Welcoming Workplace: Rapid Design Intervention to Determine the Office Environment Needs of Older Knowledge Workers

This book chapter details the context, methods, findings and implications of the Welcoming Workplace project (RCA, 2006–8), which was part of Phase 2 of the Designing for the 21stCentury Research Programme (AHRC-EPSRC), directed by Professor Tom Inns, University of Dundee. It describes (pp. 208–24) an interdisciplinary study to determine the office environment needs of older workers in the knowledge economy. Myerson was principal investigator on the project. The research uses a mix of architectural, anthropological and design techniques to give older workers a ‘voice’ in the workplace. At the heart of the study is a series of ‘rapid design interventions’ on sites in the UK, Japan and Australia to create temporary experiential work settings for testing and evaluation. It discusses how the research team worked with academic partners (Universities of Melbourne and Kyushu) to create these within the time and operational constraints imposed by large organisations. The study generated evidence-based design guidance on the needs of older workers and significantly advanced the idea of inclusive office design. As a result, Myerson was invited to join the Workplace Productivity Group of the British Council for Offices (BCO), the professional body responsible for writing the BCO’s Guide to Specification (2009). Findings were also submitted to the Department of Work and Pensions and incorporated into its major strategy paper on an ageing society (2009). In addition, Myerson was asked by the Royal Institute of British Architects to contribute to its Good Office Design publication (RIBA Publishing, 2009, ed. David Littlefield). Myerson led a masterclass at the British Library as part of the ‘WorkTech London 2008’ conference to launch the Welcoming Workplace study, and he accepted a number of international invitations to speak on the research: at the Office and Facility Conference Warsaw, Norwegian Design Council Oslo and Tongji University Shanghai (all 2010)

Scaling Down: Why Designers Need to Reverse Their Thinking

The growth model of the 20th century required that designers and companies achieve economies of scale. Scaling up involved abstraction to make large-scale production possible for the global industrial economy. In the 21st century, social challenges are increasingly disrupting world markets. This changes the focus of the design process. Designers once needed to learn just a little about large groups of people to serve mass markets. Today, they must learn a great deal about relatively small numbers of people. They must shift from concentrating on what makes groups of people similar to what makes them different. This article explores the process of “scaling down” by describing key principles. It examines these principles at work in three case studies from The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design to develop a lighting system for inner-city housing estates, a planning tool to create better workplaces, and a suicide-prevention strategy for a public health black spot

Make It Better: How Universal Design Principles Can Have an Impact on Healthcare Services to Improve the Patient Experience

The delivery of frontline healthcare services has traditionally been framed by clinical considerations and viewed predominantly from the perspective of the medical professions involved in care of patients. But what if a broader approach was adopted in which the patient experience was placed at the centre of the process and services were framed by design thinking as well as clinical considerations? This paper explores an alternative patient-centred approach to healthcare – both in the hospital and in the community – that draws on universal design principles. The paper examines the Seven Principles of Universal Design (as defined by Ron Mace, North Carolina State University, 1997) and evaluates which of those principles are relevant to the complex demands of healthcare today, using case studies from The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, RCA. The paper concludes by reflecting on the implications of a more inclusive approach for both clinical and design practice

Vital Signs Trolley, Designing Out Medical Error (DOME) - Prototype design (2008-2011)

West was the lead researcher (PI, Myerson) on a multidisciplinary project with partners from Imperial College London to improve patient safety in the hospital bed space. West conducted and coordinated research between RCA designers (West and Davey) and clinicians, psychologists, patient safety experts and process management academics in Imperial College London. West led on drawing evidence from how analogous industries manage risky processes such as mining, chemical, oil exploration, shipping and construction, to find new ways of reducing systemic error on surgical hospital wards. This research developed a number of design interventions in the hospital bed space. West developed the Vital Signs Trolley as a direct result of the analogous industries study and collaboration with clinical partners. He found that the main problem with the trolley, which measures vital signs such as blood pressure and temperature, is that data is not captured accurately, the unit is hard to clean and its trailing wires spread infection. West’s new trolley has an easy-clean design, an improved cable management system and a digital transcription system to avoid errors. The design was refined for manufacture in collaboration with an industrial partner, Humanscale. The thinking behind the Vital Signs Trolley built on West’s previous work on the award winning Resus-Station (2006-2008), a resuscitation trolley that is now in clinical trials. West presented the DOME interventions, including the Vital Signs Trolley, at the ‘World Congress on Design and Health’ (USA, 2011) and published ‘Taking ergonomics to the bedside – A multi-disciplinary approach to designing safer healthcare’ in Applied Ergonomics, October 2013 (West REF Output 1)

