The open workplan format is facing no small amount of scrutiny lately as a creativity killer. Among the most recent sources of controversy is the publication of new book, “QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” whose author, Susan Cain, posits that the open workplan may be stifling creativity.
Fortunately, advocates have Paul Wheeler to defend the cause (or at least to define it properly).
On Monday morning, BBC Radio’s Vanessa Feltz dedicated a portion of her program to an interview with Susan Firth, occupational psychologist, who challenges the open work model, citing the noise, interruptions, and spotty concentration associated with large, partionless spaces. All of these, she says, contribute significantly to reduced productivity and raised stress. The interview raises a critical question: Is the open workplace concept merely a perceived good, passing, unchallenged, from one real estate executive to another because it is cost efficient?
Enter HOK’s Paul Wheeler, who, as Workplace Strategist, spends his days helping corporations create innovative new approaches to working. BBC Radio invited Paul to join the program as an opposing view.
Paul, however, agreed.
The open workplan can indeed be distracting and noisy, he says.  The problem is in assuming that a collaborative workplace must look (and function) like a warehouse full of desks. As designers, architects and consultants, says Wheeler, we need to listen very carefully to what clients and their end users are asking for… and then help them figure out what they actually need to work productively. In his call to [...]

Change.  Transformation.  Evolution. Integration.  Adaptation.  Performance.
The sands are shifting.  Every client we work with has something going on in their organization that will change their future landscape/workscape.  New IT systems, tools, changing processes, organizational structures and performance measures are all constantly in play – sometimes a symphony…sometimes more jazz free style.
Strangely, when you add workplace change to that ensemble, things can get really messy.  The physical, visible manifestations of the past/present – that often represent personal and individual sense of stability in  the chaos – can send otherwise sensible and professional people into panic.
A dear friend of mine (Dave Lathrop at Steelcase) can be quoted as saying “workplace change boils every dysfunction of the organization to the surface” (I’ve attached an article from him).  I believe he is right.  With everything else in flux, it would seem that the sacred cow is workplace. 
I think that there is a huge opportunity to make workplace the thing that ties everything together…rather than the final straw the breaks things apart.  The challenge is approaching workplace change as an integrator, which means approaching the entire design process in a new way.  Developing workplace strategies that anticipate an uncertain future requires a unique thought process.
“Insanity is doing things the same way and expecting a different outcome”
Let’s stop the insanity.  Let’s really look at workplace as the powerful change integrator it has the potential to be.  Can we make it an enabler of new process…and more importantly new attitudes and behavior?  Can we make it be [...]

Just a quick video to make you smile today: Steve Hargis inspires corporate real estate folks as part CoreNet’s Corporate Real Estate 2020 initiative:

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The cube is dead!  Long live the cube! 

Just read an interesting article in Interiors & Sources: The Cubicle, Deconstructed, quoting one of HOK’s own, Pam Light, Director of Interiors in Los Angeles.  The article quickly moves through the history of the open plan office, highlighting some of the successes (better space efficiency!) and failures (can’t find anyone in a maze of high-paneled cubicles!), and then addresses some of the major concerns users typically have:

Visual privacy
Noise or acoustical privacy
Hierarchy
Flexibility

Designers and furniture manufacturers are amply aware of these concerns and have been addressing them through thoughtful space planning and design and manufacture of products that offset the issues.  Check out the article for some tips and product ideas.

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This week marks the 5th birthday of the iphone! As I thought about this, I started to reflect on the impact that this one device has made…many people could not function well without it. I count myself in the group – I totally drink the Apple Kool Aid (full disclosure)! So why is it that I have become so completely dependent?
There has been a growing trend over the last 10 years called “convergence”, where many aspects of the world are coming together in ways that they never have before. For example, social media sites networking together so that you can pull a news story from one location and share on Face book – or vice versa. Grocery stores use cards to track what you purchase to give you specialized coupons intended to get you to try new products, as well as monitor your spending habits and sell that information back to the manufactures. All this data is tracked and stored for marketing purposes.
For me, convergence is epitomized on a personal level in the iphone – for example, when traveling I simply forward any email reservation confirmations to a website aligned with the Trip it application that organizes and creates a travel itinerary for me. When I arrive, the application interfaces with the GPS on Google Maps to give me direction for driving, walking, or public transportation to my destination. Also included are phone numbers that I can dial from the iphone for the destination if there are any problems along [...]

Please welcome a guest post from Susan Grossinger, Senior Vice President, Director of Product Design at HOK.

