Space, Behavior, and Environmental Perception in Open Plan Offices: A Prospective Study

This prospective research study was conducted at a government office, which moved from an open plan office with somewhat enclosed workspaces to another open plan office with open workspaces. The study at the old office was conducted almost one year before the move, and the study at the new office was conducted more than one year after the move. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to measure and evaluate changes in patterns of accessibility and visibility due to changes in office layout, (2) to understand the effects of layout changes on observed behaviors, and (3) to determine the effects of layout changes on environmental perception. The study included the analysis of visibility and accessibility of each layout using space syntax techniques, field observations of behaviors, and questionnaire surveys of employees’ perception of privacy, job satisfaction and commitment to organization. During field observations, movement, visible copresence (i.e., the number of people visible from a space) and face-to-face interaction were observed along a predefined route in each office. Thirty-five people responded to the questionnaire survey at the old office. Out of 35, only 29 were available for survey at the new office. Based on the questionnaire survey data, three multi-item scales were constructed to measure perceived privacy, job satisfaction and commitment to organization. Results indicate better visibility and accessibility, increased face-to-face interactions, and improved perceived privacy at the new office. Results also show consistent effects of space on movement, and significant positive correlations between perceived privacy, job satisfaction and commitment to organization at these locations despite significant design differences. Implications of the research results and limitations of the research design are discussed

Spatial layout and face-to-face interaction in offices – A study of the mechanisms of spatial effects on face-to-face interaction

In this paper we report a study that uses space-syntax theories and techniques to develop a model explaining how spatial layouts, through their effects on movement and visible copresence, may affect face-to-face interaction in offices. Though several previous space-syntax studies have shown that spatial layouts have significant effects on movement and face-to-face interaction in offices, none has investigated the relations among movement, visible copresence, and face-to-face interaction in offices with significantly different layouts. On the basis of statistical analyses of the spatial and behavioral data collected at four moderately large offices, this study shows that spatial layouts have consistent effects on movement, but inconsistent effects on visible copresence and face-to-face inter- action; that visible copresence, not movement, is an important predictor of face-to-face interaction; that movement has negligible effects on the relationship between visible copresence and face-to-face interaction; and that functional programs have little or no effect on the culture of face-to-face inter- action in these offices. Limitations of the research design for workplace study and implications of the research findings for workplace design and management are discussed.This research was made possible by a contract (4806X37) from the US General Services Administration

The Representational Function of Clinic Design: Staff and Patient Perceptions of Teamwork

This study empirically investigates the relationships between visibility attributes and both patients’ and staff members’ teamwork experiences. Teamwork among healthcare professionals is critical for the safety and quality of patient care. While a patient-centered, team-based care approach is promoted in primary care clinics, little is known about how clinic layouts can support the teamwork experiences of staff and patients in team-based primary clinics

Backstage Staff Communication: The Effects of Different Levels of Visual Exposure to Patients

Objective: This article examines how visual exposure to patients predicts patient-related communication among staff members. Background: Communication among healthcare professionals private from patients, or backstage communication, is critical for staff teamwork and patient care. While patients and visitors are a core group of users in healthcare settings, not much attention has been given to how patients' presence impacts staff communication. Furthermore, many healthcare facilities provide team spaces for improved staff teamwork, but the privacy levels of team areas significantly vary. Method: This article presents an empirical study of four team-based primary care clinics where staff communication and teamwork are important. Visual exposure levels of the clinics were analyzed, and their relationships to staff members' concerns for having backstage communication, including preferred and nonpreferred locations for backstage communication, were investigated. Results: Staff members in clinics with less visual exposure to patients reported lower concerns about having backstage communication. Staff members preferred talking in team areas that were visually less exposed to patients in the clinic, but, within team areas, the level of visual exposure did not matter. On the other hand, staff members did not prefer talking in visually exposed areas such as corridors in the clinic and visually exposed areas within team spaces. Conclusions: Staff members preferred talking in team areas, and they did not prefer talking in visually exposed areas. These findings identified visually exposed team areas as a potentially uncomfortable environment, with a lack of agreement between staff members' preferences toward where they had patient-related communication

