When technology and design meet: the flexible needs of collaboration


Office designers are facing the challenge of adapting and creating offices where dedicated desks, telephones and desktop computers are a thing of the past, reports Clare Hopping.


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With many companies adapting their working processes, bringing in work-from-home policies and flexible working, how can designers adapt the use of space to match changing work attitudes?

Many offices now have hot desk space, allowing staff to use the office space when it's required rather than having a permanent desk. Although it means not as many desks are needed, this has led to the bring your own device (BYOD) revolution, allowing employees to bring their own kit into the office, so a one-size-fits-all policy is not an option.

Such changes make it difficult for designers to create a space that not only meets the needs of those always at their desks, but a new breed of employee too who may not be using IT-issued equipment. It means office solutions now need to be adaptable for changing technological requirements, whether that leaves scope to upgrade computers, integrate new displays, or open up the floor with space flexible for changing use.

Built-in furniture may no longer be a viable solution, with modular options taking precedence, but it also means forward-thinking and adaptability should be at the forefront of design.

Squaredot combined new technological aids for more informal working with Kimberly-Clark’s observance for more traditional workplace design
Squaredot combined new technological aids for more informal working with Kimberly-Clark's observance for more traditional workplace design

Microsoft has integrated this thinking into its whole-office strategy, innovating the Workplace Advantage Policy (WPA) to produce a design solution that best meets the needs of all staff to drive the business forward.

The aim of the policy is to increase collaboration space and decrease individual space while keeping customer and support space the same. This shift has led to flexible workspaces that can be adapted according to demand.

The approach of architectural interior design practice Squaredot is to provide the most adaptable design, or as much as possible without having a crystal ball. Kris Krokosz, director at Squaredot says the key aspect is understanding the business drivers that are forging the requirements: 'Workstation utilisation is coming down and the fixed, structured networks are making way for technology that fosters connection and collaboration linking the human network with the structured one. Key to this adaptation is creating places of work that are a destination of purpose and supporting appropriate activity, while offering a sense of belonging in an adaptive world.'

The increased use of so many portable devices means we are no longer stuck with some form of PC or laptop, as many workers these days use multiple devices including smartphones, iPads and tablets, which are very often enabled or synchronised for use at work as well as home, helping to support the new work culture of anywhere, anytime.

The use of a range of devices means the changes have to be reflected in furniture choices too. No longer can designers offer an all-in-one solution that will only meet the requirements of company-issued equipment. Any units must work with a range of different-sized and different functioning equipment.

Kate Vine, project director at Pringle Brandon Perkins+Will, which worked with Microsoft to redevelop its HQ in Reading, agrees that hot-desking and offering flexible workspaces is a big trend. Companies are not designing spaces for traditional working anymore and there's no such thing as fixed-desk workers. 'We've worked with a law firm converting to tablets because BYOD policies have enabled companies to use their equipment anywhere and everywhere,' she says.

This does come with some problems though, in the shape of health and safety. Staff who work from home need to have an assessment for using the right chair and table, for example, which is making it a lot harder for companies and designers to integrate such policies into their plans. 'The problem we're finding is that clients haven't really switched on to that, continuing business as usual,' she explains.

Pringle Brandon Perkins+Will is predicting health, wellbeing and balance will be a big trend in office design next year, now companies have determined their flexible working practices. Advances in communication technology are now beginning to simplify connectivity: previously we were used to phones being phones and computers linking us through email, but now we're able to share information through video conferencing via any number of portable devices.

Pringle Brandon Perkins+Will is working with another client that doesn't want anything fixed and is focused on mobile. The company has specified that the design needs to evolve and change as the business changes. With a plug-and-play solution, the architect was able to explore areas such as dynamic video conferencing, setting up a room in different configurations with multiple cameras for use as a flexible space. Another growing demand is ensuring there's a free flow of wi-fi throughout the building, with enough sockets under the floor to power the extra devices.

The more advanced businesses in terms of IT infrastructure will clearly come to the table with a box full of ideas and ways of using IT. It's the more adventurous ones that have the will and entrepreneurship to actually use it that will benefit from more progressive working environments.

Kimberly- Clark’s worldwide offices - Squaredot
Kimberly - Clark's worldwide offices - Squaredot

Any existing technology partners also play an important part in integrating new solutions into buseinesses. Krokosz explains: 'As designers we are certainly in a position to pollinate ideas between companies, share knowledge and experience to evolve both the technological parameters and the built environment.'

Vine continues: 'Clients think of tech partners as equals and collaborators in roll-outs. It's important for them to involve the tech partners in the development process.'

From a product point of view, Graeme Horne, managing director at FG Technology, works very closely with the IT team to ensure the needs of the client are a top priority of the designers and architects. 'I see a distinct difference in public sector with greater awareness in the client and the team and the needs of tech, which is led by the existing building. Tech is very high up the agenda in public sector projects,' he says. 'In commercial buildings there's almost a reluctance to think about the implementation, and a low degree of knowledge.'

