Shifting spatial needs of system innovators
“What does a part time office look like?”
That was what one of our colleagues said the other Friday afternoon in a very quite office. Granted it was August, but it’s been trend in our office for a while now.
And in the System Innovation Lab — we’ve noticed we’re becoming partly nomadic in our working patterns. We’re mixing up working from home (for the peace and quite /swims at lunch time or to make it easier to do the early/late skype calls with people in far away lands), to working in great public places like the Barbarian of Royal Festival Hall (mostly decent wifi, less good for plug sockets), sometimes on long train rides out of town (I find them particularly productive) or having working session in our favourite local cafes like Central Street (it has a great outside roof terrace).
We’re hosting meetings in the park, walking along the canal (thanks Joost for going along with that one) and meetings hosted closer to home if favourite local haunts.
That’s not to say we’re never in the office, I spent 3/4 days of this week there and it’s great for meetings with people in person and from making the distinction between your work space and home space (things have all been getting a bit blurred for me its fair to say).
Nothing I’ve written is new, or radical (co-working spaces have been around for years afterall) it just one of those shifts in work patterns that happening over time. And something organisations now need to think really hard about.
But it’s leaving us with a curious question about what should to do our office space? A three floor space, close to Old Street tube, in central London with meeting rooms large and small and hot desks elsewhere.
What does it mean for an organisation wanting to create system change — to open up and share it’s office space with like minded people and organisation looking to create the same ambitious change? Would anyone be up for that Would it help us all collectively accelerate the change we want to see? What are the spatial requirements of system innovators today? And what might they be in the future.
We’re exploring options at the moment, and would welcome any inspiration you have on what might be possible or to hear about your dream for how you see this working.
If you’re up for a coffee and a chat in our lovely local too, then I’m always up for that too. Just drop me an email — l.armstrong@forumforthefuture.org
