Size definitely matters…

… in many things.  It’s not always about getting the biggest, sometimes small is best. And in all cases matching the ‘right size’ is the objective.  It’s true in selecting cars, clothes, food, furniture, even electronics.  I like my cell phone to be as slim as possible and I wouldn’t mind an even beefier HDTV in my family room.  Many such decisions are personal ones which is the way it should be.  But unfortunately, in business, many of these decisions are made for you; the size of your workstation, laptop, and your cell phone for example.  You may get some choice, but it is almost always never enough.

This became very apparent to me the other day, as I sat in a hotel conference room with a number of others having a group brainstorming-like conversation.  While the hotel considered itself quite progressive because they had internet access and even the ability to ‘connect’ laptops to a projector mounted in the ceiling. The image the projector made was too small for people at the far end of the room to see clearly.  This was obvious as I witnessed the famous ‘dance of the chairs’ where people slide in and out from the table to see beyond their table mates and lean towards the screen at the end of the room in hopes of picking up more of the details.  The rest of the walls were covered with a tacky wall paper and there was no white board or flip chart stand of any sorts.  So much for looking at alternative ideas concurrently, co-creating a new idea by combining pieces of several other ideas, and pulling up Google references as background for a decision.  It was a lousy meeting, and I know it was due to the lack of sufficient wall display space. 

Our research clearly shows the importance of ‘information persistence’ in the group innovation process.  Without appropriate wall space for ideas/thoughts/opinions to be displayed on, collaboration is severely hampered.

I believe that the difference between a well designed group space, and one that isn’t is the amount of attention paid to what will actually take place in the room and matching the information display requirements accordingly.  If the room is used primarily for presentations, then a single display at the end of the room is sufficient (just make sure it is large enough and mounted high enough for everyone to have a clear line of sight).  If the room is for developing something (an idea, a plan, etc.), then it requires multiple types of information display surfaces, and generally more than one.  That’s why you’re meeting after all, to look at and evaluate existing content.  Again, it’s back to the idea of ‘persistence,’ where an idea will emerge from the information that persists around the room.  This is no different than a desktop screen.  The argument for a larger screen is not to have the biggest on your row of cubicles, but to have sufficient screen real estate to place related information sources which ‘inform’ the primary task you are focused on.

If your project rooms are like the majority I’ve seen at companies large and small, they’re OK for single threaded presentations, but lousy for comparing, contrasting, cross-sharing, etc.  The key is to design the ‘wall space’ as carefully as you design the ‘floor space’.  As a rule of thumb (no scientific evidence for this) I suggest you target 1 sq. ft. of wall display space (digital or analog works) for every 4 sq. ft. of floor space, with maybe 25-40% of this wall display space being digital.  I personally love the tactility of paper (analog media) of all sorts; sketches, photos, sticky notes, etc. However, the added value of using digital media vs. analog is the ability to alter, capture, and most importantly to easily retrieve that altered content in the future.  So keep this in mind as you design the wall space as well.

I guarantee people using the space will appreciate how well you’ve thought through how the room supports the purpose.  Tape measure anyone…?

Comments

[Mark Greiner]

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS Wendy. One, for the success of your telecommuting policy,... and two, for finding what sounds like a gem of a space - a historic firehouse, how cool is that...!?!

Without seeing the building it's hard to get too prescriptive,... but here's some things to keep in mind. On the top of the list, is to keep as much of the original building as you can,... you should have high ceilings, lots of woodwork, and if you're lucky the pole to slide down from the second floor to the first. Keep it all. The reason is that it adds a feeling of warmth to offset all the technology used in your jobs. My second suggestion would be to focus on your group spaces,... get these right, then tuck your individual touch-down spaces in and around these.

It sounds like you are a media company,... so my guess is that you work together in brainstorming, spreading your work out for understanding and evaluation. Big, long, bar-height tables work great for this,... it allows you to array your work and soak on it (we call this information persistence). Another thought is to leverage as much natural light as you can,... and provide a variety of seating options (sitting, lounging, perching, etc.).

Finally, put as much attention in your technology as your architecture and furniture. Get power to your devices in some clever way. Make sure you have enough plasma displays, and big ones,... especially if you will be having clients visit your office, it's impressive.

Hope this gives you something to spark your creativity.

[Wendy Flanagan]

Hi Mark,

My firm started a telecommuting policy when gas prices went up... and it worked so well that we are considering a smaller office space! In fact, we are looking to purchase a historic firehouse in Blairstown and make it our own space. Do you have any insights you would like to lend for a cool building that is going to take some creative thinking by our creative team?

Wendy

[Mark Greiner]

Lisa,... I sympathize with your predicament. How can you do your job of designing a truly great space,... when the client's expectations are no more sophisticated than having a simple, low-cost box that 'generic' users can configure for their 'generic' group meeting,... with likely 'generic' results. So much for a design brief...!?! It may not work with some client's,... but I suggest you try and document how the room is used and not used through a series of photographs (this is called ethnography),... that depict their employees using one of these multi-purpose rooms for various activities (e.g., as a project room, as a marketing brainstorming room, as a strategy development room, as a teleconferencing room, as a problem solving room, etc.). Try and capture people struggling to connect to technology, using creative work-arounds to overcome the lack of tables to spread work out on, squinting to see screen details from the back of the room, frustrated in comparing alternative plans when you can only see one at a time, and on and on. You will be amazed, and hopefully they will as well,... the degree to which the lack of a well 'designed' space effects productivity, of the individual and the team. If this doesn't work,... just keep reminding yourself there's enlightend clients out there, you just need to find them.

[Brad Aspgren]

Thanks for Steelcase leading the industry in its furniture/design thinking!

[Lisa Christner, ASID]

I love your comments! I sometimes find it hard to get my clients out of the "multi-purpose" room thinking. So, to nail done a specific use for a room, and thus plan around it, can be difficult. Any suggestions?