For insight about trends impacting the A&D marketplace, Mark Canez, director strategic accounts for OM Workspace^®, spoke with Brian van Stipdonk, associate, LEED AP BD+C (Green Building Design + Construction) of ZGF Architects, a Seattle-based architecture and design firm, about breaking down the cube and creating strategic collaborative space.

ZGF Portland office in Twelve West building; image courtesy of ZGF Architects

MC: I have heard of the breakdown of the private corner office, but why the breakdown of the cubicle?

BVS: Everything in the workplace has become about varying degrees of collaboration, and the need for isolated cubes is diminishing. It used to be all about the panel — the height, whether it would manage data and power sources to the workspace, and storage accommodation. Now, the individual workstation is becoming more modular. The 8-by-8 envelope and components can now be reconfigured, for example, providing storage and workstyle variety while functioning as a divider. Employees can choose to make a larger space with their neighbor or choose to sit in a series where and when they need more isolated or focused work. That kind of ownership over your own space, I believe, is really important.

MC: How have the ideas of collaboration and “ownership over your own space” been incorporated into already existing office plans?

BVS: What we have been seeing lately are owners or tenants who are revamping or repositioning their buildings and interior spaces to suit their changing needs, making them even more efficient, especially through modularity of workstations. For instance, new benching systems providing mobile desk return tables and flexible storage peds are great ways to offer flexibility in the workstation. These can be configured to fit greater or fewer seats, accommodating for staffing flux. Another way to alter a workspace and promote collaboration is through taking advantage of daylighting. Placing open collaboration at the perimeter and lowering the workstation panels to let daylight penetrate deeper into an area allows for greater visibility and energy across the space.

Port of Portland headquarters; image courtesy of ZGF Architects

MC: How important is it to take a strategic approach to create flexible and collaborative space?

BVS: Providing a project team collaborative space is really about offering different rooms or areas to support a variety of tasks wherever it feels natural to come together and be productive. Perhaps a tailored setting may be required for certain aspects of an endeavor, or even a project as a whole may require a tailored setting. This can be accomplished through modifying personal workspace to be more, or less, open with your neighbors, drifting to open lounges; retreating to private phone rooms; or reserving large conference areas. In fact, so many businesses are creating incredible workplaces like this that it has become a form of recruitment and retention of employees.

Federal Center South; image courtesy of ZGF Architects

MC: Is there a project you recently completed that illustrates the idea of collaborative and open, flexible workspaces?

BVS: Yes. ZGF designed Federal Center South, the district headquarters for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to re-energize two main purposes — productivity and collaboration. These two are represented by the building form itself: shaped as an oxbow, 60 feet wide along its length, embracing a focused interior court. The oxbow width allows daylight into these workstations from both sides all the way around the building. The second space, within the oxbow, is compiled of collaboration zones such as the conference rooms, break rooms and libraries. These are connected to the oxbow workstations by bridges and pathways, breaking down the usual departmental silos. This design has made the shared light and collaborative space the focal point. Even when grabbing a coffee, you naturally bump into other people, reinforcing the collective and fertilizing interaction.