Lost...in...Spaaaaace

I was clicking through Planetizen's newsletter from last week and ran across an article I found worth sharing. The article, "Getting Stuffed" was featured in Macleans Magazine.


The focus of the article is on American's obsession with stuff...and our need to store it, particularly as it relates to the self-storage units. The author also relates the self-storage boom to the increase in housing foreclosures.


The article made me think about office practices (as well as personal junk storage, of course). In the effort to reduce real estate costs and make offices closer to paperless, many companies have turned to off-site archiving solutions. These are great solutions as some files absolutely need to be kept for legal or other reasons; however, there is not a need for regular access of these documents. Off-site storage allows these files to be stored in preferable environmental conditions, as well as in lower-cost real estate.


My question is, how much of the stuff we store in archives do we actually need to keep? The answer is, probably not as much as we thought when we were cleaning out our desks. Perhaps companies need to think about doing an annual "archive purge" in addition to the regular office clean up. This could benefit not just the company (lower storage costs), but also the environment (more paper into the recycling stream, fewer needs for new storage facilites, to name a few).


Companies also need to be more stringent in what employees are allowed to send to storage. At my office, as long as I fill out the forms, I can put pretty much whatever I want in my boxes. Yes, we do have archiving protocols, but not everyone knows them and those who do don't necessarily follow them. Since we don't archive THAT much stuff, there's also not significant cross-checking of what we're archiving. I'd guess lots of companies operate similarly.


How much have you thought about your archived files? What needs to be there? What should have been recycled? What did you need to keep for only a few years?

The 100 Thing Challenge

I’m travelling on business for a couple of weeks and was trying to be efficient in packing up my suitcase. While on the plane, I read an article in Time Magazine, “How to Live With Just 100 Things.” I guarantee I packed more than 100 things for my trip - even just socks and underwear for two weeks bring me close to 30!

This article discusses America’s obsession with consumerism. How many things do we actually need? Far fewer than we have, for certain. Anyone who has moved to a larger office (or home) knows that it fills up immediately with “stuff.” Some of it is necessary or desirable, but a lot of it is just because we have room to store it. When you have a tiny workstation (or apartment), it does make you think twice about what you actually need.

My workstation in the office is 36 SF – pretty tiny by any standards, but it suits me well. I have a pedestal with two drawers, two filing cabinet drawers, and two shelves. It is more than enough, and forces me to regularly recycle or archive my old files.

In the article, Dave Bruno has challenged himself to have only 100 things (personal items) to live successfully. When applying this to business, I wonder if I could do it….despite its small size, my desk still has a good number of things (grouped below by category rather than thing) – I don’t think I make it even close to only 100 things!
1. laptop computer, docking station, monitor, power cord, mouse
2. external hard drive, jump drive
3. files
4. pens, pencils, markers, highlighters
5. notepads, post-its
6. binder clips, paper clips, rubber bands
7. reusable water cup
8. desk phone & headset
9. cell phone & charger
10. books
11. drawer full of personal items (lotion, shout wipes, splenda packets, contact solution, etc.)
12. snacks (mostly diet cokes & granola bars)
13. tissues
14. vendor freebies
15. recycle pile, trash can
16. work bag, lunch bag, gym bag

How does your desk add up?

Space Allocation and Parking

I'm at the American Planning Association's National Conference this week - it's been a lot of fun and I've attended lots of very interesting sessions - you will see more posts about what I've learned over the next couple of days.

One session I attended really sticks out, and not for the reason the presenter intended. The session was called "The Environment and Sustainability in Transit Evaluation" by Eric Bruun. His discussion focused on how to incorporate monetary, non-monetary, quantitative, and qualitative variables into a cost/benefit analysis for transit.

The "aha" moment for me had not to do with transit evaluation, but with one simple sentence: "the average office gives more space per employee for parking than it does for their office." Shocking, but true! Let's look at the numbers:

Net:

• Office - 64 to 150 NSF/person. 64 SF for a workstation/cubicle; 150 SF for an office.
• Parking - 170 - 290 SF/car. Size depends on configuration (perpendicular, angled, parallel, etc.) and zoning laws.

