Chapter 14 Commercial Interior Design Applications 509 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. ■ Forum ■ Plaza Each setting was defi ned. For example, landing spaces are those that are adjacent to meeting places where people gather, waiting for the meeting to begin. Many conversations and work can take place prior to a meeting in such landing spaces. To accommodate the many needs of people doing different work, Living Offi ce suggests designers move from the specifi cation of standardized workstations and meeting rooms to a diverse confi gura- tion of purposeful settings, Figure 14-23. Supporting the Generational Shift with Flexibility Not only is the design of the workplace changing, but so are the people in it. Baby boomers, Generation X’ers and Millennials are working alongside one another. Each generation brings its values, goals, and communi- cation approaches to the workplace. Results of a study by the Business and Professional Women’s Founda- tion indicate that by 2025 Millennials will account for 75 percent of the world’s workforce. Designers face the diffi cult task of creating workspaces that can accommodate all generations. To do so, they are paying close attention to the need for fl exibility in supporting different work styles, individual habits, and social interactions between different generations. Supporting Need for Privacy While the designs of many offi ces today are innovative in supporting varying work styles, many employees still work in open-plan offi ces. A survey of 2000 workers commissioned by Ecophon, part of leading international materials company Saint-Gobain, reveals that a lack of acoustic treatment in these spaces has a negative impact on employee productivity. Almost 80 percent of those surveyed work in open-plan or shared offi ces. When asked their opinions about the present acous- tic environment in their offi ces, more than half of the responders said it is sometimes challenging to concen- trate on the jobs when working in open-plan workspaces. About two-thirds replied they are also troubled by the lack of privacy in open-plan offi ces. Additionally, more than 40 percent claim they have no access to private areas or quiet rooms. Regular noise disturbances can negatively impact employee concentration resulting in lost hours of work and poor performance and productivity. Catering to Changing Work Styles Like Gensler, Herman Miller Inc., a pioneer in modern- day offi ce design, has also been researching the new ways employees conduct work in the offi ce today. Herman Miller’s research reveals a typical worksta- tion, also called a cubicle, is unoccupied 60 percent of the day, while private offi ces on average are vacant 77 percent of the day. Conference rooms are rarely used to capacity, because people prefer less formal meeting spaces in the offi ce. What do these statistics mean for the design of corpo- rate offi ces? Changing employee work styles mean the physical offi ce environment must change, too. Herman Miller researchers found employees engaged in ten key behaviors in the workplace: three were labeled as alone tasks and seven as together tasks. They call it the “Living Offi ce.” ■ Alone tasks included process/responding (on computer/phone/text—process then talk), contemplation (ponder issues or status), and creation (solve problems). ■ Together tasks included chatting (impromptu interactions), conversing (purposeful planned meetings), co-creating (group development of new ideas), divide/conquer (teams in close proximity), huddle (anytime connections to solve urgent problems), show/tell (lecture format), and warm up/cool down (conference room connections). Each task was defi ned. For example, divide and conquer refers to a team with a common goal that divides up the work into individual tasks with members who work paral- lel to each other in close proximity. The team shares developments and information as it reaches its goal. Understanding evolving work styles, Herman Miller designed offi ce settings that support the ten research- identifi ed behaviors in the offi ce. These include ■ Haven (heads down/private time) ■ Hive (workstations) ■ Jump space (touch-down spaces for mobile workers) ■ Clubhouse (team-based activity with mobile marker board group work) ■ Cove ■ Meeting space ■ Landing ■ Workshop