SLOW OFFICE: THE GOGET CARSHARE OFFICE MAKEOVER

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1 SLOW OFFICE: THE GOGET CARSHARE OFFICE MAKEOVER Gilo Holtzman

2 ... the winning team was called a bit slow, and at times we thought that it s going a bit slow... and then we realised that it had a purpose and we really embraced what they were all about. It was about taking your time and making sure that it was done properly and we will get something we really wanted. [Bruce Jeffreys goget co-founder] The GoGet CarShare office fit-out project was nothing like an ordinary design project. The small budget and the design competition requirement of managing the project all on a voluntary basis, meant that much creativity, innovativeness, effort and perseverance was required from us ( A Bit Slow ), GoGet employees and all the people who took part in this unique project. Our slow design principles meant that an humanistic and holistic approach for designing the office space was taken, one that empowers the users to take an active role in the creation process, encouraging sociability among employees, and a close relationship with us, the designers. The collective effort and participation allowed us to create an attractive working environment which increases productivity, reduces waste and improves the well being of the users, resulting in a working space which the users love and are proud working at.

3 The room was dark, unventilated, messy and cluttered, it looked more like a storage room then an office The space GoGet s two office spaces are located on the top floor of the Cafe Church building at 37 St John s Road in Glebe. The big room [49.12sqm] is where the main operations occur and the second room [25.73sqm provides a casual quiet working space for staff and directors. While the small room had no character at all, just a space with some tables in it, the big room was disorganised, highly chaotic and a noisy place to work in; in short, the office looked more like a storage room rather than a great working environment.

4 The Brief Make over for GoGet two office spaces in Glebe. An innovative, attractive working space where people would love to come to work. Use of goods and services to be supplied by GoGet members provides a mix of working areas that allows staff to work in teams and also to access quieter areas with less chance of disruption. A layout that can be scaled to accommodate more staff as we grow.

5 The Concept We aimed at creating a family like office environment of sharing and supporting, encapsulating the company philosophy, while also providing an adaptive interactive and dynamic work space for current and future employees. The small office is to be transformed into the formal GoGet head office providing a quiet work environment for management and operation personal, while the big office is to become more users friendly, productive, airy healthy and presentable work environment.

6 The new space demonstrates contemporary, flexible and adaptable design which is attractive...

7 The Design One of the slow design principles that guided us, was that the design solutions were tailored specifically to the situation so that they effectively address the vast challenges of the space and are not wasteful of resources. This differs from conventional one size fits all design that often results in fittings that are more about aesthetics rather than the functionality of the space and the users needs. Small Office Management The small office provides a quiet work environment for management and operation personal. The configuration of the space allows for various working stations and conditions which allows for both private areas and a collaborative working space that can be reconfigured to changing needs, without compromising the integrity of the design. The existing grey trestle tables had set-up the colour tone of the space, together with a dash of orange, blue and black on the wall acoustic panels, binding the whole space together giving it an ambient feel

8 Big Office Services the centralized configuration, working around what could be seen as a large dining table helped bring the team together The main office layout is defined by three main zones; the Service hub; Operations and Storage. The Service Zone, is grouped in the centre of the office and can accommodate 7-8 service stations. The diverse configuration allows for suitable workstations for permanent and casual employees. This new configuration, divided by partitions that are at eye level, allows for both private space, with an acoustic barrier, while still allowing for interaction between the services personal. Three custom-made folding workstations are located on the northern wall and can provide for extra work stations. By folding the workstations, the circulation area can be used as a meeting and presentation area. The Operation Zone, is located on the western end of the room and accommodates three working stations. This zone is separated by two cabinets as a barrier between them and the service area, to allow for a more quiet and private area to work in. The Storage Zone, is situated around the office parameters and includes storage, a sitting area, printing and stationary.

9 Problems and Solutions Acoustic: in the old layout the users where facing the walls. This meant that their voices bounced back from the wall back to the space, resulting in uncomfortable noise both for the users and visitors. The poor acoustics were dealt with by reconfiguring the sitting arrangement configuration of the workstations so that the users face different directions. Self designed acoustic screens and soft coverings to some of the office surfaces also helped to reduce the voiceover and sound disturbance. Indoor climate: the room was quite stuffy and the existing ceiling fans were ineffective. By lowering the ceiling fans to an effective height and reconfiguring their position to the right location, the ventilation and air circulation has been improved. By grouping the work stations to the middle of the space, distancing it from the heat and cool radiation from the walls and windows, also means that in winter the heat generated by the computers can be used to create a warmer and more comfortable work environment, as well as lowering energy use! (Throughout the winter months one radiator was enough to keep the space warm, and not even one hot water bottle was seen). Sociability: the centralized configuration, working around what can be seen as a large dining table, where the staff can talk to each other, sit quietly to eat their lunch or perform their duties, helped bring the team together. The design outcomes demonstrate a contemporary, flexible and adaptable new space, which is attractive and consistent, while accommodating current business needs and future growth. Throughout the pre and postcollective design process we were able to empower the GoGet staff to make changes as they require. We hope that the new employees will enjoy the office space and appreciate the effort put in by previous employees and we are very proud and satisfied by the outcomes and what we were all able to achieve through this truly collective effort. the Movie 1t4?rel=0%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20 allowfullscreen%3e%3c/

10 all existing usable furniture were recycled, while all the additional furniture were designed specifically to fit the needs of the office

