Bryan Mills
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Offices, spaces and a sense of place............

8/5/2011

4 Comments

 

I’m still in process of moving office, in many ways it’s a bit of an archaeological dig as I go through various artefacts.  Of course all this has got me thinking – what’s the purpose of an office.  I say this because for me it is mostly a repository (I so hope that’s the right one – known for my typos as I am).  But I notice that for others it is some sort of home from home, some even seem to have personal shrines created with various stickers, googly eyed fur balls and photos.  Others seem to use the office as a status symbol or a symbol of ‘teamwork’ by the battery farm approach.

Let’s dig in to these a bit more.  What does the home from home suggest about the user?  Is this an attempt to remind them of home (where they would rather be), to bring together the two things they love or to make a cosy space from which to work? What sort of space do these people need?  I would suggest that perhaps all three of these ‘needs’ would be mostly satisfied by stability and few changes of location.  In addition there seems to be a need for borders and boundaries.  Ok we can achieve that in the work place – but is that desirable?  Can you innovate and create in such a space or does it lend itself more to familiar routine?  Of course we could argue that not everyone needs to be innovative and creative – but I purposefully added ‘argue’ – I’m not convinced that there is separation between effective and innovative.

So what of our status seeking friend?  What of the need to prove who is boss?  Well I think we have answered it there.  I once heard a story about an English army officer who was in charge of a garrison where swagger sticks had become some sort of status symbol resulting in junior officers parading around like peacocks with these devices tucked under one arm.  It was getting out of hand the senior officer thought.  His response was a simple memo: “RE swagger sticks: If you need one use one.”  This had the desired effect.   Not sure a similar email would work with offices but this idea of status is interesting.  A desire for status and a desire for perfection (which in many ways are similar traits) stems from insecurity I believe.  Worryingly this may mean some organisations have senior staff who are quite insecure – and actually I would content they do. 

We all need props - literal and metaphorical.  As one of my students once pointed out in a presentation, I am rarely seen without either a phone or a cup of coffee or both (thanks Mark).   I also like some comfort – I feel happier using my ‘own’ PC or laptop for example.  But I guess it is at the edges and fringes we can start to worry.  As a student (amateur) of architecture I was always interested in Le Corbusier’s quote “The house is a machine for living in”.  Not as minimalist as it sounds (in my interpretation) but rather the building works for you and not you for it. 

Doors, silence and space seem to me to be the issues.  Probably throw a bit of observation in there too – our very own panopticon.  I like the idea of spaces but no doors.  Imagine your office corridor but with double size door openings with no doors.  Sort of substantial cubicles.  Quieter than open plan, less enclosed than offices and yet still having a feeling of substantial walls and not the fragility of ‘dividers’ that are as useful acoustically as hospital curtains. 

As for me – I’m back to do some more sorting out and think I’ll experiment with a nomadic style taking advantage of technology and allowing me to maximise time with students and staff – I just need a cupboard to dump this junk in................   

 

4 Comments
Warren
8/5/2011 01:39:33 am

Another interesting post, Dr M. I personally think an office space performs a number of functions, but will depend on where and when you work. For me, an office is a place to do ‘work’ (doh!) that is largely administrative. Working in education, this is an important function because of the way in which places of learning (and I have worked in a school, a college and a university now) have become increasingly bureaucratic. Whilst I obviously work in other spaces – classrooms, lecture theatres, in meetings etc, etc – the ‘administrative’ office needs to best facilitate this bureaucratic function. To that end, I need to be comfortable, both mentally and physically. My space looks very much like your first description Bryan – ‘a home from home’. Photos of my kids and nieces/nephews. Postcards collected over the years. Personal mementoes and stuff bought for me as gifts that would have no other place than at work – although I am not much of a knick-knack kind of bloke. Whilst they do put me at ease to a certain extent, I have never really considered what it says about me as a person/worker.

The office is a place for other stuff too. Planning, preparation and assessment, a place to meet students and colleagues for a variety of reasons and also a refuge when something outside of your office has been particularly tough. A quiet place. A place to get your head down and crack on, once you have had those meetings. A place to send emails. A place to make phone calls. On and on. Even a place to read and write – but that often requires uninterrupted focused time for me, so the office is crap as a venue.

I therefore googled once I read your piece and there is a lot about ‘the office’ on the internet. This is a quote from an interesting piece in Forbes. American admittedly, but it said some interesting things about the office and what it says about you. It is based on study from the University of Kentucky. This is a quote that stood out for me;

“...personalizing your space is a win-win that's good for you and your company. Meredith Wells, a researcher from the University of Eastern Kentucky who has examined people's relationships with their work spaces, says people who decorate their offices often have higher levels of job satisfaction and psychological well-being, leading to higher levels of employee morale and lower turnover”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23340351/ns/business-forbes_com/t/what-your-office-style-says-about-you/

There is also an interesting video of Sam Gosling, Professor of Psychology/Sociology, University of Texas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1g8C-r0Mhs

The longer version is on FORA.TV.

http://fora.tv/2008/06/16/Sam_Gosling-Snoop_The_Secret_Language_of_Stuff

Thanks for provoking the thoughts...

Reply
Bryan link
8/5/2011 02:16:09 am

This got me thinking. In construction vans provided a similair function - storage and personal space. I am wondering about wandering though - how big can the 'office' be and what are its boundaries. Can we look past the obvious physical ones such as walls and neighbours' desks and think about a larger virtual space?

Reply
Jason
8/5/2011 05:14:57 am

I have to agree there with you. I refer to the person on the train who has laptop, newspaper and coffee spread all over the table, or is sat eating outdoors and simultaneously tapping away on some mobile contraption with a briefcase close at hand, maybe the office is every where we need it to be. The environment is our office!!

Reply
Bryan link
8/5/2011 05:18:17 am

A meta-office no less

Reply



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    Dr Bryan Mills

    "There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die" Hunter S Thompson describing the author in 1971.

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