Interactive Architecture and Corporate Cultural Evolution
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Haworth | Architectural Record
This design by Perkins + Will in Holland, Michigan said that they needed an “environment that would change their culture”, according to Architectural Record’s report. This brings up an interesting point. How can interactive architecture help with a corporation’s cultural evolution?
The culture of a place has to do with how its occupants interrelate with each other, with their clients and with their daily work. As corporations grow their cultures evolve – as do the methods used to reflect or influence that culture from architectural space. But what if architectural space can work directly with employees to help a culture evolve? What should drive that corporate cultural evolution?
Perhaps research into productivity from an employee-centered perspective would be most helpful. Client perception of the corporation may also influence how the architectural design comes together. But why stop here? With interactive architecture an office building’s architectural fabric could include interrelation between both of these perspectives, and more. As interactivity is integrated, rules and goals may provide for evolutionary milestones which may target additional objectives like employee efficiency, creativity, sales and health.
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This is one of my favorite topics, the idea of architecture influencing business culture and the reverse, how does business culture drive architectural design????
As corporate culture evolves, so too, must its architectural design. In fact, interactive architecture could become adaptive as companies align with mission statements, but change priorities or strategies along the way. It would be interesting if corporate culture and architecture could push and pull each other toward cultural optimization.
There is a lot more to defining corporate culture than the physical environment such as: leadership style, managerial effectiveness, opportunity for promotion, satisfaction with pay, workgroup effectiveness,co-worker cooperation, and so on. One of the attributes is also satisfaction with the built environment. Each attribute is measurable and all interrelate. With the economic environment
driving nearly all corporate decisions for the last few years, I’m afraid that the priority of the built environment has sadly slipped rather drastically. I have been involved with research and application
of that reseach on environment and behavior for nearly 40 years. Some of the results have been remarkable; some are surprising; some fizzle out but all are illuminating.