Useable: (I think this is the better measure because it applies to any office employee, regardless of whether they sit in a workstation or office)

• Office - 200 USF/person is a GSA standard. This includes not only your desk/office, but also your share of circulation around your desk, part of the conference room, pantry, copy room, etc.
• Parking - 275 to 350 SF/car. This includes circulation around the parking lot.

Of course there are lots of factors playing in, such as does the office provide parking on a 1 spot: 1 employee ratio or less. Regardless, it really made me think, and could be a great argument when talking to clients about reasons to locate near transit, encourage carpools, etc.

Image source: Copely Society

I Want a Big Belly!

YES, they make solar compacting recycling stations too!

The BigBelly is a compacting trash receptacle that is completely self-powered. Instead of requiring a grid connection, BigBelly uses solar power for 100% of its energy needs. The unit takes up as much space as the "footprint" of an ordinary receptacle—but its capacity is five times greater. Increased capacity reduces collection trips and can cut fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by 80%. BigBelly also provides cost efficiencies from labor savings, fuel cost and maintenance savings, as well as environmental benefits from reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

What I really like about this is that it is a very people-friendly solar device - something everyone will connect with at some point. I have worked on some DC Parks and Recreation projects that would have greatlt benefitted from something like this. And I have heard rumors that these badboys have earned a LEED point in Innovation and Design. Not bad for the little trash compactor that could!

'Green'-generation facilities management software

Massachusetts-based People Cube make scheduling software, used by thousands of big companies including General Motors and Procter & Gamble, to reserve physical resources such as conference rooms, hoteling space and teleconferencing facilities.

About five years ago, according to CEO John Anderson, the company began selling its system as a way to allocate “hoteling” / "hot desking" space inside companies where mobile workers might need a desk just for one day. Then PeopleCube engineers realized that they could link the hot-desk scheduler into office buildings’ environmental management systems, so that lighting, heating, or cooling could be adjusted to comfortable levels on floors where the hoteling space was filling up and turned down to save energy on floors with lots of empty cubicles.

Now PeopleCube has taken this one step further and partnered with a U.K. consultancy called Building Sustainability Ltd. to add a 'carbon dashboard' to the scheduler, so that facilities managers can see exactly how much carbon dioxide is not being emitted into the atmosphere thanks to their scheduling efforts.

This is an example of how resource management technologies that companies pursue primarily to save money can also contribute to efforts to arrest the development of global climate change.

By adopting a 'hoteling' / 'hot-desking' work style is also a boost for the corporate PR agenda of companies, as they acquire a "green sheen" by reducing the amount of real estate they have to heat or cool, which reduces their carbon footprint.

For more information on this, and further discussion on the difficulties of benchmarking your baseline emissions, which is key to this software, click here.

Lessons Learned from The Office

With the TV writers on strike, I’ve found myself with some extra time on my hands… Did I use this for something productive? Of course not. Instead, I took it upon myself to catch up on the “special features” on the DVDs of my favorite show ever, the American version of The Office. Surprisingly enough, I was actually able to turn this exercise into something somewhat productive. As I blogged before, The Office has lots of design features for us to critique. Here are a few of the things I noticed:

The Good:

• There are lots of windows and lots of the open workstations are right by the windows.
• There are windows from the manager office, break room, and conference room into the main office area, allowing daylight to pass through (when the blinds aren’t drawn).
• There’s lots of open office space with few partitions
• Each individual desk has task lighting
• There are tons of plants around the office - good except for when they died when Dwight quit.

The Bad:

• Windows are always closed – or at least the venetian blinds are halfway turned, thereby reducing the amount of natural daylight into and the views from the workspace
• Enclosed spaces are outboard – by moving open workstations closer to the windows and enclosed spaces inboard, more people benefit from natural daylight and views
• Paper, paper, everywhere – all the paper (and other clutter) generates and collects dust…not so great for indoor air quality
• Vending machines – there are a lot of vending machines in that break room – and since there are only about 15 employees, typically an office of this size would not receive a single vending machine (there might be some shared for the entire building). By having so many options for so few people, it means that the food in there is probably pretty old and funky, and also, a lot of energy is wasted keeping the machines running.
• Privacy (audio and visual) – employees in the open workspace sit face to face – there’s not a lot of opportunity for audio or visual privacy. The Office could definitely use some phone booths/quiet rooms.
• Desks – not looking too ergonomically correct. Some improved modular systems furniture might improve employee satisfaction and reduce time out of the office for health reasons.

