Collaboration is a Design Challenge
... and many other lessons we learnt from designing an Innovation Lab in London
In 2023 we built an innovation hub. A lab, a working space, a collaborative environment - call it what you will. I personally don’t like the word lab because of the image it conveys, but it’s probably semantics. In short, we had the challenge of designing and building a 9000 sq ft space, on the 44th floor of a Bishopsgate building, which all our clients would access and be inspired by.
While many aspects of the lab were from a template, by its very nature we were always looking to push the boat out and do a bunch of new things that hadn't been attempted before. And so this was a classic melting pot of innovation and project management. And being pushed so comprehensively above and beyond my comfort zone allowed me (and our team) to learn a few interesting things. Here's one of them:
COLLABORATION IS A DESIGN CHALLENGE
I remember when Steve Jobs was asked for his input for the new Apple office, he is reported to have asked for all the toilets to be located at one end of the building. The logic was that this would ensure employees serendipitously 'met' each other more regularly as they went for their pit stops and had to walk across the building. While not planning anything that extreme, we did realise that collaboration is a design challenge. You can intentionally or unintentionally design for or against collaboration. When I joined the company in another building in London, my team and I took up residence in an unwanted open desk area, while everybody preferred cubicles or dedicated desks. Consequently while everybody sat with their backs to the world, we sat facing each other in our team and also anybody that passed by often stopped to have a chat. While it proved sometimes to be a trade off in terms of focus and interruptions, in an innovation function such as ours, this was a huge, though unplanned asset. So this time, we designed for collaboration - all spaces are as open as possible. Or rather, open is the default design, spaces are only closed if they really need to be. It's already paying dividends in a month and a half of working.
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The bottom line is that amidst all the talk about collaboration and hybrid work, we don't always consciously design for it. And the reality is knowingly or unknowingly the design of your workspace will aid or hinder collaboration. I'm grateful that I had a chance to experience and learn this before we went into our design process.
Here are some of the other lessons. Let me know your thoughts!
Creating innovation partnerships for collaborative success for SimplyDo
10 个月Interesting piece Ved Sen, I certainly agree that the use of space can aid collaboration and the sharing of ideas. I have worked in incubators both from a support perspective and the business that I currently work for inhabits a space in an incubator/shared office . I certainly think there is a case for more water cooler moments aiding collaboration. But I also think that this works alongside more structured programmes of events that have ROI written all over them for the busy entrepreneurs and other stakeholders, and digital mechanisms to capture collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. My experience of working in these environments is that there is almost a "teenager's bedroom" syndrome as, quite rightly, some people don't want to be disturbed so doors are shut and blinds are drawn. Mum and Dad are afraid to go in! But one thing I like to do to encourage people into our office is prop the door open and sit facing the door to create a welcoming environment so that if people wish to engage I have removed a barrier.
Managing Consultant ENR at Wipro
10 个月Myself, Ben Tye and Helen Ratcliffe (to name a few), have delivered many Collaborative Work Environments, of all shapes, sizes and flavours. Your first "win" is that you considered the 'behavioural objectives/design' rather than just the Technical. A great learning for me in c2006 when we first started including 'Sit/Stand' Desks as standard was that the height of the desk was assumed by the passing traffic as some kind of 'availability indicator'; Sitting = Busy/unavailable Standing = Open to chat ??
Driving Digital Transformation with Creative Minds and Generative Algorithms.
10 个月And vice versa..??
Co-founder: 3 Big Things | Behavioural Designer | ex-IDEO, Fractal.ai, Dr Reddy’s and Tata Digital | Fractional Chief Design Officer | Design Thinking, Customer Experience, Innovation, Org culture transformation
10 个月Congratulations Ved ! I’ve had my share of learnings (and war stories) from building a similar space. Reading your post was almost nostalgic for me. Good luck with the new space and the new conversations it allows you to begin.
Artificial Intelligence and Analytics (AIA) - Cognizant
10 个月Collaboration is the key to progress, in my view. Cross-functional, cross-departmental and cross-discipline collaboration. A quick example - AI projects are poised to succeed when there is close collaboration between Data Scientists and Domain experts. Collaboration is a design challenge, and also a mindset challenge in my view. As students mostly we learn to be in a env where we are rewarded for maximizing our 'marks'. So that attitude continues. I hv seen members doing very good work, but sitting in a cubicle, not even aware of what another member of the same team, sitting in another cubicle, s doing! I firmly believe all this progress in AI is because of collaboration. So we need to promote collaboration by any means! Great article, an eye-opener.