Vanderbilt
Children's Hospital |
design:
Bill Blackburn - 2003 |
Executive
Offices
The Process of Continuous Interaction |
| This
document covers the early development of the the
VCH Executive Offices design formation up to version
5 of the layout which is the basic solution still
in play. For a large scale copy of that drawing
with notes go to: Plan #5 Selected for Design
Development - May 2003 [link].
For notes and pictures of the Design Development
and
fabrication phases of the project go to: Building
the VCH Executive Offices [link].
For construction drawings go to: Construction
Documents [link]. |
Compared
to the recent project history of MG Taylor, AI
and SFIA Architects-MasterBuilders, this project
has had
an usually long incubation time. In part this
has been because the main hospital building is
still under construction and this provided the
luxury of time;
and, in part because of the intercity of interfacing
with
the ongoing
process
of building
such a large and complex project as the hospital
- the Executive Offices being a minor aspect
of the whole - and interacting with a very busy
executive staff. Mainly, however, it has been
the period
of maturation
required
to
conceive
and bring to practical reality what is a radically
new approach to the concept of officing.
It was late in the process - actually as I started
preparing construction drawings - that
the full potential of this opportunity came to
me. I realized that many threads that I had been
working on over a better than 40 year period
were becoming a new fabric - that the opportunity
of design, methodology and
the opportunity presented
by the client was unique and demanding even more
than special care. I resolved not to allow busy
schedules, tight budgets and the distractions
of many projects compromise this opportunity
and produce a result lest than the very best
that can be achieved. For my personal reflections
on this process go to: Creating
the New office [link].
|
|
| Continuous
interaction is the core habit and skill set of the executive
routine process. The executive routine that
I refer to is not just what executives do.
I am referencing the executive function of
an organization - a function that exists on many
levels of organizational recursion
and is conducted by a variety of knowledge workers
only some of which hold an executive title. The true
distinction between the many forms of knowledge work
that make up the executive routine and what is an
organizationally unique function is that some few
members, in any organization, function
as officers of a legal entity. This legal
entity is only one aspect of any organization which
is, in turn,
is a small
part of the ValueWeb of which it is a part. The executive
routine of which I speak has to be a system integration
function of that larger ValueWeb else it fails to
facilitate the enterprise as a whole system. This
challenge establishes the scale and scope of the
executive function and determines what environment
is required to perform the work required by it. |
| When
I build an environment to house this executive routine,
I find it necessary to focus on the executive office as
a total process and function. How this function
is accomplished is highly dependent on the rules-of-engagement
that make up the means by which the members
of the office interact. An appropriate environment
is both the reflection of, symbol of, and structural
expression of, these relationships. The physical
environment has a direct impact on how people think,
interact and experience the joy (or pain) of work
- it is a true mirror and engine of the meta-physics
of their
work life. |
| The
contemporary, traditional, typical, common, executive
office suite is a structure that works in
direct opposition
to the executive routine necessary for the operation
of a successful a enterprise in the world we live
in today. It is an unconsidered habit. It is a watered
down, financially constrained, remnant of the old
opulent office; It
imposes
a 19th
century
mentality, augmented with 21century technology
while embedding a 20th century work processes itself
- at best - a transition technology between hierarchical
structures and the notion of work teams. Of the many
executive functions [link] required
by modern work, it provides an adequate environment
and tool-set for
only a few.
Most of what is critical to modern work is forced
to fit
uncomfortably [link] into
a box that has no intrinsic sensibility of nor offers
any practical support to
these new requirements. Great care and attention
is given to the exterior design of a building, the
atriums and lobbys and some few other “public” spaces;
the office environment is too often the same-old-same-old:
a series of little boxes that express nothing, support
few complex processes and block engagement with co-workers
and the outside world. Sense of place is
destroyed. Personal involvement is curtailed. Team-ness
is not
facilitated. The greater community is not invited
in. This is the architecture of barriers; the expression
of utilitarianism; the economics of impoverishment;
the suppression of the human spirit in an era that
needs it more than ever. |
| The
executive team of the Children’s Hospital at
Vanderbilt University has a different idea; a distinct
personality;
and, a desire to work in new ways. They are engaged
in a quest [link] to
prototype [link] an
alternative to the status quo - a human environment
of executive
augmentation [link];
a place to manage themselves
so as to facilitate their enterprise to
accomplish its mission. This team sees no reason
to accept the status quo, no reason to compromise;
it
is willing
to engage in the design/build process necessary
for producing another result. This section of the
web site is a documentation of their process and
partnership with
the MG
Taylor, AI, SFIA/MasterBuilders team, to design,
build, equip and launch their new environment. |
The
opening of the VCH is slated for November 2003.
