Dream Office

Open v. closed: I think the data is in. People are more efficient in closed offices / cubicles. If you need to pump CAD, sketches ideas, build a model, which is 80% of a staff designer’s job, you need a space that allows you to concentrate.

On the other hand, when I designed an open office space (When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong), I found that my team worked really well in an open environment. We were all maker types (google “maker time versus manager time”). We were all pumping CAD/sketching/building, so we left each other alone 99% of the time. So distraction wasn’t a problem.

A year later, sales was moved into our space (not my idea) and then distraction was a problem…

Old workshop v. digital build studio: I agree with your thinking Bryan. 3D printers, CNC, laster cutters are just excellent tools today. You get the precision of mass production on your prototypes. Hard to beat it. At my current gig, I’ve been thinking of going the same way. Digital tools in house, contract out the long hours of sanding to someone else:)

My only real word of wisdom: get commercial grade chairs. The Ikea ones break after a year of daily office abuse. They just aren’t made for 8 hours / 5 days a week. They are made for 2 hours / 3 days a week.

great piece on the open vs closed thing… i think the better framework is good vs bad.

thanks for all the feedback.

We literally just opened a brand new, huge, modern office/warehouse in the Midwest as the corporate HQ. It’s predominantly open space with offices for the CEO,CFO, etc. I haven’t even seen it finished yet, I’ll be working there next week.

Our owners and CEO are still coming off that project and are definitely pushing for open office. I think 90% of the companies I’ve worked with have been open office plans for their creative teams but I’ve seen a lot of people construct their own fortress of solitude in an attempt to get some privacy, myself included. I’m personally coming off of almost 5 years of consulting with no boss and no reason to leave my home office on most days so this is a going to be a big transition for me regardless of whether we have walls or not.

We absolutely want to be able to show off this space to impress any business we might want acquire, corporate buyers or future investors so there is as much importance being placed on how “cool” the space is as there is on functionality (i’m certain we’ll be able to create a good balance). This will not be custom build or even a purchase so right now i’m think i just need to keep my mind open as we look at spaces and figure out what works best for the “coolest” space we can find.

my shop budget has been approved, provided we can find a space that accommodates everything we will have all the fun modern rapid prototyping tools along with a small scale, very basic, traditional shop.

Ryan,

If you do go the open office route, there are some great options for add-on privacy these days. Check out what Buzzispace is doing in that arena.

thought this might be relevant :slight_smile:

Also, this circa 1994: Clipper CS-1 Cockpit Cubicle


those look great to me, i have always found ways to build my primary workspace in to a fortress of solitude.

i’m a pretty social dude and love collaboration on concept and development projects but when it comes to the tasks that can only be solved by focused work i like to just put my head down and grind until the job is done. I have a hard time tuning out nearby distractions… have you ever tried to write a pitch while an animal of a salesman makes cold calls 10 feet away from you?

I actually think more social people might have the hardest time with open offices, because we always have that “squirrel!” factor. The only way I’ve had open offices work for me personally is if they are pretty much creative discipline only. I don’t mind another designer looking over my shoulder without notice, but I don’t want someone from sales doing that.

Where Midwest are you moving? Just curious.

Odd thing happened here recently. We had these 120 degree workstations put in with vertical walls between them.

(kind of like this, but with panel walls that are 54" tall)

We had left the top unfinished for a while because we couldn’t decide what color of frosted acrylic to put in, so everyone could see the tops of peoples heads. It was loud, people complained for a while at first but got used to it. Couple weeks ago, we put in 6" tall dividers in, and suddenly…

It’s quieter. Way quieter. BUT… people are collaborating more, communicating more, working together more. It’s really odd, but it’s great. It’s a nice combination of openness and privacy, and I think people are really responding to it.

i’m not moving anywhere, i get to build the creative team around me in NJ/PA the home office has been in Wichita for 30 years and we just moved from an old converted grocery store to a brand new, shiny, ultra modern 100sf corporate headquarters and warehouse. That office is mostly open plan, a huge room of desks divided by 48" walls the top 12" of which are frosted glass.

bringing this one back as I transitioned from designing a corporate design office to my own consulting studio, then moved to Portland, and now am finally getting settled into the space. :slight_smile:

Anybody else have spaces they want to share?



Wow! What a setup yo!

Personally I need some mockup space- a big table- all cutting mats… a Kongsberg, a big UV printer… thousands of #2 blades and a variety of tapes… a range of hot glue… pressure pot for moldmaking, spray booth for paint… all business :joy:

Though I would naturally keep the display shelves and pinup boards.

Half of my current office – The one thing I miss most after selling most of my business a few years ago is my shop - we could make anything out of anything. I don’t miss having employees even a little so maybe it’s a bit of a good trade-off. “You makes your decisions and you lives with em.”


beautiful space, Dan. I love the beams.

Impressive spaces! I am aiming to be able to share the results of my new studio office when it is all set and done by the end of June. I am expanding to something about 3-4 times the size than this former kid’s room I’m in now :slight_smile:

Ask and ye shall receive.

Big table (we have 4 currently, another 5 coming by the end of the year). We cut directly on the formica, but we do have cutting mats for fine work…


Don’t know what a Kongsberg is, but a a big printer.

Is hundreds of #11 blades OK? I know there is a stash somewhere, but the lab makes sure we don’t have many boxes open at any time.

Tape rack

Hot glues

No pressure pot, but a vacuum pot for degassing. Along with a tiny vacuum former and a crappy but gets teh job done slip roller.


Spray booth.

What else do you need, Jukis? Got them. Shop fully stocked with tools, fasteners, materials? Got them. Chemistry lab for mixing? Got it. Clean room for finished good manufacture? Got it. CNC and lathe? Got them. And, contrary to my earlier post, we are now up to 2 Formlabs and 1 FDM.

Yeah that’s the good stuff! Looks like a nice functional shop!

A Kongsberg is one of these- a CNC paper/corrugate cutter. I know that plotters sometimes have cutting/scoring features built in, but a dedicated cutting table is really powerful.

I had a desktop version called a Cricut for a while. It’s marketed toward making stationery, scrapbooks and vinyl “Live Laugh Love” stickers, but it’s really fun for experimenting too.

one of my clients has one of these Zund cnc cutters… thing is pretty bananas. We use it to knife cut PET flat panels.