The latest progressive office playground can be found in the old
Stuyvesant Polyclinic, a stately red brick building on Second Avenue
near Ninth Street that was once a medical clinic. Inside, its three
stories and basement have been reimagined by ?What If!, a
self-described "innovation" company that works to expand the markets
of businesses like PepsiCo, Pfizer and Virgin.
The new interiors recall the whimsies of larger creative campuses like
Google. There are "stimulation" shelves for employees to display
objects; white boards in the elevators ("Smiths or Cure?" read one
line of graffiti the other day); a "library" with no books (just
wallpaper that looks like books); and vintage stereo components that
play vinyl.
Most significantly, there are no private cubicles, as this company is
keen on what is known as hot seating, the practice of roaming a space
and grabbing what's available. It's a way to foster "creativity
through collisions," Bart Higgins, the director of ?What If! and the
overseer of this renovation, said recently. Mr. Higgins, 42, ducked
into a private phone room on Monday to answer a reporter's questions
about the place.
Q. The history of the hot-seat office is marked by a notable failure,
the Chiat/Day experiment in the mid-'90s, with staff members snatching
private space and tools in all sorts of desperate ways. Why did ?What
If! pursue a similar plan?
A. There are a couple of core principles that I think might help
explain why this is working. One is the idea of movement. When we look
at losing our desks as a loss of our own personal space, if we reframe
it as the ability to move around to support the type of work we do in
a given day, it has a lot of positive value. The other thing I think
is really important is this idea of collisions. This space is forcing
us to collide and sit next to people. In so doing, we're reaching out
to people we wouldn't ordinarily reach out to. The other thing about
being able to move around is there's knowledge in your head, and it's
selfish to keep it locked up in an office.
In the design of this space we took inspiration from the places people
want to be, where they like to be as themselves. We looked for
inspiration in cafes, great hotel lobbies and people's homes.
Q. Let's start with your day. What's in your cubby?
A. Printed material. My bag with my personal effects. In my bag I have
my notebook, pens and paper, power plugs and my computer.
Q. Then what happens?
A. I usually end up bumping into somebody and having a chat. Today I
wanted a little bit of energy. I went to the third floor. It's called
the beehive. You're doing your own stuff, but there's a lot of buzz
around you. I answered a bunch of e-mails. Started communicating with
my projects team and via Yammer. Met with a project team on our second
floor, where we have booths we specifically designed as nonbookable
meeting spaces. Had an hour-and-a-half-long meeting. It enabled us to
be focused and not be isolated. Then I went to the library, one of two
spaces that are "head down" quiet spaces. I needed to think about
writing some thoughts to talk to you about. Then I bought my lunch and
hung out in the lobby. Bumped into some people I did some idea sharing
with. You caught me on a good day. I was really mobile.
Q. What is the most frustrating part of the new design?
A. It's kind of like a new car, and we haven't figured out how to get
it messy yet. One way we're doing that is with super cow behaviors.
Q. With what?
A. We were given this painted cow years ago, and we look to it now as
this kind of fun factor in that we're empowered to do stuff for no
other reason except to just do it.
So it's things like who can jump the highest, or who's got the biggest
head. So let's measure each others' heads. It's not contrived. It's
just using the space the way we want to.
nytimes
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