Substantial completion of the building is expected
to be at the end of August. These two dates create
a two month window in which the Executive offices
(or NavCenter) can be built. This allows about 4
months for Program Development, component prototyping,
final design and manufacturing. There are a number
of new AI WorkFurniture components in this concept
primarily the articulating PODS, refinements to the
Cube Office system and Armature components. The design
process will take advantage of this time to create
a tight linkage between the development of the user
requirements, component development and alternative
layouts - each informing the other - until the best
result is achieved.
| MARCH: |
Expore
design options; develop detailed user requirements;
draft Program Development Statement |
| APRIL: |
Test
component design assumptions; Preliminary Design;
Cost Model; Agreement |
| MAY: |
Prototype
new POD, Cube Office, Armature components;
workshop: work protocols and rules-of-engagement |
| JUNE: |
Design
Development based on prototype results; final
user feedback and design agreement |
| JULY: |
Order
long lead items |
| AUGUST: |
Start
manufacturing |
| SEPTEMBER: |
Build
leasehold improvements - all fixed architectural
items including wiring for multimedia |
| OCTOBER: |
Finish
construction items and Install AI system components
and media equipment |
| NOVEMBER: |
Move-in;
workshop on Executive NavCenter systems and
processes |
see:
comments below & [link] for
present schedule |
This
interaction between VCH Executive Team members,
with each other and with the design/build team, is
key to creating an environment that truly works. The
final
design must reflect the real work processes
of the Team and it must inherently have the capability
to
adjust
to future requirements. The new possibilities made
possible by the Taylor system and method and the AI
WorkFurniture
system, will offer the Executive Team far more options
than a traditional environment. Thus, the final design
is a result of an iterative design process - it emerges
out of dialog. The concept of work, the components
and tools to facilitate that work and the specific
final environment which is built, all evolve, together,
through this design process. |
| The
way that something is built cannot be separated
from the final result. The final result is a way
of
doing manifested in a material reality. |
| Environments
that achieve a high level of “fitness” with
user requirements do not have to be totally custom
built. Nor does
the other extreme of “one size fits all” design
strategy have to be embraced. Architecture is always
a balance
between the use of pre-built and modular elements
and that which is uniquely crafted for a specific
time,
place
and
circumstance. What is important is that the design
process, the principals and patterns that are applied
(see:
Pattern
Language [link]), the range of the components that
are used, the degree that these components have
designed-in
flexibility and can be “customized,” and,
the right amount of custom work on site that makes
functional
sense be integrated into a effective Design/Build/Use
process. This is rarely done well and the tragic
result is environments that are too costly for what
they do, fail to support the full range of work and
are dull - environments that do not speak to people
because they do not have the grammar to do it. |
|
Elements
of the GRAMMAR
[click on pictures for relevant links] |
| None
of the specific solutions pictured below will be
found in a literal way in the Children’s Hospital
Executive NavCenter environment. They illustrate
principles
and patterns essential to the creation of a
productive workplace that is effective and expressive
of human values. As
such, they
make up reusable proto-gramatical elements and design-rules
useful in the making of this new space. As
a family of snap shots, they suggest the features
inherent in the schematic plans shown at the top
of this page and elsewhere. |
|
 |
Transparency:
| Make
sliding screens and doors clear, transparent
and solid; easily configurable to
open, screen and shut
areas to various degrees to fit
minute-to-minute user requirements. |
|
|
 |
PODS:
| Provide
WorkPods™ as “rooms with
in rooms” and configure
them so that each “owner” can
meet their personal requirements and
express their unique sense of place. |
|
|
 |
Cube
Office Walls:
| Make
walls that create a variety of visual
and storage options; establish thickness
and degrees of transparency; and, can
be easily moved when required. |
|
|
 |
AI System:
| Provide
a wall-to-wall, floor-to-floor system
that installs in 30 days, is adaptable
to the user’s trade dress, integrates
with existing architecture and
preserves 90% of the investment
in a move. |
|
|
 |
Pod/Cube
System:
| Employ
the POD and Cube Office constructs
to create a landscape of functional
areas that optimize the available footprint:
using 100%; adjusting to different
work mixes; creating prospect and refuge. |
|
|
 |
Cube
Office System:
| Create
walls that read as mass; that store
papers, books, artifacts and display
work products and art objects; that
can reconfigure to each user’s work
and esthetic requirements. |
|
|
 |
Layered
View:
| Never
capture a viewpoint; provide a foreground,
