our food – Serrano ham and manchego cheese sandwich, salad and [French] fries.  We sat talking, while in the background a woman lazily sang a tune in French, a cool breeze whispered through the trees (yes, it’s still hot out here), and a Belgian fellow a table over enjoyed the omelet of the day and a Pilsner Urquell!  (Later that day the Dutch Oranje beat Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup to advance to the semi-finals – I can only imagine the celebration he later endured!)  A few more people wandered by, some stopping in for lunch, others enjoying the cool breeze on this quiet, shady street.  

I paused and said to Luca, “Where are we?”  He smiled back, knowing exactly what I meant.  At that precise moment I was not in Atlanta anymore.  My senses had been overtaken by the sights, sounds, and smells that were captured on that quiet side street. 

I could have easily been seated at a table in Paris, or one of the many small French villages now being overrun by men in colorful tights and helmets this month. 

It was a welcome journey to a new place, a break from work that refreshed my perspective on the city I call home.

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