Tuesday, 24 April 2012

baked byLeisa Reichelt

I've been noticing the way the space I'm working in affects the way I work. I've always known it made a difference but until recently I've thought it was a sign of my ability, my professionalism, to make the best of whatever space I find myself in. Lately, I've given up that vanity. Fact is, the walls do make a difference.

I need the walls to externalise and visualise data and my response to it in a way that is impossible on a computer screen - no matter how many monitors I have. I need walls to allow me to interact with that information in a more haphazard way. I need walls so that my team can talk to each other without feeling like they're disturbing those around them. I need walls so I can get quiet time to think and read and make sense without having to wear my headphones. Music is great, but quiet is different.

I wish more of us worked in designed spaces. Spaces with variety - with openness for sharing and more enclosed spaces for thinking. Spaces for individuals to make their own, for teams and projects to own, for walls to externalise our knowledge and share our ideas (and ideals).

Less with the pool tables, more with the thoughtful workspace design.