Myths and common preconceptions about offices and workplaces abound. We are almost constantly bombarded with supposedly new ideas about management, workplace design, workplace trends and the general debate on the ‘future of the office’. Quite often it is merely terminology that is reinvented (‘Agile Working’), attempting to add a new sparkle to old (and possibly…
Last week saw the opening of the newly refurbished Tate Britain, which was much acclaimed by art and architecture lovers alike. The Millbank riverside main entrance was re-opened and the central entrance space underneath the rotunda was transformed by Caruso St John Architects into a stunning three-storey space connecting the lower ground floor via a spiral…
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal on ‘The New Science of Who Sits Where at Work‘ highlighted some interesting facts about behaviours of people in the workplace: the fact that 40-60% of our interactions are with immediate office neighbours; that bringing people from different teams and departments into close proximity can increase productivity;…
A couple of recent trips to Germany (Munich and Stuttgart) made me think about airports and how they create very diverse experiences for travellers. Obviously, each airport is unique in its size, location and its spatial configuration. However, it struck me how conceptually different airports are. How you experience an airport certainly depends on your own…
Commuting via public transport in London can be an unpleasant experience: overcrowded trains, bad-tempered fellow commuters, stuffy air – not to mention all hell breaking loose when trains get delayed (for whatever reason). So how does the daily commute feel when you are in special circumstances? To make life easier for pregnant women, Transport for…
Latest figures from a large survey of workplaces (the so called Leesman Index) suggest that tea, coffee and refreshment facilities are important to 91% of employees. This sparked a debate on Twitter among some of the workplace consultancy community and made me think again of one of the workplaces I studied in depth for my…
A tweet in my timeline yesterday made me think about the relationship between buildings and their effects and implications, or in short: what buildings do and don’t do. Here is the original statement: Chinese game company’s HQ – beautiful + encourages serendipitous interactions = awesome wired.com/design/2013/01… — Ben Waber (@bwaber) March 17, 2013 Now, there…
I recently stumbled upon a series of photographs I took last summer, on a gloriously sunny day, visiting the Serpentine Pavilion 2012 in London, which was constructed by the architects Herzog de Meuron and the artist Ai Weiwei. It was nice to be reminded of summer in the current winter gloom, but I was also…
A recently published research paper on ‘A holistic multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning’, written by Professor Peter Barrett and his team at Salford University has created quite a stir in mainstream media and received lots of attention. Among other outlets, it featured prominently in the Guardian, on dezeen, Wired…
How healthcare can be delivered differently and how hospital buildings can play a crucial role in this has been subject of two earlier blog posts discussing aspects of flexible working in a hospital setting and the patient – caregiver interface. In this final and third post (for the time being at least…) covering Orbis Medical Centre in Sittard…
spaceandorganisation 