Horne says this is because IT needs are an area architects don't want to get involved in at the start of a project - they want the ambience but not the infrastructure, and it takes time to massage them into position. This makes implementing a solution tricky, especially because the IT department is usually the last team to be involved in communications with architects, facilities, accountants and others involved in the project.

This outlook is changing, however, especially in the smaller and younger architecture and design practices where the potential to implement new technological solutions is being realised. Technology should make collaboration feel like it's the most natural thing we've ever done. Moving away from the more uniform and corporate configuration to a more transparent, alternative - and at times funky - work setting is one of the more exciting developments in today's office landscape.

Gone are the days when IT and telephone ports were essential to the success of any workspace away from the obligatory workstation. Now with the various enablers that exist there's just the power socket to worry about and even for these, their days are numbered. The most innovative environments are the ones that really offer no barriers to change, and this ultimately has to be a good component to any business culture.

Project Edison - Pringle Brandon Perkins + Will
Microsoft approached the consultant team to help refurbish part of the UK HQ in Reading with the focus to showcase its solutions to clients and reflect the future of technology. The project's aim was to continue to roll out its global workplace strategy programme, Workplace Advantage (WPA), enabling a flexible, efficient, working environment and support client and partner engagement.

The areas for refurbishment were looking tired and dated and Microsoft felt its technology needed to be showcased more effectively. The team redesigned existing receptions in Buildings 2 and 3, a pilot working floor and collaboration areas in Building 2, client and executive briefing centre and auditorium, and external signage and wayfinding.

Project Edison Pringle Brandon Perkins + Will
Project Edison Pringle Brandon Perkins + Will

To ensure the design was future-proof, materials and technologies were selected that could be changed and developed so the business could launch new products and devices with the minimum of disruption.

The design of the B2 main reception area incorporates all of Microsoft's latest technologies and trends with the Kinect and X-box play zone, customer device bars and experience space, connected open collaboration areas, large-format video wall and a Tech Link for on-the-spot technology support.

To encourage better connections between the spaces and buildings an architectural 'ribbon' was introduced as part of the design. It uses different materials that connect elements within spaces while also providing a fun and playful route around the buildings for staff and visitors.

The WPA workspace also enabled Microsoft to introduce new ways of working across the floor incorporating new meeting rooms, focus rooms, phone booths with both open and closed collaboration on a day-to-day basis with a level of desk sharing.

Kimberly- Clark's worldwide offices - Squaredot
By its own admission, Kimberly-Clark is a restrained and traditional business in its approach to workplace design.

Formerly 10 per cent cellularised and workstation footprints of 2.6m x 2.5m, the new offices on the ground and first floors at its UK HQ in Kings Hill, Kent has provided the opportunity to introduce different types of working environments that could then be transferred to work spaces in Madrid and Ede in the Netherlands.

One of the key aspirations was to create an area where dynamic thinking could take place with the results recorded and communicated very quickly to other offices around Europe and the USA. Squaredot created semi-open workshop areas that incorporated a mix of interactive plasma screens and video conferencing with more traditional media including magnetic whiteboards.

Kimberly - Clark’s worldwide offices - Squaredot
Kimberly- Clark's worldwide offices - Squaredot

All of the components formed an important part of the open-plan scheme so that events could easily be heard or seen, encouraging a much more immediate response. This allowed collaborative team spaces to be developed for the competitive and richly creative sales and marketing teams, and meeting areas with varying levels of privacy, allowing staff to choose the space to work that best suits the task.

By assessing the previous working environment, Squaredot has been able to introduce the most appropriate work settings, from combining new technology that frees up the workforce from the shackles of the workstation to more collaborative spaces, which offer visibility of ideas and stories and thereby mapping change. Squaredot's design offered an exciting platform for activity-based working, providing the right combination of work settings based on what people do and how often.

Exeter University Multitouch
Multitouch was commissioned to create a number of collaborative work solutions at the University of Exeter in March 2012.

At the centre of this solution were two 60-seat Exploration Labs, one of which features 60 tablet PCs for use with bespoke seating, the other with 10 65in multitouch surface tables for group-based teaching.

The auditorium of the University of Exeter.
The auditorium of the University of Exeter.

Each table in this second lab can be height adjusted and is used in a butterfly configuration, allowing everyone to see what is happening on the screens.

Controlled via a web-based media management system (Ambient Media Suite), any lecturer has the ability to create, schedule and deploy a multitouch lecture, to all or some of the surface tables.

Four students at a time can control the tablets, running up to four applications at a time from one PC and Multitouch's Rabbithole technology, allowing students to send files around the tables with a quick swipe. The technology can also be used for video conferencing - perfect for communicating with others around the world.

The auditorium of the University of Exeter.
The butterfly configuration of the tables allows everyone to see the screen.

A newly revamped auditorium is another feature of the University of Exeter's collaboration project, allowing participants to easily hold discussions with others. The seats are also fully networked and have individual power supplies supporting online exams.

The technology installed has made the University of Exeter as a world leader in the higher education sector.








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