Office Space

"This is my desk. There are many like it, but this one is mine."

Designers have a stereotypical reputation for being picky about everything. Here's a secret: It's all true. So as a designer, it gives me a great excuse to be incredibly annoying about all the finer details that normal people really don't care about. Fonts, shoes, paper, coffee, beer, the little things really DO matter! So when it comes to my  workspace, the place I spend 40+ hours a week, I want it to be a place I feel comfortable and productive.

Last year at the Northern Virginia Ironworks office we knocked down some walls and doubled the size of our space. We were delighted when the folks in charge gave us the reigns to to design our team workspace. After talking it over with the rest of the UE team, we decided that we no longer wanted to work inside those grey walled cubicles. But what kind of workspace did we want? We collected clippings of desirable office spaces, poured through furniture catalogs and talked a lot about the type of space we wanted to work in. "Elementary school classroom" was a phrase that was tossed around as the ideal final state. Open, collaborative spaces. A desk for quiet work, a table for meetings and messy stuff. A craft table for cutting, pasting and mounting. Bookcases, lockers and coat racks. Some wall space for a gallery of our work. The possibilities seemed endless!

We knew that we couldn't go crazy spending money that wasn't ours and that, like all things Ironworks, we had to be realistic. We found a furniture catalog line that we really liked and started picking out pieces. We ended up choosing the Izzy Design desks, each with a rolling file cabinet and these cool privacy shields. We also got a collaboration table and a couple of rolling whiteboards. We got some rough measurements and did some digital mockups so we could get an idea of our space before the walls even came down. One aspect we always kept in mind was flexibility. Our space needed to be able to be easily and quickly moved and changed. Everything should be on wheels!

 

So we've been in our UE space for a while now and we're adding yet another 3-desk cluster very soon (flexibility at work!). This work environment is perfect for me (after unscrewing all those evil halogen bulbs overhead). The window-seat view of Tysons Corner traffic is nice but the mix of privacy and communication the space enables is what really seals the deal for me. Head down and headphones on, I can focus and be oblivious to everything around me. If I need some human interaction or a second opinion on something, I don't even have to get out of my seat.

All of the challenges we've had have been technical, not cultural. Running cable to each pod cleanly and keeping all the wires looking tidy has been difficult. Not having all the storage space of a cubicle just means that all that extra paperwork and trash has to get tossed, and that's probably a good thing. We're still looking for the perfect lighting, especially during these dark winter months.

What's your ideal workspace? Let us know in the comments!

Comments

[Chris Stewart]

Wish the Richmond office would do the same. That looks like a great space! :)

[LAKing]

Looks like a great place to work. I can't wait to start next week!

[Rick Johnston]

Just goes to show that user-centered design is everywhere and can really make a difference. Can someone call the airlines and tell them about it? How about cup holders, easier-to-access storage, etc.?

[Frank Wang]

I'm glad that you pointed out both the benefits and challenges with what we designed. In the end, thinking through how to run network and power to the "pods" of desks was a fun little design exercise in itself (and still is, as we expand). I'm a big fan of the rolling whiteboards.