Do you remember sixty-inch high panels on three sides of you?   With lots of storage and, at least, two drawer pedestals, overhead bins and your own file cabinet?   All of your personal stuff was laid out on your work surface sharing space with your own Personal Computer, Monitor & Keyboard  …located near your personal telephone?   Did you even have your own guest chair?   …Sound familiar?

You did your job in relative obscurity relying on memos and input from your manager for guidance.   But where did you get your real information?   How many “Hall-Meetings” did you have throughout the day?   It wasn’t long before those hall-meetings became the mainstay of your productivity.   That’s where your most valuable information came from!   Somewhat serendipitious at first, the information was timely and impactful to your organizational responsibilities.   Before long, these meetings became less impromptu as the value of this knowledge became apparent.   Wisely, your management team began to embrace the significance of those hall meetings and created areas within the existing physical workplace that would bring various disciplines together in order to broaden thought and promote a more holistic communication process throughout the organization. 

The idea of a physical workplace that promotes collaborative and interactive work activity is not new.   The original philosophies of “Office Landscape” planning originated in Germany with the QuickBorner Team in the mid to late 50’s.   Largely misunderstood by business executives and space planners alike, the open office concept was often perceived as a way to get more people into less space with little regard as to what those people did or how they did it.

It has taken several decades for business leaders to realize and understand that the true economic value of physical space planning is not merely reducing the real estate footprint but in the streamlining of human interaction and communication!

Utilizing a well planned physical facility that intuitively supports the needs of today’s complex work processes is a critical factor for organizational success!
…It’s just Good Business.