My neighborhood just received it’s third Hubway station and already the racks are emptying as commuters and weekend riders take advantage of the green and silver bikes. In looking at the map of stations that dot the city, I am reminded of diagrams of networks that designers map to show relations between elements or ideas. Clusters of green dots are connected by interlaced roadways and bike paths. Interestingly, and intentionally, these bikes stations form small clusters. I was told, when our first set of stations were being planned, that a triangle of stations was important. When one rack is empty or full, another needs to be available to the user in a short distance. In reality, the designers of the system were, and are, creating small neighborhoods of bicyclists who travel the networks of city streets to other neighborhoods. Your closest few stations become your hub, your spot. Where you work, or travel to often, becomes an extension of your community. Extending this concept of network and neighborhood to the built environment has interesting implications. At LAB we are exploring the concept in the interior working spaces we are creating. In a recent project for a biotech company, the clients are looking for an almost completely open space without enclosed offices. The concept of collaborative work is paramount and there are groups that work together on different ideas, yet need to mix and work with others outside their areas of expertise. Like the neighborhood of bicycles, the workstations are thought of as grouped yet interconnected. Clusters of working areas form or enclose small, furnished community spaces, while glassed in conference areas define the edge of a neighborhood. Larger communal work areas bring people out of their hub, their spot, to exchange ideas, have a coffee, or just relax. In thinking about how people might move within and between these working neighborhoods, we are studying what elements are fixed, and what might travel. Clearly, people pick up their coffee cups, their laptops and walk, but other elements, such as highly mobile furniture (small, handled stools, rolling chairs) can be moved from one space to another, creating work areas that might change size as the need arises. Networks can be highly changeable, and, as such, alignments of workstations might need to alter. How we design our workspaces can encourage flexibility. Our lab spaces we have designed recently have been just that. Connections for power and gasses in the ceiling grid at regular intervals along with movable tables within the larger laboratory spaces allow for scientists to shift their working groups and equipment to suit rapidly changed needs in scientific research. In this digital age the concept of the physical community is even more important. Creating and working on ideas is truly a group effort. How groups form and interact is critical to the success of many endeavors and the design of working spaces can be an important part of that success. As the weather warms up, grab a bicycle and travel the city networks; it’s a great way to see how interconnected we all truly are.
Stephanie Goldberg, AIA, LEED BC+D is a principal at Boston based laboratory design firm of Lab / Life.Science. Architecture, Inc.