Any other ideas out there?

A Paperless Office is a Healthy Office

Much has been written about the benefits of reducing paper in the office. It saves trees as well as the resources required to create it (paper mill energy use, transportation, etc.) Less paper in the office also reduces the amount of real estate required to store it. For those of you with offices in New York, London or Singapore, dedicating space for large file rooms is not a practical business choice - the rent is just too expensive for storage.

The other major benefit to reducing paper? Less dust! Paper lying around the office is a perfect home for dust and dust mites. Those little crevacies can collect many years-worth of particulates. This problem is exacerbated with recycled (versus fresh) air in the office. Dust, and dust created by paper, is a major source of respiratory issues and sickness in the white collar workplace.

So how do you remove dust from your office environment (or your home for that matter)?

• Lose the paper. Immediately recyle when you can and archive what you need access to occassionally. Be heavy handed - the clean desk policy is a win for everyone! Most IT departments are rigorous about backing up files today. Learn to save files better electronically and loose the paper baggage.
• Filter the air. Mechanical filters that use standard disposal fiberglass filters should be changed monthly. Permanent filters with baffles should be cleaned periodically. The most effective mechanical filter is a high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter.
• Minimize carpet use. When possible, remove carpeting where dust mites, mold spores, animal dander and other particulates accumulate. Carpeting laid over concrete floors tends to have more dust mites because of increased humidity. Replace carpeted floors with hardwood or linoleum. Wash scatter rugs and furniture covers regularly.
• Clean regularly and well. Vacuuming can stir dust into the air. Use high-quality vacuum bags and change them frequently. Wet mop or wet-wipe hard surfaces such as floors, walls and ceilings.

Growth without Growth

Companies everywhere are asking how they can grow their organization (add people) without increasing their space. Sometimes the reason is minimizing carbon footprint. More often, it's about saving money and mitigating risk. But what does this entail exactly?

1. Doing more with less. That means less space per person. It means making sacrifies and prioritizing what's really important. First to go are things like file or conference rooms, then comes the common strategy of packing people in like sardines aka "dense pack." Finally, the alternative work options are investigated. Can we get away with accommodating only 60% of our staff at any one time? What about telework or work at home policies?
2. Looking at how we really work. In all of the workplace surveys I've done, 100% of the time, people assume they are in the office significantly more than they acutally are. Where are they? They're working alright, but on the move! They're checking email at home, blackberrying while walking the dog, making calls on the road, you name it. Our offices have lovely pictures of our children, but they are vacant a good portion of the time, which is why companies are frustrated with building and managing empty buildings.
3. Trying new things. So you're trying to save space, but this means giving up your office and a permanent address!! Not an easy change - after all, we're creatures of habit and work is our home away from home. But perhaps it's time to think about "the office" as just another place to work. Some companies are designing their offices as large scale living rooms - you plop at a desk or comfy chair - whatever makes you and your team more productive.
4. Managing to different goals. One of my first bosses out of graduate school had a mantra he still professes today... "must be present to win." He believes very strongly that he must see all of his employees to know they are working, and showing up everyday ensures advancement in his organization. But companies that think differently about what they are managing (not bodies, but products or projects) are able to make the leap to alternative work, and to better utilized workplaces that focus on what is needed to get the job done. Of course training and mentorship comes in to play, but is it needed in the same place and every day?
5. Embracing green thinking. What's great about all of this recent investment in alternative work is that it goes hand in hand with green thinking. Often companies that build space for less people (adopting alternative work) are also considering the green benefits of less travel to the office (reduced carbon emissions) and the need to have productive space while you're there (natural light access, good air quality).

Is Less More?

I just ran across an article that very nicely puts historic architectural context to the concept that when building sustainable buildings, less is sometimes more. As a facility programmer, this is a battle that I fight with clients regularly: do you really need XXX? Could XXX space serve two (or more) purposes? What if you changed the way you work and the new policies resulted in the requirement for less space?

This article explores a couple of past “starchitects”: Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. Wright believed that a beautiful and functional home could be 1,000 SF or less, and could use outdoor space as part of the home’s living area. Corbu ‘s theory was merely to eliminate wasted space.