Please take a few minutes to watch this Gather video and listen to the design team — including HOK’s Steve Hargis, Tom Polucci, Louis Schump and Annie Bergeron — speak about the inspiration and research around the ideas.HOK Product Design’s team members came from all over North America and we joined with our industrial design Partner – id-a Design based in Zeeland, Michigan, to create an award winning collection of collaborative furniture that is a new market niche for Allsteel.
The 11-piece collection created the most buzz at Neocon 2011 and stood out in the crowd because of the focus on helping companies effectively collaborate by providing new products that until this time didn’t exist.
Fast Company Design wrote: “With its latest collection of contract furniture, Allsteel wants to be among the first to cater to this new office paradigm, offering pieces expressly designed for idea sharing.”
The Gather collection, which officially launched in December, has already won six industry awards including Interiors & Sources Readers’ Choice, Buildings Magazine’s Product Innovation Award and four Best of Neocon awards including People’s Choice, Editor’s Choice and Silver awards in the Education and Sofas and Lounge categories.

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I sit in an open plan office (there are only five enclosed offices in our entire building – for the president of the company, director of marketing, director of ops, comptroller, and HR – that’s roughly 3% of the work spaces). From my desk, I have a lovely view of lots of other people, as well as out a big glass window overlooking the C&O canal.  You can’t see the canal from my seat – you have to actually walk over to the window…but, you do see plenty of birds smash into the window.
Our own Leigh Stringer contributed to an article in the Wall Street Journal: Indecent Exposure: The Downsides of Working in a Glass Office.  The article shares the many benefits of highly open offices (including those with glass-walled conference rooms and glass-walled offices), as well as some of the downsides.  Known by some as the fishbowl factor, Leigh takes it another step and shares about people actually walking into glass walls.  Never have I seen this happen, but I’m not denying it.  Hey, I was walking my dog the other day and ran into a telephone pole.  My take: if you can’t figure out there’s a wall (or telephone pole) there, maybe Darwin is trying to tell you something…
Regardless – there are ups and downs to very open and open-looking offices.  I think with the appropriate mix of some “private” rooms and lots of open plan, there is a balance that allows for collaboration, concentration, and the occasional cocktail [...]

When you hear the word “Deltek” mentioned at HOK, the first thing that pops to mind isn’t always the accounting/time software we all know so well…it’s usually the great new project that’s about to open.  Deltek is moving their headquarters into a new facility, complete with HOK-designed interiors. Yes, some of your favorite Work+Place bloggers are behind this design (Catherine Haley and Daphne Kiplinger).
What is it about Deltek’s new space that’s so special?   One of the many features is Deltek’s commitment to an open office – even the CEO will be seated in open plan workstations. Check out an article in today’s Washington Post (Deltek Consolidates into New Herndon Office) , or view a few preview photos in our Flickr set below:

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HOK recently completed new offices for Avon at 777 Third Avenue.  Settled into their new space- artwork hung and final painting complete- I had the pleasure of joining Avon in welcoming reporters for a little tour and chat as they presented the building for the first time. 
The space is crisp, pearlescent and beautiful all while tracking LEED-CI Gold. After the reporter’s questions, I had a chance to talk with a few Avon employees and they’re thrilled with the new digs! Don’t just take my word for it, here’s a roundup of what others had to say and share from the event:
Contract Magazine Online http://www.contractdesign.com/contract/news/Avon-Debuts-Sustaina-5953.shtml
Inhabitat New York City http://inhabitat.com/nyc/avons-new-leed-seeking-headquarters-showcase-the-companys-commitment-to-sustainability/
GreenBiz.com http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2011/09/14/pink-hats-build-gold-tower-inside-avons-new-leed-gold-hq?page=0%2C0
The Real Deal Online http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/avon-produces-opens-first-leed-certified-cosmetics-hq-in-manhattan-at-777-third-avenue-moving-from-1251-sixth-avenue
Getty Images http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/124955669/GettyImagesNews
World Interior Design Network http://www.worldinteriordesignnetwork.com/news/avon_opens_green_headquarters_in_manhattan_110916/
 

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Lately I can’t seem to escape discussions about wellness in the workplace. In the past few weeks I’ve received several wellness related articles  from colleagues, witnessed real life issues onsite with clients and helped kick off a firm wide wellness initiative in my own firm. There are definitely enough issues surrounding this topic to turn this into a series of posts, but for now I will focus on sitting and walking in the workplace.
A colleague recently sent me these great infographics: Sitting is Killing You, highlighting some interesting statistics on the detriments of sitting for prolonged periods of time, fueling the argument to get up and walk around throughout the day. Personally, I hate the idea of sitting at a desk all day. I jump at any chance to walk across the office to talk with a colleauge. Not only does it add a few extra steps to my day, but often I can be more productive by engaging with a coworker face-to-face as opposed to long email chains which I’ll eventually have to go back and delete when cleaning out my inbox.

Adding to this discussion, HOK recently launced on Facebook what we are hoping to be The World’s Largest Workplace Survey. This is a great open forum to provide input on how well or not-so-well your workplace is performing. Join the dicussion by taking the survey here. The chart below shows some recent realtime survey results, indicating that an overwhelming amount of people complain about some physical discomfort in the workplace.

And in [...]