Workplace & Wellbeing

Workplace & Wellbeing: Developing a practical framework for workplace design to affect employee wellbeing reports on a research study between The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and architecture and design firm Gensler. The study ran for two years (2015-2016). The study asked whether greater participation in the design of the workplace increases the sense of control and wellbeing of employees. The researchers interviewed employees at 3 organisations about their workspace and patterns of work, developing a model of employee wellbeing that considered both environmental and psychological factors. The team worked with employees on one floor of a large central London headquarters (Bupa House), offering different levels of participation to employees in a workplace design project to see whether the level of participation offered was a factor in the wellbeing of employees, from no engagement to some engagement and finally participation in a co-design process. The team found that engaging employees in the design of their workplace had a positive effect on their wellbeing, regardless of the level of participation offered. The researchers also developed a tool for organisations to measure their own employee wellbeing, based on project findings

Change makers: rethinking the productive workplace through an art and design lens

The built environment affects our physical, mental and social well-being. Here renowned professionals from practice and academia explore the evidence from basic research as well as case studies to test this belief. They show that many elements in the built environment contribute to establishing a milieu which helps people to be healthier and have the energy to concentrate while being free to be creative. The health and well-being agenda pervades society in many different ways but we spend much of our lives in buildings, so they have an important role to play within this total picture. This demands us to embrace change and think beyond the conventional wisdom while retaining our respect for it. Creating the Productive Workplace shows how we need to balance the needs of people and the ever-increasing enabling technologies but also to take advantage of the healing powers of Nature and let them be part of environmental design. This book aims to lead to more human-centred ways of designing the built environment with deeper meaning and achieve healthier and more creative, as well as more productive places to work. This chapter is an attempt to rethink key aspects of the productive workplace through an art and design lens, by retracing author’s steps through a series of the projects that revealed new ideas and insights about how people really want to work

Design and wellbeing: Bridging the empathy gap between neurotypical designers and autistic adults

This paper is focused on the wellbeing of people with autism spectrum disorders, who are often excluded from design research. Drawing upon on-going design research collaboration between The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and the autism charity The Kingwood Trust, this paper reflects upon a neurotypical (i.e. not on the autism spectrum) designer’s experience of working with adults with autism who have limited verbal speech and additional learning disabilities. The hypothesis under investigation is that, by interacting with and observing a person in conjunction with his or her physical environment, the designer can unravel clues and insights to develop empathy and better understanding of a person with autism’s everyday experiences, which can thereby inform empathic designs that enhance and sustain a state of wellbeing. The conclusion explores how the inclusion of autistic people within the design process creates a shared experience, which helps to develop trust and empathy between the designer and the person with autism, enabling the designer to understand and appreciate different ways of being in the world

Hybrid space making: Rethinking the bank branch experience for the digital age

As digital technology disrupts financial services globally, how should banks go about planning the next generation of bank branches? In the age of online banking, what are the new hybrid strategies that will draw customers in, improve working conditions for employees, connect with local communities and optimise the property portfolio? This paper describes a research project conducted by the UniCredit banking group in partnership with Unwired and the Royal College of Art to explore the hybrid bank branch network of the future. The study develops three frameworks — architectural, people, and digital — and proposes a model with three levels of hybridity. Its findings have broad implications for new ways of working and interaction in financial services

Infant Spinal Reflex-Testing Apparatus

Final report and team photo for Project 05 of ME450, Fall 2009 semester.Recently-developed equipment can test the presence and stability of spinal-level reflexes in the primary gait muscles of infants 2-10 months old. This baseline data can then assist in the assessment of developmental neuromotor deficits and the development of tailored interventions for infants born with disabilities such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome. The goal of this project is to redesign the apparatus used in these tests to be more adjustable and portable.Beverly Ulrich (Kinesiology, U of M)http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86199/1/ME450 Fall2009 Final Report - Project 05 - Infant Spinal Reflex-Testing Apparatus.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86199/2/ME450 Fall2009 Team Photo - Project 05 - Infant Spinal Reflex-Testing Apparatus.jp

A designer's approach: How can autistic adults with learning disabilities be involved in the design process?

Autistic adults with limited speech and additional learning disabilities who are often excluded from design research are at the heart of this project. These are people whose perceptions, experiences and interactions with their surroundings are unique, but also are people who may not be able to communicate verbally their differences to the remaining 99% of the population. This, in combination with their distinctive cognitive profile, has resulted in a lack of studies involving people living with autism, and consequently their life experiences may neither be heard nor understood and remain largely unexplored. By reflecting upon the ongoing design collaboration between The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and the autism charity The Kingwood Trust, this paper reflects on the approach and methods used in three design studies. Particular attention is paid towards the careful selection, adaptation and development of collaborative design methods for autistic adults and their support staff to be involved. By working beyond the boundaries of a neurotypical culture, the project aims to support the greater goal of improving the everyday experiences of people living with autism by breaking down the barriers to participation