Building design and effectiveness of organisastions

[Chris Rust]

Hi, I'd be grateful if anybody could point me in the direction of
published research that deals with the effect of building layout and
circulation on the relationships between people in an organisation,
especially the effects on how well an organisation works as a
collaborative community. I'm sure this is a well-developed field (I'm
sure I've seen publications about this in the past) but I'm finding it
difficult to find the way in to relevant research.

We have some problems with this in our own buildings, we "know" that
where people work in relation to each other and the informal ways in
which they meet are important because we've experienced good and bad
situations, but I'd like some more concrete knowledge to help me deal
with those who plan and operate our estate.

thanks
Chris

...............................................................o^o
Professor Chris Rust FDRS
Head of Art and Design
Sheffield Hallam University, S1 2NU, UK
[phone]
chris@...
http://chrisrust.wordpress.com/

Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the
future of the human race. - H. G. Wells

[Michael Hohl-2]

Dear Chris,

there should be literature from the marketing discipline addressing  
your question.

What immediately comes to my mind are Stewart Brand, Bernard Rudofsky  
and Christopher Alexander.

Stewart Brand: "How buildings learn: What happens after they are built".
Andrea Bocco Guarneri, "Bernard Rudofsky: A humane designer" has  
comprehensive overviews of all his books. It should be available at  
the SHU library.
Christopher Alexander: "A timeless way of building"

IMO all of these contain knowledge that is immediately applicable.

Greetings from Hatfield,

Michael


On 2 Jul 02009, at 09:51, Chris Rust wrote:

> Hi, I'd be grateful if anybody could point me in the direction of  
> published research that deals with the effect of building layout  
> and circulation on the relationships between people in an  
> organisation, especially the effects on how well an organisation  
> works as a collaborative community. I'm sure this is a well-
> developed field (I'm sure I've seen publications about this in the  
> past) but I'm finding it difficult to find the way in to relevant  
> research.
>
> We have some problems with this in our own buildings, we "know"  
> that where people work in relation to each other and the informal  
> ways in which they meet are important because we've experienced  
> good and bad situations, but I'd like some more concrete knowledge  
> to help me deal with those who plan and operate our estate.
>
> thanks
> Chris
>
> ...............................................................o^o
> Professor Chris Rust FDRS
> Head of Art and Design
> Sheffield Hallam University, S1 2NU, UK
> [phone]
> chris@...
> http://chrisrust.wordpress.com/
>
> Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the  
> future of the human race. - H. G. Wells

[Cameron Tonkinwise-2]

A former colleague,
Martin Kornberger at UTS,
has looked at this issue from the
perspective of management/organization .
See his publications @
http://datasearch.uts.edu.au/dab/staff/design/details.cfm?StaffId=1341
Cameron

> On 2 Jul 02009, at 09:51, Chris Rust wrote:
>
>> Hi, I'd be grateful if anybody could point me in the direction of
>> published research that deals with the effect of building layout
>> and circulation on the relationships between people in an
>> organisation, especially the effects on how well an organisation
>> works as a collaborative community. I'm sure this is a well-
>> developed field (I'm sure I've seen publications about this in the
>> past) but I'm finding it difficult to find the way in to relevant
>> research.
>>
>> We have some problems with this in our own buildings, we "know"
>> that where people work in relation to each other and the informal
>> ways in which they meet are important because we've experienced
>> good and bad situations, but I'd like some more concrete knowledge
>> to help me deal with those who plan and operate our estate.
>>
>> thanks
>> Chris
>>
>> ...............................................................o^o
>> Professor Chris Rust FDRS
>> Head of Art and Design
>> Sheffield Hallam University, S1 2NU, UK
>> [phone]
>> chris@...
>> http://chrisrust.wordpress.com/
>>
>> Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the
>> future of the human race. - H. G. Wells

[Chris Rust]

Thanks to everybody who has responded to my question about how the
layout of buildings affects the community who work in them. I'll aim to
post a summary of the research I find out about here, with
acknowledgements,  so please keep it coming.

Chris

[A ( Katerina ) Alexiou]

Dear Chris,

You may find some of the work done in Space Syntax relevant, particularly
the configurational studies of offices by researchers in Georgia Tech.

e.g.

Peponis et al, 2007, "Designing space to support knowledge work",
Environment and Behavior, 39 (6), 815-840 .
http://eab.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/39/6/815

Rashid M, Kampschroer K, Wineman J, Zimring C, 2006, "Spatial layout and
face-to-face interaction in offices—a study of the mechanisms of spatial
effects on face-to-face interaction" Environment and Planning B: Planning
and Design 33(6): 825 – 844

Best wishes,

Katerina

---
Katerina Alexiou
RCUK Academic Fellow
Design Group, DDEM
The Open University
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA

email: a.k.alexiou@...

> Hi, I'd be grateful if anybody could point me in the direction of
> published research that deals with the effect of building layout and
> circulation on the relationships between people in an organisation,
> especially the effects on how well an organisation works as a
> collaborative community. I'm sure this is a well-developed field (I'm
> sure I've seen publications about this in the past) but I'm finding it
> difficult to find the way in to relevant research.
>
> We have some problems with this in our own buildings, we "know" that
> where people work in relation to each other and the informal ways in
> which they meet are important because we've experienced good and bad
> situations, but I'd like some more concrete knowledge to help me deal
> with those who plan and operate our estate.
>
> thanks
> Chris
>
> ...............................................................o^o
> Professor Chris Rust FDRS
> Head of Art and Design
> Sheffield Hallam University, S1 2NU, UK
> [phone]
> chris@...
> http://chrisrust.wordpress.com/
>
> Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the
> future of the human race. - H. G. Wells
>