Claude Bérubé, Professor of Interior Design at the American University of Sharjah, Discusses the latest trends in office design.
Rapid advances in information communications technology coupled with progressive management strategies are leading to new ways of working. Claude Bérubé, Professor of Interior Design at the American University of Sharjah, discusses the latest trends in office design.
Those who develop workplaces today must take into account and focus on the new ways for team members to work together, such as the way they interact, the way they share work processes and the innovations in information technology involved in these processes. Today, we are not only turning the corporate community inside-out with these innovations, but also outside-in in order to integrate all functions of the company and create a structure that is not only comprehensive to team members but also of benefit to the clients of any organisation.
There is major benefit for the company that engages in a workplace optimisation process as it enables the corporate management to anticipate changing business conditions and better adapt by being more creative in its decision-making. The physical environment in which these decisions are taken and the effectiveness of IT applications contributes to this creative process.
As late as four years ago, the EWork 2000 status report on New Ways to Work in the Information Society echoed the same results in a document released by the European Commission in Brussels. Members of the European Community responded differently to the economic and social aspects of the knowledge economy, the Nordic Countries more intensively than the Southern ones and the Germanics faster than the Latin countries.
In Denmark, for instance, nearly 20 per cent of the Danish workforce is now teleworking, almost double the proportion in 2001. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is not by any means a strong user of the concept when compared to Scandinavian countries. France, the last of the first 10 EU members, has less than five per cent of its workforce teleworking but is expected to increase this percentage in the near future due to a dramatic shortage of quality office spaces in all major cities in the country.
Ultimately, to be against teleworking could be perceived as admitting your incapacity in planning and managing team members' work.
In a recent extensive study published in December 2004, the French organisation Internet Rights Forum (www.foruminternet.org) outlined some employers' concerns. The report found that employers with lack of confidence tend to want their employees around so as to give themselves control they feel they would lack otherwise. Their vision is: if I see you working, you probably are; if I don't see you, you probably aren't. Ultimately, to be against teleworking could be perceived as admitting your incapacity in planning and managing team members' work.
This is a mindset that also must be overcome in the GCC. Someone recently expressed his concern about the minimum space required by law in Dubai for an employee. After asking around and verifying the legislation on the subject, it was refreshing to discover that the legal requirement was of no hindrance to the development of activity-based office environments. As a matter of fact, in Dubai Media City, partners are entitled to sponsor one employee per 80 square feet (eight square metres) of space leased. This is according to UAE Federal Labor Law.
Therefore, applying the teleworking principle, or simply improving ways of using leased space more effectively and profitably, offers great opportunities in the UAE as it enhances and merges technology with office activities. When taking into consideration the need for reception areas, conference and meeting rooms, spaces for privacy or concentration, shared team spaces, knowledge-exchange areas (called 'cafés') or informal meeting areas, the 80 square feet minimum does not seem as restrictive. Recent projects here based on these 'new ways of working' demonstrated higher footage-per-person figures when planning for more than 30 knowledge workers.
'New ways of working' is a catchphrase referring to flexible working and incorporates ideas like work-life balance, teleworking, home working, hot desking, hotelling, flexible office and location independent working. Do not make the mistake of thinking of activitybased office design as a temporary phenomenon. These new ways of working are already considered critical components of success as more and more of the world's largest corporations follow suit in the belief that a creative workplace keeps the workforce happy, attracts talented candidates and consequently has a major impact in creating a competent company.
Importance must be given to the relationship ... between information communication technology (ICT) specialists, facilities managers, human resources managers and space designers.
For some, these activity-based environments don't sound any more creative or glamorous than design projects that were undertaken for large corporate clients in the 1980s. But today, the word 'creative' has evolved to take on a whole different meaning. It includes dynamics that were never thought before to be important in the planning, design and management of a facility, or 'working environment'.
This is why so much importance must be given to the relationship that must exist and be developed between information communication technology (ICT) specialists, facilities managers, human resources managers and space designers. But in order to become a reality, this visionary team must succeed in getting not only the management of the company on board, but also the employees. This can be done through a variety of processes such as focus group meetings and individual interviews.
A study by the ECaTT project (a European Commission-backed multinational consortium led by German consultancy firm, Empirica) found insufficient knowledge amongst management personnel to be one of the major barriers to the adoption of new ways of working.
The interior designer's greatest challenge is to plan not only aesthetic but creative, efficient interiors that support a company's range of business objectives. This goes beyond the scope of cutting operational costs.
In some cases, 46 per cent of them admitted not knowing anything about it. Their second concern is the cost of implementing teleworking in their environment. This, again, without the proper knowledge of what is involved.
Space planning is clearly more important today than ever before. Space has become a leading-edge competitive advantage. Clients are expecting us to create re-engineered objective-centred organisations with common vision, customer-focused behaviour and happy employees. Meanwhile, knowledge workers are saying that work should be fun and the office environment should remind you that you are there to be creative.
Just how is a creative environment developed? We need look no further than our own children. Their creativity never ceases to amaze us as they continually teach us how to think outside the box. How do they do it? From the classroom to the playground, their environment is conducive to creativity; we ensure that the tools of inventiveness are all around them. Why don't we treat ourselves in the same way and remain creative all our lives? Our office should enable us to do our work optimally by providing us with not only the most efficient ICT set-up and furniture system, but also with the right creative ambience.
In other words, our playground should provide us with the toys we prefer in a creative environment. Suddenly, the interior designer's greatest challenge is to plan not only aesthetic but creative, efficient interiors that support a company's range of business objectives. This goes beyond the scope of cutting operational costs. Whether we accept it or not, our working environment is dictated by the gurus of ICT. One of the reasons, if not the only one, to get an electrical wire to a desk is for a computer. But with the pace of ongoing developments in wireless technology, the office is going through a transition period that will determine our new working practices. Development in fuel cell technology could soon give computers clean power for life. And Swedish Bluetooth technology already enables fast wireless data transfer between equipment.
In order to meet the challenge of planning intelligent buildings, designers of activity-based working environments and space managers must offer responsive, effective and supportive workplaces within which employees and the organisation can achieve their objectives. In the years to come, space designers will take a proactive role in researching the best ways of working (best interactions). Meanwhile, ICT researchers will be looking for the perfect solution to meet new demands and synchronise all the floating systems in and out of our working environment.
The interaction between innovation in ICT and space planning means designers will become more and more important. Designing an
office today means planning the interactive functionality of the business's organisational structure.
