Michelle Castle :

In my pervious post I started to explore possible floor plans based on working zones. This started to make so really intresting, almost organic flower shapes. this led to the idea of look into patterns such as fractal patterns.

A fractal is “a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole, a property called self-similarity. It was derived from the Latin fractus meaning “broken” or “fractured.” A mathematical fractal is based on an equation that undergoes iteration, a form of feedback based on recursion.

Above is the fractal pattern I choose to work with; I have tried to possible floor plans relating to this pattern below. I have not only just placed the desk according to the pattern but I have started to work out a possible floor grid based on the floor. This has also influnced the possible shapes for the screens. I prefer the second attemped where the desk are connected.

Above I have been playing around with the possible desk arrangements to see what they look like and to distinguish what capacity of them could fit into the floor space. (There is currently approximately a 150 desk, which is the number I have work towards as a guide) I have looked at the room in zones to try and see how departments could be separated. In each of the plans above I took the public entrance from left of the room. I then added a waiting area to each and a reception desk (some of which I screened off); from there I look at design and development areas (or in a no design based company marketing and finance possible) to the left and right of entrance with a meeting room in the middle. I then considered admin and executives work space placing them at the back of the room furthest from the public entrance, as their work should be more private from both the public and the other employees. I also played with the idea of the executives having their own private meeting room at the furthest point in the room. The purpose of this exercise was to show the different ways the spatial interventions could be used.

I’m planning to next look at how to allow the movement of the desks, in terms of lighting and power points. My idea for this is that the plugs are sunk into the floor to be flush with floor plate with a sliding top plate to cover them when they’re not in use. For the lights to be moveable I plan to look at having a fake ceiling (made of corain or something similar) with hundreds of spot lights (possibly different shades of light) put between the two plates that could be connected somehow with the floor plugs, so when a desk is plugged in the light above turns on and shines through the opaque plastic. When lots of desk are plugged in at different points this could be really interesting and would be really suitable in addressing a quote I posted earlier from Schaik ‘After a depressing day in the office, we tend to lay the blame on our social situation (which maybe at fault) but we seldom– except in crisis– reflect on the psyche - crushing effect of sitting under acres of acoustic tile ceiling punctuated with luminaries, sensors, sprinkler heads and emergency exit signs.’ (Schaik, 2008:11)