Surely these are theories that could easily be translated into office design. For the full article, visit Green Building Insider

Green Workplaces Increase Productivity

If any of you are wondering... has it ever been really proven that a green workplace is a productive one? The answer is YES! There have been studies galore, from places like Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley and University of Michigan just to name a few.

For those of us in the design world, the idea that green workplaces are productive seems pretty intuitive, but we're finally at the point where we can point to quantitative research. So what are the findings specifically? A productive workplace includes the following:

1. Views to nature and gardens. It's one of those physiological things, but the ability for humans to view plants and trees (either indoors or outside) effectively relaxes the mind. The ability to quickly look away from your computer screen (even for a few seconds) and glance at a plant or landscape provides the right mental "break" to keeps you productive throughout the day.

2. Daylight and sunlight. Germany and other countries are way ahead of the U.S. on this one. They've written access to daylight into their building codes (no person can be so many feet away from the window). In the U.S., LEED gives credit to spaces that provide windows 15' or less from where people are sitting. What is important about this access to natural light is the change in lighting levels during the day. Noticing that "it's light vs. dark outside" plus visual access to the weather provide stimulation and awareness of nature.

3. Sensory change and variability. Miles and miles of vanilla-colored workstations that are all the same height and appearance, as a rule, does not support productivity - particularly for an organization that requires creativity as part of its value proposition. A lack of visual stimulation during the day dulls the senses and affects our ability to stay alert. Changes in color, lighting, texture, spatial volume, etc. are important to keep the brain stimulated.

4. Personal control. How many space heaters and fans are hiding under desks in your office? I can't tell you how many buildings I've been through where the facility staff keeps the VAV boxes on the wall, but then "turn them off" because of the large number of hot/cold complaints they get every day. This solution keeps their phone from ringing, but leads to frustration that makes everybody miserable! Turns out, everyone has a slightly different idea of what is comfortable, and to keep us all at our productive best, individual control of the environment is critical. And it's not just temperature and air flow; individuals need control over noise, lighting, desk height, monitor color, keyboard button location, chair adjustability, etc.

5. Regular exercise. Most of us "knowledge workers" spend a lot of time staring at a computer and not a lot of our day moving around. But guess what? All those annoying fitness instructors are right. Exercise makes us more productive and keeps our minds active. Buildings can help with well designed stairs and access to showers, bike racks, jogging trails, weight rooms, etc.

Is that it? No... this is only the tip of the iceberg! There are several other key factors to consider including indoor air quality, low toxicity in building materials, artificial lighting that reduces glare, etc. Here are some great resources to learn more:

Green Buildings, Organizational Success, and Occupant Productivity by Judith H. Heerwagen, Ph.D.

Elements of Biophilic Design: The Theory, Science, and Practice of Bringing Buildings to Life by Stephen R. Kellert, Judith Heerwagen, Martin Mador

Designing the Office of the Future: The Japanese Approach to Tomorrow's WorkPlace by Volker Hartkopf, Vivian Loftness, Pleasantine Drake, Fred Dubin, Peter Mill

Space Allocation at “The Office”

Greenette’s post about our dear friend Milton got me thinking about the workplace as it’s demonstrated in the popular media. I couldn’t think of a lot of examples off the top of my head (I'll keep working on it), but one thing I have noticed is that many movies and television programs show open office space, rather than enclosed.

One of my personal favorites is the American version of The Office. While they’re not too green in many respects (notable exception: NBC’s green week), they do have one thing going for them: the ratio of individual workspace to shared space.
From the best I can figure, the space program is (Office fanatics please post and let me know where I’m off!):

• 1 enclosed office


• 1 reception desk


• 11 workstations, mostly low or no wall


• 1 large reception/lounge area


• 1 large conference room


• 1 break room


• 1 large pantry/break room


• 1 storage area (open)

For a small office (fewer than 15 people), this is a lot of shared space…and also something that we recommend to our clients: by giving up individual space, everyone benefits. Not only are there more amenity spaces (like The Office’s two break rooms), but there are also more spaces to support teamwork and collaboration. AND, there’s less real estate required.
For another day: Lessons Learned from The Office – what not to do.