Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration Author: Scott Doorley | Language: English | ISBN:
1118143728 | Format: EPUB
Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration Description
"If you are determined to encourage creativity and provide a collaborative environment that will bring out the best in people, you will want this book by your side at all times." --Bill Moggridge, Director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
"Make Space is an articulate account about the importance of space; how we think about it, build it and thrive in it." --James P. Hackett, President and CEO, Steelcase
An inspiring guidebook filled with ways to alter space to fuel creative work and foster collaboration.
Based on the work at the Stanford University d.school and its Environments Collaborative Initiative, Make Space is a tool that shows how space can be intentionally manipulated to ignite creativity. Appropriate for designers charged with creating new spaces or anyone interested in revamping an existing space, this guide offers novel and non-obvious strategies for changing surroundings specifically to enhance the ways in which teams and individuals communicate, work, play--and innovate.
Inside are:
Tools--tips on how to build everything from furniture, to wall treatments, and rigging
Situations--scenarios, and layouts for sparking creative activities
Insights--bite-sized lessons designed to shortcut your learning curve
Space Studies--candid stories with lessons on creating spaces for making, learning, imagining, and connecting
Design Template--a framework for understanding, planning, and building collaborative environments
Make Space is a new and dynamic resource for activating creativity, communication and innovation across institutions, corporations, teams, and schools alike. Filled with tips and instructions that can be approached from a wide variety of angles, Make Space is a ready resource for empowering anyone to take control of an environment.
- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 3, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1118143728
- ISBN-13: 978-1118143728
- Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
My job as writer-and-editor shifts from internally creative (I work inside my head) to actively collaborative (talk with the writers who work for me, learn what my clients want). I work with people all over the world from the comfort of my home office, and I depend on the wonderfulness of instant messaging, shared online storage, and e-mail. I prefer my quietly creative cocoon in which to do my thinking and lure the muse (Here kitty kitty... Well, the muse doesn't come when I call either). Yet, I'm inherently an extrovert. I love to go into create-mode with other people, so every time I've had the opportunity to visit the Home Office (for clients or employers, as the case may be) I actively notice how well their space is designed. How much does the office encourage people to work together? How does it help people to focus when they need to work alone?
As a result, when I saw Make Space on my list of Amazon Vine options, I was attracted to its premise: "an inspiring guidebook filled with ways to alter space to fuel creative work and foster collaboration." I love its goal. Its execution... not so much.
The book comes from the "d school" at Stanford University, and perhaps that academic background colors the way they think of colloborative space. The book has a few sorts of information: tools (stuff to build), situations (such as easy-to-reorganize spaces... think "use beanbag chairs draw people into a circle"), case studies. A section on the "design template" identifies the elements that go into a shared place, what they call "breaking down this spatial grammar into manageable bits" such as the actions that will take place there, the importance of thresholds and transitions, the need for everyone to have a "home base.
Each time I go to read this book, I feel inundated with coolness. Like I'm at a club that is so cool that you don't know what you're supposed to do. If you think the cover is a little confusing..as in "what is this book really about?" then a quick browsing the inside is not going to improve on that.
Instead of a table of contents, you get "instructions". And on the left of those is a dialogue of what the book is for, starting with "make space is a tool for using space to shape the culture and habits of a creative community."
The two sections of the book are
"tools: Make the useful things that fill up teh space--furniture, storage options, materials, etc" and "situations: Quick, repeatable configurations or patterns, usually at the scale of the room."
Honestly, I cannot get into this book. Each time I turn a page, I start reading a new idea and cannot get inspired. The idea flow from page to page is disjointed and it is not written by someone whose goal is to be as clear as possible to the average person.
Here is the start of "the white room" section. "An immersive experience is one of the quickest ways to transform behavior." what does that mean???? then following by "The White Room concept creates an environment with a singular finish and function that focuses on team members on particular activities. Their ideas become the only color that fills the space." Ok. reading it a few times, and looking at the picture of the white room, i can now understand it. But it's certainly not written in a way that the average person will understand easily.
There is some fun eye candy. The book is chock-full of creative endeavors to improve work areas both in function and appearance.
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