Lucky students at Philadelphia's Drexel University received a real eye-opener last week when Steelcase installed a shiny new media:scapetechnology table in the center of their library's atrium. As part of Steelcase's "Test Drive" promotion, the new library addition provides an opportunity for students to use the technology as they work in collaborative group settings. The free, month-long trial is available to businesses and schools who are considering the benefits of media:scape.

"It's called the media:scape table and we're looking to see how students will use the new furnishings," said Gail Homes, assistant director of interiors at Drexel. "We didn't want [to tuck it away in] a corner for the test drive, so we chose the library atrium so that student's will see it".

And see it they did. Easily enticed by two large LCD monitors, contemporary styling and lime green seats, students wasted little time in getting to know their new collaboration tool up-close and personal.

"I think it's really cool. I just walked in and it was there, [so] I figured I'd use it," Nafida Zaman, a senior international business and marketing major, said. Her review on the rest of the library's design was less stellar, however. "I really like this new stuff, it's really contemporary, but it just doesn't fit. The rest of the library isnt' that nice. I mean, look at those other desks, they're not so beautiful. I hope they redo the rest of this place."

Other students chimed in on their experiences with the new media:scape and their reviews were unanimously positive.

"It looks like it's supposed to be used for groups, and my friend and I were working on a project when we got tired of passing notes. So we hooked our laptops up to the screens and it's so much easier to work together," shared Andrew Moore, a pre-junior who recently used the table.

For the entire article by Drexel University's Triangle Newspaper, visit this link
(Image courtesy of The Triangle.org, credit:Francesca Martelli) 

Talk about forward-thinking office design! Twitter, the incredibly popular social networking site, recently moved into a new space in San Francisco's SoMa district and spared no expense at providing its employees with a hip, positive and (most importantly) effective work environment.

Keeping up with global office design trendsetters such as Facebook, Red Bull and Google is no easy task, but Twitter succeeds by incorporating non-traditional elements such as a dj booth, arcade, and awesome looking custom concrete conference tables. Not surprisingly, the entire building is outfitted with Wi-Fi connectivity and the company's now world-renown bird logo.

The following are a few photos taken by actual Twitter employees. Bonus points : Pay special attention to the use of Steelcase office furniture, including the Think chair with alive-seating technology.

Our verdict? Twitter doesn't only know how to design a great looking space, they know how to create an environment that's as innovative as the online services they provide.

[via Office Design Blog]

Facebook, the world's most popular social networking site, recently unveiled its new office headquarters in Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park. Results : Amazing! Besides being the new envy of the neighborhood, the new facility succeeds at aligning the company's mission of connecting people.

For its insights, Facebook actually conducted numerous employee interviews and company-wide surveys to truly understand the needs and desires of their workforce.

This new facility is the first commercial project that has been completed under Palo Alto’s 2008 Green Building Ordinance, accomplished by recycling and repurposing various components of the original facility such as millwork and industrial components.  The officespace also features energy-efficient lighting and high recycled-content carpet.  

The big message here? As the millenial generation makes its mark on the workforce, innovative companies just like Facebook are taking the steps needed to offer their employees a work/life balance unseen in less progressive organizations. The results are a happier, more productive workforce that can share and collaborate at work as quickly as they do online.  

[via Office Design Blog]

Over my thirty-one year career as a real estate broker specializing in office space, I have seen both good and bad examples of how to conduct the relocation search process. One of the primary differences is the effort invested in the beginning of the process to fully understand the requirement. This is commonly referred to as "needs analysis". It is so important that if it is not done, you will probably be wasting a great deal of your own time.

Its easy to understand why that would be, since each space and each building is unique and your requirements, though they probably have some flexibility, have certain characteristics that are needed to benefit your business. By way of example, some companies have a high volume of incoming and outgoing mail. It would be highly advantageous for such companies to have an exit door directly to the mail room so that the delivery people can pick-up and deliver to one convenient spot and the mail can easily be distributed from that location. Other companies have many visitors and want their space visible from the elevator or lobby as the case may be.

The best approach to begin a relocation search is to first think about your current space in a critical manner. What works and what could work better? Then think about what the most efficient functioning of your business would be like. Now construct a model, (draw a picture in as much detail as you can) of what that would look like. Once you have completed this exercise you will be prepared to work with the professionals in the process of finding the right space for your company.

Next, you need to have an idea of the cost of the space. In order to do that you need to have an understanding of the current market in your geographic area. If you can consider various geographies, you will need to gain knowledge of each. The basic points of information you need are: How many spaces are currently on the market that can accommodate your space requirement? What is the overall vacancy factor in the specific market area? What is the asking rental rate? What concessions are common for the size and type space you require? What were the taking rents on the last few deals done recently in the market? A good office leasing broker will have that information. They should be able to present you with a professionally prepared market report and review with you those statistics that specifically relate to your situation. As we all know, statistics can be misleading, so having your broker interpret the report for you is extremely important. Just imagine how off-base you could be if you thought a market had a 20% vacancy, when 18% of that vacant space was totally antiquated space that most companies would never occupy.

 One important tip that may seem obvious... make sure you accurately and completely communicate the information concerning your requirements to your broker and space planner so they can hone-in on opportunities that will best fit your company's needs. Then, if your broker isn't showing you properties that suit your needs, you probably are not working with the right broker.

 This article republished with permission from our friends at the Office Space Blog

“You can only do so much with salary,” says global architecture and design firm Gensler, in their 2008 Workplace survey. “High-performing companies, the ones with high profits, strong brand positioning, and better employee engagement, are the ones that have the highest-performing workplaces,” the study said.

So, what exactly does a high-performing business workplace look like? Steelcase researchers agree that Generation-Y workers seem to know, as do Baby Boomers, who are slowly picking up their values from the younger set, this kind of business setting allows for four basic elements to come together and happen at any time:

1. Focus – Concentrating on “head down” work.
2. Collaboration – Working with other people to achieve a goal.
3. Learning – Building knowledge through education or experience.
4. Socialization – Interacting interpersonally with others.

What’s being seen is that the importance placed on a company’s size, brand image, and history is shifting to how well the business can support a worker’s preferred working style, how much they can learn, and how well it supports work/life integration. In other words, a business’ physical workplace has to get better at allowing the people in it to learn, create, and innovate.

How does that happen? We’ve found that a range of work settings is key. The ones that are the most effective support all of the four personal work modes above. Some ideas might be as easy as installing outlets around the office with seating to allow employees to plug in their computers and congregate, or by using Media:Scape technology in your conference rooms.

Skeptics may say that a changing business’ office characteristics isn’t the only way to building a high-performance company, but we feel that it’s certainly key to surmounting the challenge, which is why we’ve made a range of products such as cobi, i2i, and c:scape that attempt to do just that.

Backed up by data that you can find on our Come Together website, we’ve seen that the environmental aspects of work reinforces a company’s values – by paying attention to how you’re communicating access, openness, and free communication to your employees, you’ll be well on your way to enhanced performance.