The oneness of Eastern heart & Western mind in future workspace

Abstract

Throughout the history of the workplace, with the aim of increasing the competitive advantage, organizations have focused on many innovative strategies to improve human performance at work. Human performance such as concentrating on work or collaborating with others can be enhanced by situational factors that are introduced into the working environment. One of the most important factors is workspace.

The project was first started with a research request from Warren & Mahoney Architects (WAM) in Auckland on the concept of interactive space and Activity Based Working (ABW). The aim of the research is to study the advantages and disadvantages of ABW and how the workplace could be improved in the future.

ABW is considered as a controversial new model of working because of its bold, innovatory idea of reducing personal workstations and freeing all the employees from owning one. It is believed to bring out many promising advantages in both the short term and the long term, especially for the organization. Nevertheless, dealing with sceptical opinions on the performance of employees at work and how to balance the advantages and disadvantages of ABW in the design of a future workplace becomes demand made on the architects.

Whether the design of architectural space, a workspace in particular, can become a solution for this problem is the first question in the beginning of this research. The ABW concept stands for the Western idea of improving quality and productivity in the workplace. In the history of the workplace, all the management thoughts and technologies come from the West.

People have been offered a better working environment with high technology and comfortable facilities. However, it is still a big challenge to fulfill one need without limiting other needs. The design of the workplace is not only about following a management system or providing comforts at work; it is also about creating an atmosphere that cares for an individual’s feeling. In order to deal with the issue of people feeling content and happy in the workspace, the direction of this research has headed towards Eastern philosophy on happiness at work.

Site analysis: Unleashed Software company offices, Upper Queen Street, Auckland, N.Z.