Comments on: Open space as a good working environment: 9 possible principles

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:18:20 +0000

Thanks Chris,
Definitely not my intention that we have a space that isn’t great to work in – after all I expect to work there. I think though you bring out the points that I wanted to make around this. If we can get people we bring along saying “it must be great to work here” then I think it will become true, even if we have made some compromises and taken some risks that only we know about. I do also agree with your last line – it will be a hard trick to accomplish!

By: Chris Jones

Chris Jones — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:08:44 +0000

I am belatedly joining in on this debate about space. I am very comfortable with the sort of flexible notions that Patrick has oultined but then I’m one of those who has their home in a laptop and who works across a variety of spaces, so I guess it is easy for me!

I want to pick up on Patrick’s first principle:
Space that a visitor would envy – the it looks great to work here (even if it isn’t!)
My first reaction was a bit negative – a reaction that felt ‘no it does need to be great to work here!’ On reflection I think that Patrick has hit on an important point. I do want the space to be one that I would be happy to bring visitors in to. I also think this relates to the idea of a space that works when all or most of us are in but also when very few are around. This will be a hard trick to accomplish but I suppose it is one of my main concerns that we approximate this balance as closely as we can.

By: e4innovation.com » Blog Archive » Space principles - starters for ten…

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:32:49 +0000

[...] Feb04 4 February 2008, Gráinne @ 6:32 pm OK I need to join in with Patrick’s recent blog post about potential principles for ‘office space’. As Patrick notes our department – IET – [...]

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 22:35:13 +0000

Thanks Linda,
Change can always be a bit awkward – I just looked on about.com for a suitable quotation. On that seems appropriate “People are very open-minded about new things – as long as they’re exactly like the old ones.’
(Charles Kettering).
Whereas maybe we need to be a bit more
“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” (Okakura Kakuzo).

PS Thank you for the gluten free biscuits!

By: Linda Price

Linda Price — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:22:24 +0000

I like the idea of stepping outside the box and thinking creatively about the space. I think too many people in IET have taken a negative stance to the move – and are therefore not engaging in the positive opportunities. I think you ideas sound exciting and I like the principles that you propose. Having something like this circulating around IET might enthuse people.