11 The Process The flexible and explorative design process had led us to an appropriate consideration of slowness and the way we embed it within the design of the office space. It also meant that as many thoughts as possible of the direct and indirect impacts of the design on the users and space were taken into consideration. Some of the important considerations were to preserve the unique spirit of the place and the way it grew over the years manifested itself by being literally self built. All furniture was either donated or bought cheaply, gyprock walls were erected by the owners to form the computer room, and doors became desktops. In fact, no skilled professional were ever involved. In our proposal, we, together with GoGet employees, are to become the labourers as well, therefore establishing a friendly relationships based on mutual respect and trust with our clients and other professionals, in this case, the joinery manufacturer was a key element in the success of the project and part of its appeal. tolisten Our creative process starts with listening and observation. Spending time at the office, talking to the users, asking questions observing their behaviour in the space and their interaction with each other, provided the platform for the design concept and intent. A lot of other designs were amazing, but were more about how they thought we should work. Gilo (a bit slow) was the only one who said Let s sit down and have a chat. (Richard Tourino, GoGet Marketing Manager) tocreate IIn the first stage of the process, similar to any other design process with sustainability in mind, we started researching for environmentally friendly materials and paints. Finding a manufacturer that was open to our ideas, budget and intent was equally important. We also spent valuable time in Reverse Garbage looking at fabrics and other reclaimed materials which were later used in various ways throughout the space. The second stage of the process was the planned labour intensive weekend where GoGet staff joined us in the office space to do the fit-out, which included mostly the painting of the offices and all the furniture. Prior to the commencing of the work and part of our strategy to interact with the staff, Gilo and Jess gave an introductory and inspiring talk to the office staff, explaining the design intent and what we were hoping to achieve by getting the GoGet employees to take an active part in the works, as a way to create a sense of belonging and eventual ownership of the space. The biggest challenge in managing the four day fit out was that we had to minimise the disturbance of the GoGet service still given to members from the space, so there was a lot of juggling. The works, headed by Gilo, Sabina, Jess, Michelle and Richard, joined by an aramy of GoGet staff, girlfriends, boyfriends, family and friends, was a demonstration of a successful and enjoyable collective effort. On Wednesday, after four long days and longer nights, the office was operational again but still not complete, and the third stage began. In this stage, that lasted a few months, the final touches were made, the screens, partitions, wall decoration were installed, and some adjustments based on the users feedback were made. In this stage we were also able to observe the behavioural change of the users and the space.

12 In our proposal we together with GoGet employees are to become the labourers as well

13 Furniture Design Unlike the permanent feel of many offices, GoGet CarShare s office has that temporary feel to it. This led to the modular design approach where all the furniture can be easily disassembled and assembled, moved or reconfigured, while maintaining the integrity of the design and space. The large maps and the comic strip pictures on the walls can be taken off and be fitted into a new space. Most of the office furniture was donated throughout the years, therefore as a strategy, we wanted to up-cycle and recycle all existing usable furniture, giving them a second or third life. All the additional furniture the extra workstations, work space desks additions to the service hub and the partitions were designed by Gilo specifically to fit the needs of the office. For their work surfaces GoGet was using old doors. We ve reused and restored some of them to make them more durable. Trestle legs were specially designed to hold the desktops in the new configuration. The diagonal shape of the legs allow for clear movement of the user without bumping their knee onto the leg.

14 c FWS The three folding workstations were custom designed specifically to provide extra workstations to accommodate future growth. With durability, functionality, material selection and reduction of waste in mind, the dimensions of the table were determined by the size of one sheet of grade A plywood with the purpose of designing a flexible, comfortable and strong table. Due to its functionality, when the tables are folded down it widens the circulation area enabling the extra space to be used as a meeting and demonstration area. Three old metal file cabinets were converted into a transportable shelves unit, stationary storage cabinets and a seating-storage transportable unit equipped with a cushion and a tray. The relationship established with Matt Connelly and the team at Branches Timber Craft in Lawson Blue Mountains, who were initially approached for the manufacturing of the folding workstations, eventually allowed Gilo and Sabina to work on the conversion of the old file cabinets at the factory and have access to equipment and materials, mainly off-cuts timber. Working close with the manufacturers turned out to be very productive, satisfying and rewarding. Moreover it became the key for the realisation of our design concept.

15 ... There is kind of a new feel to it, everyone is a bit more positive coming to the office... It s nice and open, somehow the trees got greener, walls are whiter, things are so much nicer to look at and be in... (Brooke Warnaar member services manager)

16 Credits To Richard and Bruce for providing us with all our needs and seeing the design through to best results. The GoGet team for the sweat, the GoGet Members for voting for us, Matt Connelly and Branches timber craft team, Blake the handyman, Masih for the painting advice, and to all the people, family and friends who took part in this amazing project Many Thanks and Most Appreciated. Gilo Holtzman & a bit slow Team Design team a bit slow Gilo Holtzman Sabina Popin Jess Robinson Michelle Huartes Basia Kowaski Project Manager Gilo Holtzman [a bit slow] Richard Tourino [GoGet] Furniture design / Conversion Gilo Holtzman Sabina Popin Manufacturer Branches Timber Craft Lawson, Blue Mountains NSW Images Process : Gilo Holztman, Richard Tourino, Sabina Popin Before & After : Dean McCarthy Photo Graphic