4.181 Architecture Design Workshop: Researching User Demand for Innovative Offices, Fall 2002

Abstract

The theme of this Workshop is the design of the changing workplace. The objective of this workshop is to make MIT graduate students fully aware of emerging technological and social trends that are revolutionizing the working environment. We will explore and develop a wide range of practical techniques for measuring the performance of the built environment and will carry out field work in a real context. The end result will be the development of rigorous measurement techniques that allow users to illuminate the relationship between business purpose and the success of workplace design; we will systematically relate design evaluation to the urgent need and unrealized potential for design innovation. The workshop will benefit from exposure to knowledgeable clients and experienced practitioners who will be invited to weekly discussions and students will have access to an ongoing workplace evaluation exercise being conducted by Janet G. Fan, a former student of the Workshop.