The Creative Workplace: A Malaysian Perspective
Issue 26 - Dec 06 / Jan 07

Dramatic changes in the design of offices in Asia are driven by
the changing world of work, and by clients and their consultants demanding more and more (though
offering to pay less) from their vendors.

Office workers in Asia now also need to be creative, collaborative and are required to be increasingly productive. To reach these goals people in the
business of delivering corporate interiors need to create flexible workplaces that are a “gift to the spirit”, giving employees a stimulating and creative working
environment that supports recruitment policies and ensures that members are happy, productive, and stay with the company.

do we need a better mousetrap?
Research in the Asia Pacific region has shown that while it is difficult to measure productivity improvements, the returns one would expect through new workplace designs are:

• staff turnover reduced from 25 to ten percent
• an increase of between ten and 45 percent in the perceived performance of the workplace.

space squeeze
Smaller work stations can go some way to reducing space requirements, saving on the bottom line with desks being 25-50 percent smaller than before. However, it is the flexibility and use that might produce the topline difference. Nowadays, desks, or more accurately systems tables with light screens and accessory holders, have made a comeback. They are cheaper, more mobile, and encourage new ways of working, which are:

• collaborative
• non-hierarchal
• oriented to teamwork
• common workspaces

This is the future of office design, as the need for creativity and collaboration are on the increase. This is developing in tandem with wireless connectivity that continues to change the way we work through VoIP, Skype and other innovations.

shared spaces
Workstations will become less important, as a series of alternative shared spaces are created to support collaborative working, from breakout rooms and multi-purpose pantries to formal meeting rooms.

Many executives spend over 25 percent of the working day in meetings with more
than four people, but often the rooms are not designed to enhance communications and creativity. The table shape is critical, and oval or horseshoe tables allow everyone around the table to see one another while preserving the position of the meeting chairman. Egg-shaped tables have become popular in Europe, combining the benefits of oval and round tables

Meeting rooms should be designed to enhance interaction and creativity, with walls becoming whiteboards. Research by Ideation in the USA has shown that people stop thinking and sharing ideas when the whiteboard is filled. This is a little like writing on a piece of white A4 paper. Once there is no space to write, one looks for a new sheet of paper, or the writing stops. Thus, to stimulate free flowing ideas in meetings, every wall should be a reverse painted white board, so the exchange of information never stops.

psychology of colour
Dr Gunilla Oerwen, a Swedish colour psychologist living in Malaysia, has shown that adding colour to the workspace can have a dramatic effect on teamwork and personal productivity, and is particularly useful when two organisations are merged together.

Reverse painted ‘white’ boards also give the designer the opportunity to add colour to the walls. For instance, ArcRadius, has used purple glass writing board to reduce tension in the client meeting rooms at the Financial
Mediation Bureau in Kuala Lumpur.

Graphics and artwork in the workplace can both stimulate
office workers and reinforce branding. ArcRadius,
believes hanging the work of local young painters, both
stimulates our designers to be more creative, and also
provides financial support to the artist.

the nature of work is changing
In the information age, knowledge has become the
new base of power as such designers need to design
for collaboration, but most office environments are still
designed for individuals. The workplace should support the
creation of information rather than just the transmission
of data. Research done by Ideation shows that knowledge
workers work better when they can see their work around
them. Filing everything may not be the most productive
solution.

The author does a lot of work in India, where there is a
seemingly limitless supply of well educated graduates.
However, with hundreds of jobs up for grabs daily, finding
and keeping talent is a huge problem.

designing workspaces for innovation and creativity
One multinational is building a new headquarters, specifically
to address HR issues, because management had found
that paying higher salaries alone had failed to attract and
keep the right people in its organisation. The facility makes
a statement about the company as an employer, and as a
marketing vehicle, telling prospective employees that it is a
front runner and the company gets ‘it’.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos last January, suddenly design, creativity and innovation was top of the agenda. Innovation means allowing companies to avoid the race to be the lowest cost provider. Therefore, in designing workspaces that encourage creativity, we must recognise the importance of:



• Individuality and being non-conformist
• Promotion through meritocracy, hardwork, accepting challenges, goal setting and achievement
• Earnings are no longer defined just by the money that people make
• A work culture that encourages diversity & openness
• People motivated by passion
• New dress code: casual attire (did you know adopting a no-necktie policy will allow you to set the ambient temperature in an air conditioned office three degrees celcius lower?)
• New workschedules with longer hours

The well designed, creative office maintains a balance between interaction and focussed concentration. It is a cross between an artist’s studio and a university laboratory, such as Bells Labs, GE Labs and Xerox PARC in the USA.
serendipity design ArcRadius stimulate creative interaction by encouraging “casual, non - threatening encounters”. Innovation is fundamentally social and ideas arise out of casual conversations rather than in formal meetings. The creative economy is premised on the rapid generation and transmission of ideas across the enterprise and around the world, so look to global trends in work and outside for inspiration in workplace design.

growing importance of the FM
FM has become a tool that will support the company in the maximisation of profitability throughout the organisation, creating an unfair competitive advantage. The well designed and managed facility can maximise productivity, encourage teamwork, attract and retain talented staff , improve internal communications, heighten customer satisfaction, reduce operating expenditure, and be agile and responsive to the changing economic situation.
Davies has heard CEOs on more than one occasion in India tell him that if the CFO reports sick, he does not worry, but if the FM is on medical leave, it can have a major impact on operations. The well designed workplace has truly become a critical tool in the growth of successful companies in Asia. RFP

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