Spaces to think, do, deisgn, innovate, part 2
After my post on spaces to think, do design, and innovate, Mark Henson, chief imagination officer for sparkspace, sent me a note with info on other design/innovation/thinking spaces in the USA and a few outside the USA that I had not mentioned.
What makes a great space? The space certainly has to be inviting, big enough for your team, not be too distracting yet inspiring for you to want to be there. Some adjectives from personal observation: open, light, fun, inviting, playful, colorful, surprising, wants to be utilized, supportive.
- open: This means open space, freedom to move, not confined by a barrier (desks, walls, etc).
- light/colorful: Colors do play an important part in the way you feel and act within an environment. Having light from the outside helps people feel better.
- playful/fun: When people get together to design and think requires an element of fun. The space has to help support and even generate the opportunity for fun.
- wants to be utilized/inviting: The space must beg you to step in and participate.
- surprising: Spaces that surprise can help generate ideas or off shoots to ideas that might not have occurred in other settings. Surprise can come from what the space has (food, toys, gadgets, oxygen bars) or the way the space operates (super staff, space lay out, space reconfiguration).
- supportive: All spaces must have the basics that when they don't exist become annoying or inconveniences. Pen, paper, bathrooms, food, drink, ability to park, lunch / dinner spots away from the space, etc.
Labels: deep thought, design, innovation, space, thinking
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