Future office spaces swap today?s cubicles, bad light for playgrounds, waterfalls

DENVER ? For most modern-day professionals, the cubicle is a workspace reality. It may prevent you from noticing the Web sites your co-worker is surfing, it may even hint at privacy, but for most people, the cubicle, no matter how hard their employer tries to disguise it, runs contrary to an ideal work environment.

But creating good chi involves more than breaking down cubicle walls. Everything — from the position of the mouse to accessing natural light and using new technology to its fullest — goes into the creation of a successful work environment.

As businesses start to embrace new office designs and technologies, the future would appear to be right around the corner. In fact, it’s on the 15th floor at 700 17th St. There, you’ll find Workplace 2010, a research and design project providing a glimpse into the office of the future.

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Workplace 2010 opened April 9. The project will be open for a year, possibly longer. More than 50 partners donated approximately $2.2 million to the project, and according to Executive Director Amy Tabor, this is only the beginning of the discussion.

“It addresses issues companies will have to deal with in the future,´ said Jon Rakes, site director of Workplace 2010.

Those issues center around job stress, flexible scheduling and greater productivity.

The project was created through the insight of experts in a wide range of fields and feedback from two focus groups, one made up of fifth-grade students, the other of graduate students at Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. RNL Design and OfficeScapes/Scott Rice, both of Denver, co-created the project. It spans 6,700 square feet.

Rakes said nearly 150 people tour the facility per week. In addition to tours, Workplace 2010 is offering businesses the opportunity to use the space for retreats, meetings and other events. Groups can use the space for one to three days. There is no fee, but users are asked to provide feedback about their experiences. In about four or five months, Rakes said Workplace 2010 will be publishing white papers on these findings.

Companies that have toured the facility include the Mile High Tech Council, South Metro Chamber of Commerce, Hewlett Packard, Nortel, Avaya, Lockheed Martin, the Colorado Department of Labor and Etkin Skanska Construction Co.

The idea behind Workplace 2010 was to present a solution that integrates all possible workplace concerns. Flexibility emerged as the theme behind the structure and schedules of future workers.

The office layout is circular and lined with large windows and slat walls, support structures for everything from laptop tables to pencil holders. Nearly all spaces can support groups. Most furniture is mobile so users can move it around to fit their needs. Rakes said the structure corresponds with the way people will work in the future.

“Eight to five is a dinosaur to progressive organizations,” he said. Employees are becoming more autonomous. Advances in technology have led to telecommuting, job-sharing and other flexible arrangements. In the future, Rakes said, there will be an even more contingent group of workers coming and going consistently as projects change.

Workplace 2010 addresses this probable future diversity. According to Rakes, things already are starting to shift culturally as companies recognize benefits of flexible environments. Even though the idea of virtual workers may be making its way into the mainstream, it is not devoid of human interaction. There will always be some sort of office, Rakes predicted.

Workplace 2010 is designed with input from professionals of today and tomorrow. The DU students in the project would like balance between their jobs and their lives. The fifth-graders want offices to take advantage of technology.

The project divides its office into five main spaces: the playground, convergence space, campground, info bar and your room. Each area serves a specific purpose.

Unlike the foosball tables and video games that define recreational areas of dot-com companies, Rakes said the playground encourages creativity and helps companies escape the corporate box. A plasma screen, mounted on a pole, can be used as a virtual meeting tool, enabling collaboration on creative projects at a distance, or to display office announcements. Like the office’s other spaces, the playground sits on a raised floor wired for both voice and data, so workers can plug in wherever they choose.

The convergence space replaces the standard conference room. It includes audio visual capabilities, a DVD player, a smart board. Unlike a typical meeting room, Rakes said the area accommodates video conferencing and other high-tech presentations.

The campground is a flexible place where a group gathers. All equipment is mobile. Although Rakes agreed that the majority of work is done in individual mode, the days of having individuals do work in one setting is gone.

The info bar will appeal to anyone who likes to do business over a cup of coffee. The area, similar to a coffee bar, encourages interaction. But for traditional businesses, it may take some getting used to. Rakes said offering such a space requires employers to trust their employees to stick to business.

Your room addresses one of the working world’s most serious issues: stress.

“Stress is a huge robber of productivity,” Rakes said. To keep an employee’s tension down, your room relaxes with soft lighting, a waterfall and a virtual surround sound system with a five compact disk changer. There also is a “cybrary,” a study area where printed materials would be stored. Workers could take advantage of online learning programs.

“We didn’t try to answer all the questions,” Rakes said. “(Workplace 2010) is a point of departure.”Contact Anjanette Mudd at (303) 440-4950 or e-mail amudd@bcbr.com.