Space planning an environment that is both functional and comfortable is a real art. It involves dealing with a lot of personalities and is not for the faint of heart. The designer interfaces the client various employee levels along with architects, engineers, contractors and interior decorators. So, the consultant’s job is to please everyone. This can only be accomplished by collecting and synthesizing a tremendous amount of information before starting.

The space is people space

• The very first thing is to gain a full understanding of the functions that are performed in the operation.

• Then it is important to study the operation to understand the relationships that have been created between the people in the performance of their duties.

• Knowing the dimensions of the given space, you will need to know how many people will reside in the space per shift including supervisors and managers.

• Next it is time to identify the type and amount of equipment used by each individual.

• Then define the tools that will be shared like video conferencing, large screen technology and video walls.

So far we have done the grunt work and now it’s time to earn our money

• Define the type of furniture necessary for each person to perform their duties with an emphasis on:

  • Equipment needed to perform duties

  • Ergonomic creature comforts to make the person comfortable and productive.

  • Peripheral furniture and storage related to the operation

  • Define the type of visual aids necessary for the room to work efficiently and placed in the most advantageous positions to be seen by all who need to see them.

  • Configure the workstations based on the relationship determined in the initial study, wheel chair access and fire codes.

Now it is time to develop the other factors:

• Heat load created by the equipment and the human beings

• Lighting for the room and the individual workstations

• Sound systems

• Flooring

• Room decorations: wall coverings, flooring and color schemes

• Develop a plan for adjoining rooms

  • Conference rooms

  • Offices

  • Bathrooms

  • Adjoining machine and server rooms

  • Storage closets

Finally, once you have determined all of these factors, it is time to develop bid specifications for a solicitation to contractors.