Organisations are present in all our lives, from the hospital in which we are born, to nursery and school, to university and workplaces. Everything we do is spatial - it happens in space and sometimes because of space. But how do space and organisation relate? How do organisations create their physical surroundings? And how does spatial configuration shape the ways in which organisations and the people within them behave?
Interesting read in the online journal PLOS ONE - researchers have mapped a large data set of phone calls within Great Britain to investigate whether regional boundaries are reflected in the everyday life of people.
Great article in the NYT on the cultures of nomadic working - what happens as people leave their private individual study rooms at home and decide to take their working processes into the public domain in cafes.
Makes me smile every morning on my way to work in Shoreditch.
Flight patterns over Europe today - not much going on in the North due to volcanic ashes in the air. I still can’t get over the fact that it was perfectly sunny all day today in London. Seems unreal that there should be a cloud full of particles higher up causing so much disruption.
Spaces, Places and Settings
At the Enable Conference 2010 in Vienna participants mapped the locations where they had an interesting discussion, learnt something, had a new idea or had the chance to think about something.
This was compared with an analysis of the spatial potential of the conference venue using Space Syntax analysis methods. Results are interesting - thinking happened in segregated spaces, learning and discussing as social activities took place in the more integrated areas - or on the ladies toilet… :-). And new ideas were born mostly in formal settings, similarly to learning.
It was a fun experiment and I’d love to repeat this in other settings. Anyone interested?
Enjoying the slowness of life on a day off - taking the bus into town even though it takes ages. Great opportunities for people watching as well - one of my favourite pastimes.
Places for creative work - where and how did famous people establish their working practices? The sheer diversity of this is amazing. It seems that creativity can be found anywhere, or were these guys just eccentrics? (Reblogged from vizualize and lauterthanbombs)
I love bookshops and this looks great - would love to spend the odd hour there browsing shelves.
I love this logo for the upcoming conference of the British Council for Offices. Great images of most of London’s landmarks…
As a book lover I am not sure whether I’d really manage to destroy the book, but I love the idea that a book is more than just a book.
You can’t read the poems until you destroy the book and create the paper sculpture.
(Reblogged from fuckyeahbooks)