middle ground and background sight
line from very place in the work landscape;
let
the
eye explore and the mind go along with
it. |
|
|
 |
Entry:
| Make
a place of entering that says
welcome and establishes the sense
and function
of the environment; this is a portal,
an interface, a statement of purpose
and brand. |
|
|
 |
Collaborative
Space:
| Provide
the
entire team with a place to gather and
design together in their own space; Augment
this with multimedia, computers and abundant
and flexible WorkWall® surfaces. |
|
|
 |
Adjustable
WorkFurniture:
| Knowledge-intensive
work requires a variety of work surfaces
and form-factors; populate the environment
with adapatable work stations suitable
for many tasks. |
|
|
 |
Transition
Space:
| Eliminate
the hallway; replace this artifact
of fixed habits and tunnel vision
with changing pathways that delight
with knowledge displays, places to
interact and tools to use. |
|
|
 |
Rolling
Architectural Scale Furniture:
| Provide
the ability to shape room-size spaces
with a few pieces of flexible furniture
units that provide a variety of display,
storage and workstation functions; make
these units in various geometries so
as to “defeat the box.” |
|
|
 |
Armature:
| Define
spaces with armature pieces that also
prvide wiring, lighting and media support;
the armature creates the “brand essence”
of a place. |
|
|
 |
Domes:
| Domes
have historical meaning, bring visual
focus to an area, and have useful acoustical
properties; use them at points of entry
and gathering. |
|
|
 |
Ceiling
Details:
| Eliminate
the dull ceiling, the ubiquitous low
flat plane full of glaring lights,
hot and cold, noisy air blowing on
everyone; create levels, reflections,
different kinds and levels of light. |
|
|
 |
Interaction
Technology:
| Configure
technology to provide seamless RemotePresence™
and RemoteCollaboration™ - this technology
does not get in the way of human interaction, it
augments individual and group genius;
it provides new information along with
multiple vantage points of what is
happening in the real time physical
and virtual
space; it employs all the senses and
all mental modalities. |
|
|
 |
Table
Clusters:
| Make
group seating that is flexible, rejects
the hierarchal and allows both intimate
and large group conversations. |
|
|
 |
Mobile
technology:
| Make
technology portable so that it can
be quickly set up where needed when
it is needed; Combine computers, hand
tools and communication technology
to provide interactive multimedia capability. |
|
|
 |
Work
processes:
| The
physical environment is the
expression of embedded work processes;
build
in a way that facilitates the kind of
work patterns that are actually required
not old work habits. |
|
|
 |
Work
Commons:
| Provide
non-dedicated, ownership-neutral places
where on-demand work can be performed
by an in individual or ad hoc community;
Provide easily adjustable WorkFurniture that
supports rapid shifting from individual
to team work (and back); Augment these
areas with Mobile Technology for
documentation, media production and
virtual connectivity. |
|
|
 |
Light:
| Architecture
is seen by the play of light
and shadow; the modern workplace
ignores
this
and paints
a too bright, too even, washout of
glaring surfaces and partial spectrum;
Create a place of light that
shifts and moves with the passage of
time and expresses seasons; provide
a mixture of natural and mechanical
light, that
users control, making
general, task, highlight and effect
lighting. |
|
|
 |
Lighting:
| Provide
spot and high light fixtures that
can be easily
moved and adjusted without burnt fingers and without
complex fasteners; pick up the fixture,
it goes off; replace it, it goes
on. |
|
|
 |
Level
Change:
| Even
small changes of level create a different
perspective; use steps and platforms,
in modest amounts to make intimate
niches for reading and dialog. |
|
|
 |
Texture:
| Use
natural materials in combination
with manufactured items to make a
simple palette of colors and textures;
If the environment is not “touchable”
it is not human-friendly; good materials
“wear” well and become
better over time. |
|
|
 |
The Team:
| Create
collaborative work areas not only to
replace meetings but also to do the
work of the organization; make these
space large enough to bring in key
ValueWeb members to be part of the
Team. |
|
|
|
| The
main architectural opportunity - in the built in-place
sense - is the long wall between the Executive Offices
and the Food Court, This is shown in the
present design as a straight wall that reads as a
barrier.
Instead, this can be a “membrane” that creates niches
on both sides, has presence and texture
and plays with light. This option [illustrated
in the plans
below] will require careful coordination
with what is actually being built there at this time.
This wall, when finished, has to be an interface
[link] between
the Food Court and the Executive Offices. It must
respect the architecture of both and serve
to blend both. |
|
design
#5 by Bill Blackburn |
| This
layout [link for
large version and description] was
presented at the VCH staff meeting on May 27th. With
some
modifications, it
will
be the one built. The staff will now select their
workplaces and develop their personal requirements.
