Offices vs. Open Space

Robert Grossman writes an interesting article on whether to tear down walls or build them up.

To read the entire article please click here.

Please share your opinions on offices or open spaces.

Malcolm Gladwell on Innovative Spaces

"The task of the office, then, is to invite a particular kind of social interaction--the casual, nonthreatening encounter that makes it easy for relative strangers to talk to each other. Offices need the sort of social milieu that Jane Jacobs found on the sidewalks of the West Village. "It is possible in a city street neighborhood to know all kinds of people without unwelcome entanglements, without boredom, necessity for excuses, explanations, fears of giving offense, embarrassments respecting impositions or commitments, and all such paraphernalia of obligations which can accompany less limited relationships," Jacobs wrote. If you substitute "office" for "city street neighborhood," that sentence becomes the perfect statement of what the modern employer wants from the workplace."

Design a space that encourages cross-collaboration and the intermingling of creative minds and sit back. Don't set any goals for that interaction. You'll be setting the bar too low.

*Taken from http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_12_11_a_working.htm