Skip to main content

Week 2 - Focus on Innovation

When Steelcase was founded in 1912, it was known as the Metal Office Furniture Company. The company has since developed into a wonderful, innovative place where designers can shop with the knowledge that they will provide their client with worthwhile furniture pieces. Steelcase prides itself on the quality and innovation of their furnishings, so they have provided a list of values that all of their employees embody: they act with integrity, tell the truth, keep commitments, treat people with dignity and respect, promote positive relationships, protect the environment, and excel in the workplace. Not only does Steelcase hold employees to a high moral standard, but they hold themselves to a high level of innovation. Steelcase started their company with making metal furniture, but now they have expanded into interior architecture, furniture, and even technology for office, healthcare, and education spaces. Since Steelcase has done research into all of these fields and has created innovative furnishings for each of them, they are passionate about helping designers use their products to their fullest potential. Because of this desire, Steelcase provides articles, case studies, CAD and Revit files, finish libraries, and so on to ensure that the designer has everything they need to understand Steelcase products.
 
Office Innovation

Because of this pursuit of innovative design, I found a Steelcase article defining how to incorporate such design into a think tank situation, and it is titled “Pushing Conventional Boundaries of Space”. Jackie Wheat is the director of design at PDR, and she provided a walkthrough of how her company incorporated innovative design into their workspace. The list she provided included topics such as design philosophy, creative focus, envelope, pushing boundaries, and balancing space. First, PDR determined that their design philosophy included the concepts of modularity, mobility, and flexibility, and they focused on the fact that the demands of their clientele would be ever-changing, so their workspace would need to be agile and adaptive. PDR also determined that their space would need to inspire their employees in order to tap into their creative potential and allow for fruitful collaboration. The envelope of their office space needed to provoke thought and breathe life into the space itself, so they chose an invigorating yellow paired with white to bring more light into the workspace. PDR sought to push the conventional boundaries of work spaces and work surfaces by having spaces within the office double, or even triple, in purpose. In their office designs, PDR was even innovative through their balance of space. They believe in complete equality, so no matter how high up you were in the firm, you would have the same work space as a new employee.

Office Innovation

This article helped me see the steps I need to take in the design of this think tank for NEXT. There is a lot to think about regarding not only the overall layout of the office space, but the products used and the versatility of those objects. It was also helpful to do a little research on Steelcase to fully understand what they stand for as a company and what they value as far as their employees go. It is easy to see that Steelcase cares deeply for designers and strives to make their jobs easier by providing all of these resources, including the article I chose to study this week.

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 29, 2017 at 4:48 PM

    Catie,
    I enjoyed reading your blog for this week. It is very precise and in-depth. I greatly appreciated your look at the history of Steelcase and how far it as come. I might be a little biased, but I would say that Steelcase is the top in its class in terms of innovative and collaborative spaces.
    Also, I thought that the article you reflected upon was very informative in relation to the "think-tank" located in the NEXT project. I also found this article helpful to read because I could see multiple similarity between DPR's own organization philosophy and the philosophy of NEXT.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 1, 2017 at 10:04 PM

    I think it's really interesting that something as simple as making a chair yellow, adding more light, or making a space more multipurpose can affect how humans interact with the space greatly. I also find it very interesting that think tanks were of such high importance to Steelcase that they decided to conduct research on how to better design them. I think these concepts of human interaction with spaces can be applied to our new healthcare project. Things as simple as the amount of lighting and the use of color can boost creativity and collaboration, so why couldn't it have the same affect when it comes to a patient's well-being? I'm looking forward to seeing how you study this in your NEXT project.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownSeptember 2, 2017 at 11:13 PM

    Catie, I really enjoyed the research you did. It's inspiring how innovative Steelcase is trying to be in every area of design. I'm excited for our studio to explore the healthcare side of their lines in the coming weeks. Their office furniture which is more widely known, shows the level of precision needed to design at this level, and is even shown in their color choices, like the yellow chair you mentioned. The study on PDR was an interesting read as well. It's good studying Steelcase as a company, but it's helpful to see their products applied, as we will be doing this semester.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Professor VanderNoordaaSeptember 5, 2017 at 1:36 PM

    "First, PDR determined that their design philosophy included the concepts of modularity, mobility, and flexibility, and they focused on the fact that the demands of their clientele would be ever-changing, so their workspace would need to be agile and adaptive".

    As we have begun to study the staff that will be working at NEXT private medical group these spacial qualities described in the above article, are very interesting and relevant.
    The mixture of full time and part time health care providers of various specialities will need spaces that are agile and adaptive.
    NEXT private medical's focus on preventative care and education will also call for adaptive and agile spaces.
    Very thought provoking article.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 7 - The Importance of Concept Statements

In an article entitled “ How to Write an Interior Design Concept Statement ”, Linda Chechar discusses what a concept statement is, why it is important, and things to include and avoid while writing one. Linda Chechar is a writer with over twenty years of career experience in advertising, real estate, and retail décor, so her article will be helpful from a professional standpoint. Linda defines a concept statement as “the essence of an interior design proposal.” Since you are not always there to present your ideas, and since your design usually can not speak for itself, the concept statement is necessary to convey your ideas. Concept Board | Statement Linda addresses two main pointers necessary to create an effective concept statement – keeping the statement simple and addressing client requests. Simplicity is necessary because your client needs to know the intent of your design and how you accomplished it. Addressing client requests is also necessary because, since they have...
2 comments
Read more

Week 3 - The Patient Experience

Steelcase puts a strong emphasis on the development of healthcare settings in order to improve the experience of patients everywhere. Steelcase has assembled data and suggestions to improve various aspects of healthcare centers, such as exam rooms, patient rooms, as well as transition spaces. In exam rooms, Steelcase suggests a monitor to provide easy access to information, seating for family members to support conversation, and whiteboards to capture questions or drawings. In patient rooms, Steelcase focuses on family involvement. Family members need a welcome environment that allows them to connect with staff, as well as a place to socialize, eat, and sleep. In transition spaces within outpatient clinics, Steelcase recommends having a self-service area where returning patients can check themselves in, an administrative location where patients can fill out forms or ask questions, and an inviting welcome desk to bring a sense of friendliness into the clinic. Family-Oriented Pati...
4 comments
Read more

Week 5 - The Wellbeing of People

Steelcase’s article “ Driving the Wellbeing of People ” tackles the challenge of helping people feel, work, and think better in the workplace. Many factors can encourage this positive change in the workplace, but the primary factor is technology. There have been so many updates in technology that it seems as though the average workplace can’t keep up, contributing to a feeling of discontentment. The inclusion of updated technology in the workplace will transform spaces from where you have to work to where you love to work. Choice of where and how you would like to work In the past, getting work done was a lot easier due to the fact that computers were not mobile, so workers would stay at their desks and have easy access to everyone else. Today, because of laptops and mobile phones, employees can choose both where and how they would like to work. While this development is freeing and better for sharing information, it is also harder to find the people you need and it makes sc...
2 comments
Read more