One modern office concept readers who like OP's concept might find interesting is at the company zeb in Munich, designed by Evolution Design: https://officesnapshots.com/2016/10/26/zeb-offices-munich/
Let me take you through my dream office
21–30 of 157 posts
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#22Definitely a place I would like to work. Only thing it's missing is a place for nursing moms to pump (and an in-house daycare if I'm dreaming).
You mean like at Veridian Dynamics? :) Molding the children of today into the workers of tomorrow! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SLFlNH0TLY
Better Off Ted is such an incredible, underrated comedy, so tongue-in-cheek it hurts. Anyone who's ever felt under the thumb of a corporate environment (or, for that matter, wants to know the bullet they dodged) will find something to love. It's on Netflix.
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#23On the whole, certainly an improvement over any open-floor plan.
But... some points made me cringe.
> The unisex bathroom has a separate shower for those that come to the office by bike.
I do not want a unisex bathroom. I've had a unisex bathroom... at work and in college and I don't want to go back to that again. Unisex bathrooms create way too many awkward situations... (And also, I wouldn't put the bathroom next to the kitchen... that's just odd.)
> The kitchen is very well equipped with a large stove, because cooking is a great social activity, and you can’t beat healthy, self-cooked lunch.
I don't want there to be a kitchen at work. Truth be told, I don't even want there to be a microwave at work... this is the source of the bad smells the author was complaining about. These things never get cleaned right. I've worked for a lot of agencies, including some really nice places, and unless they have full-time custodial staff going around cleaning up after you, the kitchen will always be disgusting. And the smell... encouraging people to cook at work I think is a horrible idea. If I had a kitchen... I certainly wouldn't put the stove against an interior wall, I'd want that to be vented outside with a strong range hood fan.
> No dedicated meeting room? Yes, meetings should be reduced to an absolute minimum and can be held in one of the offices or in the stand-up area. This makes them public and everyone easily has the chance to join in.
I'd want one or two dedicated meeting rooms. If only for interviews, or staff disciplinary meetings / HR meetings where it wouldn't be appropriate to have it in someone's office... I don't need a massive conference room, but a couple of 12x12 rooms with round tables and some white boards would be nice.
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#24This has a lot of problems. First, legal problems: you can't have a unisex multi-stall bathroom in the USA. I'm not sure if it's actually illegal (it probably is in many states), but it'll never fly even if it is. Honestly, what you really need is a male restroom that's about 5 times the size of the female restroom. Again, that won't fly politically, but practically it makes sense because there's so few women in soft…
> First, legal problems: you can't have a unisex multi-stall bathroom in the USA. I'm not sure if it's actually illegal (it probably is in many states), but it'll never fly even if it is.
It is illegal in the US, see 29CFR1910.141(c): "...toilet rooms separate for each sex, shall be provided in all places of employment [...] Where toilet rooms will be occupied by no more than one person at a time, can be locked from the inside, and contain at least one water closet, separate toilet rooms for each sex need not be provided."
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2016-title29-vol5/xml/CFR-...
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#25This is a nice thought exercise...but that this is often treated like one of the great tribulations of our time as developers...it's a bit pathetic. I'm not saying things can't be better, but as a working people, we're not exactly oppressed.
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#26Cool post. A few issues I see:
- 30 people team?! I find 10-12 or so to be the max size before things descend into chaos
- 3 person office seem like a wrong compromise to me. If you want to optimize for focused time, individual offices are best. 2 people offices can be alright, but you'll necessarily have moments when someone comes to talk to your coworker for 30 minutes about blablabla. If you want to optimize for in person collaboration, pick a studio/lab like layout for the whole team (topping out at 10-12). But 3 people is just an odd middle of the road approach that's too awkward in practice, in my experience.
- The wall covering the door is a good idea in theory, but in reality it would probably mean distraction every time someone knocks at the door. How does the visitor see whether the person they want to see is in or not without entering and potentially distracting everyone?
- Bathroom stalls would work if they were fully closed stalls, European style. If this is in the US, then it'd get really awkward as you hear loud farts next to you and recognize the shoes of Jerry from accounting. Individual bathrooms would be much better.
- Those "quiet time" seats seem awfully tight, and the library inconveniently narrow.
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#27This is a nice thought exercise...but that this is often treated like one of the great tribulations of our time as developers...it's a bit pathetic. I'm not saying things can't be better, but as a working people, we're not exactly oppressed.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ One can only evaluate their own environment and try to improve it. I think this is an entirely valid enterprise
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#28On the whole, certainly an improvement over any open-floor plan. But... some points made me cringe. > The unisex bathroom has a separate shower for those that come to the office by bike. I do not want a unisex bathroom. I've had a unisex bathroom... at work and in college and I don't want to go back to that again. Unisex bathrooms create way too many awkward situations... (And also, I wouldn't put the bathroom next t…
> Unisex bathrooms create way too many awkward situations...
Fortunately this awkwardness can be avoided by having separate sex bathrooms, because people of the same sex are never attracted to one another.
> And also, I wouldn't put the bathroom next to the kitchen... that's just odd.
For plumbing reasons, things that require water tend to be near to one another. Ever noticed that bathrooms are always above one another, even in buildings with otherwise complicated floor plans? At least, I assume that's why.
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#29Traditional closed offices, conference rooms for group work, and multiple non-shared unisex bathrooms (exactly like the kind in a typical house--how innovative!) That's the perfect office, and I know because I've worked in it and every other variation.
How many houses have unisex bathrooms with stalls? I know it was popular on Ally McBeal, but how many of these exist? Or am I just sheltered and unworldly?
Re: Let me take you through my dream office
#30This is a nice thought exercise...but that this is often treated like one of the great tribulations of our time as developers...it's a bit pathetic. I'm not saying things can't be better, but as a working people, we're not exactly oppressed.
How could you take the time to complain about this article while there are children starving in Yemen?
Being given the choice to read someone's thoughts on improving people's lives isn't exactly oppressing you.