IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 24

"

There is
something
refreshing
about
walking
into a
workspace
that is
buzzing
with people
passionate
about what
they're
doing."

-Daniel Davis

24

perspective

Tech's disruption might be the main driver
for pushing employees to work outside the
bounds of a traditional office, but it also is the
key to getting the purpose of a space just right.
Big data-collected from the likes
of employee surveys, network log-ins,
badge swipes, and automated sensors that
monitor movement-tells designers how spaces are used,
how people work, where people work, and even when
technology helps and when it hinders.
"Understanding how space is utilized is critical to
building an environment that supports employees," says
Bernice Boucher, managing director of workplace strategy
for JLL Consulting, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
Through her own research, she discovered that 80
percent of meetings only have between two and four people
in attendance, and those teams want large screens to
display their work. The response? Create smaller meeting
rooms-and more of them-with better technology that's
easy to connect to and use.
That kind of deep dive is common practice at coworking
giant WeWork.
"We're constantly collecting data," says Daniel Davis,
director of research for WeWork in New York, New
York, USA. "We collect client surveys, monitor what
activities take place in which rooms, and have community
managers at each location who receive real-time feedback
from members all the time."
All that research is paying off. The company is projecting
a revenue run rate of $2.3 billion by the end of 2018 and is
opening 10 to 15 new sites every month.
"When someone walks into a
WeWork, the most obvious design
difference is the energy of our spaces,"
Davis says. "It's kind of hard to put
into words, but there is something
refreshing about walking into a
workspace that is buzzing with people
passionate about what they're doing."
The design team spends a lot of
time studying that data to cultivate
that energy via the right mix of spaces
programmed for different ways to
work in each building. For example,
lounge areas tend to be bustling with
a lot of people that yield a fantastic,
infectious energy. Individual offices
and conferences rooms serve as a
middle ground and offer more privacy
and quiet than the common areas,

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but they still create a feeling of closeness with the people
working around them. Phone booths and smaller breakout
areas provide some respite from the activity.
"In more traditional offices, these types of spaces might
be seen as adjuncts to the main work area, but at WeWork
we see them as being a fundamental part of how people
currently work," Davis says. "I think the consideration we
put into the design of these spaces leads to that energy I
was talking about."
Data also drives agile workplace provider Knotel. The
company studies how clients utilize their conference space,
phone booth, pantries, and coffee and snack consumption.
"All of this yields important data points that we share
with our members, in order to assess spaces and determine
where there is need to adjust design to better serve actual
use and maximize utilization per square foot," says Kristen
Sterner, head of design and construction at Knotel.
Knotel designers approach design by thinking through
the various use cases of a particular client: How do teams
like to collaborate? What level of privacy do individuals
require to do their jobs? And how do they marry
collaboration and privacy to provide the most productive
work environment for all employees?
Only by creating these spaces that are both high tech
and friendly to employee needs-what Boucher refers to
as "magnet environments"-will organizations continue to
make their office spaces a draw. "Just because employees
can work from anywhere doesn't mean they will," says
Boucher. "The beauty of developing a human-centered
workplace is that people will come to the office. They'll
want to connect with the amenities, the vibe, the people,
and the culture." n

Photo by: (Daniel Davis) Sally Montana for IIDA

Data Drivers
http://www.iida.org/perspective
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018
