Create
Carving out space for play, inspiration, growth, and collaboration in a maze of enterprise-grade cubicles.
Understanding a space and how it moves.
Like most large enterprise organizations, this building was designed for individuals to work alone while sitting in their cubes. It lacked the energy and the freedom to promote collaboration; there were conference rooms if any were available. We needed a dedicated space to experiment, critique, collaborate, and grow.
Conference rooms were always booked and whatever you created in the space had to be moved back to your desk. Not ideal for ongoing projects.
Before: Using the room to get a feel for the space.
Making a plan.
We used the space to get a feel for how the area could move and where to center the focus.
A few things surfaced immediately. Furniture needed to be on wheels, and we needed to write on the walls. Taking a page from Jake Knapp’s work on collaborative spaces and Ideo’s “project spaces,” the room began to take shape.
We chose pieces that could fit several layouts and any scenario we needed. We could host four smaller scrums or move the tables together for a large collaboration session.
Whiteboard layout of the soon to be “Hopper” room. We were working with three doors and no windows.
Constructing the space.
Adding magnetic paint to the walls before covering them with whiteboard material. You can see the whiteboard with the initial layout of the room.
The final touches to the whiteboard walls before we take over the space.
The Outcome
Hopper, named after Grace Hopper, was an outstanding success. We shared the vendors, the materials, and the intent of the space with other groups, and within the next year, three more areas organically appeared in the building. The mood was shifting, and collaboration between teams was increasing. We had created momentum.
Before shot of the UX team working in the space a few weeks.
After shot with a scrum team in a working session for their project.
Hosting our team’s annual cookie swap while playing a game of Pictionary with the team in Mexicali.
Collaborating
Teams are better when they work together and across multiple functions and departments.
