Workplace 101: Understanding the the Egyptian Version

The Admin Building Space

Office spaces in Administrative or office buildings are easier for architects and space planners to work with. The architectural approach of these buildings is called “core and shell”, where the aim of the design is to create clear and clean spaces with the minimum use of structural elements. Admin buildings depend totally on mechanical systems for air cooling and ventilation which can be hazardous—especially in times of disease—if there isn’t rigorous maintenance.

The large, spacious area afforded by “core and shell” concept is perfect for either an open plan design (which is frequently the case) or the ABW (activity-based workplace).

The Open Office Space

Why Open Floor Plans May Be Hurting Your Business – And What to Do Instead. It became very common at the beginning of the millennium for many reasons that are beyond our scope here. By stacking parallel workstations throughout the space, furnishing can be finished overnight. Each workstation is composed of 4-10 connected desks and each of them is—supposedly—dedicated to an employee.

Due to the differences in location and orientation of each desk, employees’ spatial experiences vary dramatically. For instance, some employees who are located below the AC supply grill might complain from cold temperatures, while their neighbors are complaining from the heat. The same goes for daylight, noise level, glare, and the outside view.

The good thing about this layout is that the plan is almost free of fixed partitions and can be transformed easily to a dynamic modular space with smart movable partitions and sound breakers.

The Activity-Based Workplace (ABW)

Coming in many forms and combinations, the driving force behind the Activity-Based Workplace (a.k.a ABW) is that spaces are designated by activity, not by teams or persons, who use the spaces when they need them.

One example is the quiet space, dedicated to focusing or studying functions and users aren’t allowed to communicate or talk. Other examples are meeting rooms, socialization spaces, a general assembly space, etc.

The ABW appeared as a response to the problems caused by open plans, and it did well in fixing the noise problem by separating collaboration areas from focus spaces, and by allocating temporary functions like meetings to dead zones in the office.

However, despite the fact that the ABW is the most satisfactory workplace design strategy used so far, it can cause a big mess if the designer is not in full possession of great empathy and a deep understanding of the functions across the different industries, as well as awareness of the work dynamics of different organizations. It took me and my team years of reading and testing to come up with the tools that helped us crack this formula.