Maggies Centre (2008) by Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners. The design avoids corporate structure - no defined meeting, conference or staff areas, spaces are endlessly transformative depending on function. This could be home...
Perhaps one of the most successful workplace models, Maggie's offers staff a highy flexible space in which to operate - the antithesis of what Ken Robinson recognizes as the repressive nature of Western industrialized cultures. The Internet has granted us freedom of movement without freedom of mind... it currently has no potential to transform the conformist virtues of Taylorism that begin at preschool and continue throughout our working lives. Douglas Rushkoff's timely book on corporatism Life Inc is a vivid reminder to those creative mavericks who believe they can function outside this Taylorist landscape - not so - we're all shareholders now.
June 12, 2009
April 15, 2009
learning plaza
The Learning Plaza concept uses a large open-plan, space with a mezzanine floor which accommodates up to 120 pupils. The
concept originally designed by Gensler delivers increased value for money in terms of building costs
and therefore enables greater investment to be made in upgrading
furniture, acoustics and mood lighting, which further enhances the
effectiveness of the learning experience.
February 16, 2009
blizard building
Queen Mary Institute of Cell and Molecular Science
by Will Alsop 2005
Building for the Mind
Evaluating the cognitive effects of
workplace architecture
Powered by increased efficiency and consumer demand, Governments are now prioritising creativity and innovation as essential prerequisites for economic growth, placing new demands of flexibility and competition on the human body. Inspired by Marshall McLuhan’s notion of acoustic space,
this thesis questions whether the body has evolved to keep pace with such technological pressures. In the process of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of ergonomic design, from the static nature of Taylorism to the transhumanist potential of ubiquitous computing, a final workplace design methodology aims to support how environmental stimuli may be used to enhance creative cognition.
February 14, 2009
googleplex
Google Zurich by Camenzind Evolution 2008
An article from the Walll Street Journal has provided a timely focus for my thesis:
"Today we are witnessing the advent of 24-hour knowledge factories. Spreading out across the globe with clusters of three or four facilities, each six to eight hours apart, was an idea first limited to 24-hour call centers and support staff for global communications networks. Now, thanks to more robust information technology and a growing acceptance of offshoring, the concept is feasible for a much broader range of work."
Dr. Amar Gupta The 24-hour Workplace,
Walll Street Journal Sep 14, 2007
While offshoring staff may be an option for many communications and manufacturing companies in the future, workplace environments in health, education and retail remain rooted to servicing localized communities. Therefore an understanding of how lighting technology can be applied to maximise the health and productivity of staff is essential. The key investigation for the thesis is specifically: How can architectural design assist the human body adapt cognitively to the 24-hour workplace? Prior to Henry Ford evolving the workplace from an 8hour space to a 3x8 (24) hour space, hospitals have been operating such shiftwork for centuries. This is where my research begins...
Google
HQ (2005) by Clive Wilkinson - visually dynamic, yet still adhearing to Taylorist norms.
