Creating environments that support innovation
innovationcultures spoke with Andrew Kim , Design Researcher at Steelcase WorkSpace Futures to discuss what factors they were exploring in creating work environments that support collaboration and innovation . His background is in human-centered design and innovation planning and he is part of the core innovation group that focuses on innovation in the far timeframe . What follows are some of the big ideas they are working on .
transparency trust
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By creating a physical environment that reinforces transparency , you help to build connections that lead to more impromptu conversations . A physical interpretation of transparency would be glass instead of typical walls . With transparency concepts you are more aware of the activities and by seeing people , you can create more social capital . In terms of collaboration , we are also thinking about building trust before you can reach flow – and that can be physical or virtual . Here you provide environments that allow people to have conversations .
A palette of place , posture and presence
place presence
posture
Place : Andrew says that in the traditional model we were thinking in terms of efficiency of space . With a palette of place , Steelcase is now focusing on the different kinds of environments that are needed . Some parts of the process may need to be reflective , more individual work . Alternatively , there are periods of time when teams need to be brainstorming with others and need a different kind of space for that .
Posture : With posture , they look at the ergonomic needs and depending on different activities , there may be specific needs .
Presence : With presence , it is both about the physical as well as the virtual . A lot of times the interactions with colleagues are not physical . As such , teams are also looking at how to create better virtual experiences .
The Work Café One application concept that Steelcase has developed is the Work Café - which is about combining work and the cafeteria . Most corporate cafeterias are about eating and are only used for a short period of time . The Work Café is used for dining and meeting throughout the day .
We have a zone that is more like a traditional dining space but there is power at many of the tables . Then adjacent to that area are meeting spaces as well as informal lounge areas and more private spaces . The trend that led us to develop this product was realizing that we are much more connected to the internet . This was confirmed form contextual observations , leading to the prototyping of this concept .
“ the work café
Information access and co-creation Looking at ways to better collaborate with ‘ smart tables ’ and co-creation work spaces is another big idea . Interestingly , we also seem to be moving into a world where we want things to have the same accessibility . You want to go to a workplace or an airport and have areas to lounge , collaborate and work .
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