Hacking the Workspace

January 10, 2017 Michelle Kang
 
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Physical space facilitates quality work in the digital space. An open room can invite conversation as effectively as a closed room can kill it. Last month, I flew to our nation’s capital to work on a project that yielded the perfect opportunity to hack a space for optimal collaboration.

Context

Our Washington DC office is currently comprised of a series of rented rooms from the coworking space WeWork. At the time, our project room featured an island of standing desks conglomerated in the middle, blocking open communication. Unused chairs and tables claimed valuable space, and we had to maneuver around these obstacles to reach each other across the room.

Before

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Fellow Pivots and project teammates Mariesa Dale and Laurel Gray work across the tables from each other.

After

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The shorter tables invite communication and wider use of the room.
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The room had no mounted whiteboards, so we lined the walls with easel pad paper. We found a better home for the coat rack later.
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We can change space.

We often take space for granted or see it in fixed terms, but arranging the space to meet team needs is crucial for facilitating our best work.

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