The new demand-driven post-occupancy evaluation

Copyright 1988, Locke Science Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, All Rights Reserved.Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) has become increasingly accepted and influential among client organizations responsible for large building management and construction programs. Managers and administrators look to POE to provide answers to important facilities questions. This increased focus on decision-making has resulted in a number of changes to the way in which POEs are conducted, including changes in the relationship between evaluator and client, the range of issues addressed, and the salience of certain methodological concerns. These issues are considered in light of current uses for POE information and some strategic choices faced by evaluators and clients

Designing for Effective and Safe Multidisciplinary Primary Care Teamwork: Using the Time of COVID-19 as a Case Study

Effective medical teamwork can improve the effectiveness and experience of care for staff and patients, including safety. Healthcare organizations, and especially primary care clinics, have sought to improve medical teamwork through improved layout and design, moving staff into shared multidisciplinary team rooms. While co-locating staff has been shown to increase communi-cation, successful designs balance four teamwork needs: face-to-face communications; situational awareness; heads-down work; perception of teamness. However, precautions for COVID-19 make it more difficult to conduct face-to-face communications. In this paper we describe a model for un-derstanding how layout affects these four teamwork needs and describe how the perception of teamwork by staff changed after COVID-19 precautions were put in place. Observations, interviews and two standard surveys were conducted in two primary care clinics before COVID-19 and again in 2021 after a year of precautions. In general, staff felt more isolated and found it more difficult to conduct brief consults, though these perceptions varied by role. RNs, who spent more time on the phone, found it convenient to work part time-from home, while medical assistants found it more difficult to find providers in the distanced clinics. These cases suggest some important considera-tions for future clinic designs, including greater physical transparency that also allow for physical separation and more spaces for informal communication that are distanced from workstations

Encouraging Physical Activity Among Retirement Community Residents - The Role of Campus Commitment, Programming, Staffing, Promotion, Financing and Accreditation

Despite the well-established benefits of physical activity for older adults, seniors ages 75 and above are among the most sedentary of Americans. Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) seem ideal settings for creating physical activity promoting environments. We report on results of a nationally representative sample survey of CCRCs that are members of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Campuses with more physical activity opportunities on campus or in the outside community, more physical activity-related staff, better physical activity facilities and activities, more types of sources to finance the costs of physical activity, and more channels to promote physical activity tend to have more physically active residents. Campuses in which management places more importance on encouraging physical activity among residents also have more physically active residents.This project was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Designing Assistive Technology

Design Now: A Panel Discussion with Dr. Donald Norman, Author, Living with Complexity; Dr. Craig Zimring, Georgia Tech College of Architecture; Dr. Thad Starner, Georgia Tech College of Computing; Dr. Stephen Sprigle, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design. Discussions of assistive technology, evidence-based and human-centered design, usability, and more.Presented at the College of Architecture Auditorium, October 4, 2013 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm.Runtime: 59:10 minutes.Based on the 2013 First Year Common Reading book: Living with Complexity by Donald A. Norman, MIT Press (October 29, 2010)Panel discussion at College of Architecture on technology, evidence-based design, assistive technology, human-centered design. The primary audience will include Industrial Design, Architecture, Human Computer Interaction, Computer Science, and the local ID/HCI community

A Feasibility Study on Indoor Localization and Multi-person Tracking Using Sparsely Distributed Camera Network with Edge Computing

Camera-based activity monitoring systems are becoming an attractive solution for smart building applications with the advances in computer vision and edge computing technologies. In this paper, we present a feasibility study and systematic analysis of a camera-based indoor localization and multi-person tracking system implemented on edge computing devices within a large indoor space. To this end, we deployed an end-to-end edge computing pipeline that utilizes multiple cameras to achieve localization, body orientation estimation and tracking of multiple individuals within a large therapeutic space spanning $1700m^2$, all while maintaining a strong focus on preserving privacy. Our pipeline consists of 39 edge computing camera systems equipped with Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) placed in the indoor space's ceiling. To ensure the privacy of individuals, a real-time multi-person pose estimation algorithm runs on the TPU of the computing camera system. This algorithm extracts poses and bounding boxes, which are utilized for indoor localization, body orientation estimation, and multi-person tracking. Our pipeline demonstrated an average localization error of 1.41 meters, a multiple-object tracking accuracy score of 88.6\%, and a mean absolute body orientation error of 29\degree. These results shows that localization and tracking of individuals in a large indoor space is feasible even with the privacy constrains