This information will
constitute the basis for design development which
will be covered on a page linked to this one. |
| This
layout
has a greater density than the previous versions
(one more POD will be added to the final) and develops,
more fully, the interface to the Food Court (left
side of drawing) as well as the Entries to the Executive
Offices. The arrangement provides clusters of work
areas that facilitate interaction between specific
individuals whose work is closely aligned to one
another, as well as, access to the entire team and
their greater Value Web [link]. |
| There
are many modes of work supported by this schema:
private “alone” work, one-on-one, small teams, large
group processes, virtual connectivity. The space,
in part and as a whole, must be adaptable to these
modes and provide specific support for each one.
As different
individuals
and teams will be in different modes in real time,
the space has to provide the means to connect them
or separate them as is appropriate without creating
either interference or isolation. These are both
physical and processes protocol issues. |
| Witold
Rybczynski, architect and historian in HOME -
A Short History of an Idea wrote about the concept
of comfort and its origins. His comments, made in
1986, about the problems of comfort in the workplace
are, unfortunately, as relevant today as then [link].
The deep qualities that people desire in their workplace
are not being satisfied. A recent survey of the VCH
Executive Team verifies this viewpoint. |
|
Model
per Rybczynski by Scott Arenz ©2003 |
| This
environment is composed of the POD, Cube Office
and Armature [link] systems. A new generation of
POD is being prototyped for this project. This unit
will
deal directly with many of the issues raised by Rybcznski;
it combines the best features of a traditional office
with open planning cubables and our own traditions
of
flexibility and adaptability [link].
This work environment will provide each worker with
configuration options and minute-to-minute control
over orientation,
light, sound, openness and privacy. |
|
POD
designed by Bill Backburn
Details and production engineering by Brian Ross
|
 |
| POD
after inspection by shop dog. Now we know where
Bill gets all his ideas. |
|
 |
| POD
bracing. This element can come in a variety of
materials, colors and fills. |
|
 |
| POD
as it will appear when closed with opaque screens. |
|
POD
Entry
@ day two of prototyping process
|
 |
| The
dome nears completion. |
|
 |
| The
POD dome center compression/tension Ring provides
space definition, lighting and sound functions. |
|
Overhead
view
@ day four of prototyping process
|
| Durning
September and October, the POD design was taken through
several more iterations of design. In addition, The
miniPOD and “Airstream” PODs were developed. As the
VCH Executive office concept - as a work process
and as an enviornment to house this process -
developed throughout 2003, the concept of the PODS
and Armature also evolved [link]. |
|
|
4
Projects explores both the value of creating
a new urban workplace and the means necessary
to accomplishing it.
Link
to go to individual projects
click on pictures
|
|
| The
design/build Team [link] was
assembled in August to start the project in ernest.
A new schedule was developed at that time [link].
By early October, however, a Catch 22 emerged.
It was made up of the following conditions: The designated
footprint of the Executive Offices is made up of
two areas. One, the largest, as a non-developed zone
which was used for construction staging and worker
restrooms. This area is divided from the finished
areas with a steel stud and sheet-rock wall [link].
The second area, which was added to the Executive
area in the summer, was originally designated for
other uses and designed to be developed into standard
offices. These areas have to be finished, on schedule,
for the final inspection of the building and Use
Permit. It was thought that the entire Executive
Offices could be developed prior to the final but,
in the meantime, the finish work was being completed
in the second portion of the space [link].
Demolition, cleaning out of the footprint and construction
of the new parameter walls [link] was
deemed not a good idea until the final pricing of
the total project was accomplished. This requires
near-final drawings. Because of the design complexities
that are associated with the final design [link],
these drawings cannot be completed until access to
a more open footprint is possible. I struggled with
this this circular situation for most of October
wondering if the project would be better served (cost,
stress, quality) if built after opening. The problem
with this idea, however, is that this will disrupt
the Food Court and Private Dining room areas - which
are high traffic and post opening construction will
also interfere with the use of the Fire Exit Hallway
that divides the Executive Offices space [link].
A new schedule concept, based on a hybrid design/build
process and project phasing, was proposed October
28 and revised in subsequent meetings [link]. |
|
POD
prototype September 9th
VCH Team visit to AI Shop |
final
Preliminary Design - September 2003
link for
version 9.9.9. of plan
|
POD
design selected for production October 2000
link: POD Configuration Options |
Matt Taylor
Nashville
February 28, 2003
|
SolutionBox
voice of this document:
INSIGHT • POLICY • PROGRAM
|
posted:
February 28, 2003
revised:
October 28, 2003
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(note:
this document is about 99% finished)
Copyright© Matt
Taylor 2003
Aspects
of work shown here is Patented by iterations and in Patent
Pending |
|
|
