8-1 The mission of a room
When we enter a room we immediately get some relation to it depending on what we see of the disposition of the area, the furniture and other objects in it, etc. (Nordin-Hultman 1998). The feeling is also influenced by how our other senses are influenced by the smell we notice, heat, humility, sound, etc. In addition the total feeling is influenced by who more are in the room and the physical and mental distance to them.
Thus it is a very complex interplay that exists between the room, the things (the artifacts) in the room, and the individuals in it. As a further complication the total feeling is time dependent e.g. as the mood will vary for the individuals in the room.
The special feeling towards a room deepens or matures when we move around in it.
After some time we get used to it and do not reflect much on it as it is.
Before localities are sought for, it is first of all important to try to find out the function of them and what image they shall give its visitors – which is one way of
strengthening the image value of the company. Shall the localities e.g. be used as exhibition areas to impress external people or shall they be an area for the
performance of a project to which no external visitors will be allowed? In the first case the outer environment is important to investigate as well. However must it not be a contradiction between these two extremes as a nice area with nice interior
environments will influence the project work in a positive way. Unfortunately it often is difficult to make tests e.g. on prototypes in exclusive room settings. Exclusive localities with exclusive furniture also demands a special dressing of the team members that maybe is not perfect for performing project work.
A room where people are close to each other - a social room – is limited in size by fixed walls. It can as well be limited by moveable walls, draperies and furniture.
Other space limiting effects are sound, light and climate zones. A light cone in a big hall lighting up an area will e.g. be felt as a limited room in the big space. The lines on a sports arena are by the players regarded as walls around the playground forming a virtual room, etc. Thus the mental room does not need to be limited by visual signs.
In addition, if someone belongs to a special social group she/he will feel
uncomfortable entering a space where people from other social groups are present.
8-2 Metrical influences
If people accept each other, the shorter the physical distance gets between them, and the better the result of a team work will be. Also the shorter the time will be to reach good solutions. However, the physical distance is not only dependent on the metric distance but also on the area of sight and the audibility an individual experiences.
Humidity and the smell in a room also effect the mental distance as people will be distracted by other things then the communication with other people in the room. If the area of sight is reduced by different obstacles and/or smoke and if the smell is not nice or if the sound level is high, the communication will also be reduced between the
individuals. To make work premises where people can hear each other but cannot see each other will cause negative psychological effects to grow.
Different metric zones have been distinguished which however are they dependent on personalities (age, hearing, sex, etc.) and cultures. In the Western culture we have the following zones (Branzell 1995):
• Touch zone or intimate zone (0 – 1,8 meters) – communication through all senses
• Conversation zone (1,8 – 5 meters) – two ways communication possible
• Listening zone (5-11 meters) – one way communication possible
• Mimic zone (11 – 25 meters) – information through study of body movements
• Shout zone (25 – 70 meters) – information through shouting
• Transformation zone (70 – 135 meters) –larger movements can be noticed The more people who are within the conversation zone in which they can see each other without disturbances of sound, light, weather and smell, the better the idea generation and problem solving will it be. In the listening zone “overhearing” will take place when one team member asks someone in the conversation zone of some information. The third person can due to that fill in with information if she/he has the missing information. Faster reaching solutions can thereby be achieved then if the third person had not been within the listening zone. However if more then six persons are within the conversation zone the interest of taking part in a dialogue will be reduced and will the dialogue groups be split up in dialogue groups with not more then six persons. (More dinner guests then six at a dinner table will e.g. of the same reason be spit up in smaller groups having dialogues, which can be an interesting experience to make when participating in a dinner.)
If high book shelves and other big obstacles in a room without inner walls are placed so that people in it can not see each other although they are not more than e.g. 2 meters from each other, the we-feeling decreases radically as that means that the distance in principle equals to be in the listening zone. Stairways increase the distance radically as walls do between the people working in e.g. a normal office with
corridors and cabinets. If the doors are closed that means that the physical distance is equal to infinity – which unfortunately also is the case when the team members are using MP3-players. If doors of any reason must be closed a somewhat better situation is accomplished for the we-feeling if the doors and walls against the corridor have windows. Thus the “open door principle” is important for the we-feeling in a group.
As a general finding the wellbeing in a group is increased if the team members can influence how the localities are set up and furniture and other artifacts are arranged.
For early product development projects the choice of localities is especially important as a free flow of creative ideas will increase improving the efficiency/speed of the project. Especially that is the case if the models and prototypes can be placed so that the team members can see them when being in the project room.
8-3 Demands on project localities
If the team members have been chosen carefully - to secure that they can work together without big problems - the mental distance will be short. For them it is advantageous if they can work together without distance cutting obstacles as walls, book shelves, stairways, etc. For maximal well being, their individual work places they shall be able to form as well as their closest environment.
If it is possible the models and prototypes shall be placed in such a way in the project localities so that the team members can see them when they are in the room. On the surrounding walls sketches, drawings, plans and messages are hung. (Already PM Winston Churchill had “war rooms” with maps on the walls on which his generals could make creative plans.)
During a project work it now and then is important to be able to withdraw from the community to study, reflect and think undisturbed in a silent room. The project leader(s) shall also be able to have access to a closed room without insight from others e.g. when having personal dialogues with team members, the board chairman, the project owner, etc.
At meeting points as coffee corners, and relaxing points, there shall preferably be whiteboards and/or paper to sketch. Good ideas and solutions that suddenly appear in a dialogue can then be noted down before they disappear. Through the use of
whiteboards and large paper stands the creative dialogues will be strengthened after which the useful ideas have to be noted in the personal notebooks.
The creativity seems to be reinforced if the work is done in rooms which are not too well organized and perfectly structured. Chaos situations are the mother of creativity and the most creative researchers, inventors, artists, and product developers often for other people seem to work in a total mess. To note is that many of the biggest companies seem to have been started in simple garages (e.g. Hewlett-Packard and Ford) that were as far as possible from well organized localities.
8-4 Optimal project localities?
In general one has few chances to choose project localities why one has to make the best out of the localities offered. However, if new efficient localities are to be projected new ways of thinking can contribute to a good outcome of the projects. As so often Nature has some solutions to offer. In this case by looking at how a beehive is build up some ideas can be gained. Thus rooms with walls arranged as regular hexagons (see figure 8-1) with the length of each wall of about 3 meters should allow a team of six people to always be within the conversation zone if they have their work stations in the corners of the room. By having the sides 4 - 5 meters in the center hexagon corridors and storing areas can be arranged between each project room. To allow light to enter the rooms as much as possible – to get a good atmosphere - large windows should be installed in the peripheral walls.
Figure 8-1: Optimal project rooms are maybe hexagonal rooms with the sides 3 meter
3 m 3 m