The interaction between people in the same space is considered one of the starting points for success and creativity.
The premises hosting an organization enable well-functioning interaction which goes on to show the significant role an organization’s space has in its success.
A culture will form whether you want it or not - You can only influence the direction it takes
Creating a successful culture for a company is surprisingly challenging; it requires persistent thinking and taking action to achieve sustainable success.
The success of a company is often dependent on creativity and the ability for a company to harness this creativity into innovation. Usually the first step towards creativity and innovation is the increase in human interaction. Successful interaction depends on both the physical space of an organization and partly on other organizational factors.
Innovations always require human interaction - knowledge is exchanged and developed to add to either new or previous information.
For example, innovations always require human interaction - knowledge is exchanged and developed to add to either new or previous information. Creativity also requires independent work by individuals. That is why it’s important that organizations offer different work spaces for different stages in the creative process. A place where one can retreat, a place where one can trade thoughts – a place to breath.
The space defines how people act
Space planning is used indirectly to communicate power and other social structures in the work environment.
The way a company’s premises are, defines many important factors in the company culture. For example the nearness of people and how the space is allocated affect privacy and the ability to control one’s privacy. The type of lighting involved affects people’s movement, talk and partly defines how much privacy a space has.
Interaction usually happens the most in spaces which receive less attention, such as washrooms, copy rooms and storage rooms, as well as cafés, laboratories, libraries and conference rooms.
The writer knows in her heart that spaces are a significant part of a successful organizational culture. The writer is a consultant for Great Place to Work and a researcher on space and premises. Kristiina Borg, who is a postgraduate researcher in the University of Turku, has the theme of her research surrounding role of physical space in legitimising an expert organization. Her greatest wish is to learn as much as possible on her expedition.