MECD workspace design brief now available
23 Jan 2020
Thank you to all staff who inputted into the design brief for MECD workspace - a summary report is now available
Late last year we reached an important milestone for the design of MECD’s workspace with the completion of the design brief, developed in collaboration with our consultants AWA (Advanced Workspace Associates).
Key decisions in the design brief that were directly shaped by staff contributions, include:
- Responding to the overwhelming feedback that having meeting space within a shared office was not a workable solution due to the impacts discussions would have on others in the office. The design brief suggests that a shared office should provide 6m2 per person with further additional adjacent meeting space equal to the balance of 32m2 for four people. The 2m2 per person not in the shared office will be used to create varied meeting space next to the shared office.
- Shared offices will be for 4 people as it was felt this was the maximum that could work effectively within a shared office environment.
- Having the choice of working in a shared office or open plan was well received, with some academic members of staff choosing to go into the open plan environment with access to meeting spaces, so again using the space allocation in a different format.
- AWA also had some interesting challenges raised by teams who need non-standard workspace areas, such as EEE’s Electromagnetic Tomography Engineering Group. Further engagement work was carried out with these groups so the brief accurately reflected their needs and how they could be accommodated.
- One of the concerns which everyone has is about how students and academics interact within MECD. Your feedback, outputs from student focus groups and an observation study of buildings where access is already restricted, including the Arthur Lewis Building, AV Hill, George Begg and Chemistry Building, is being used to help map out how access could work effectively in MECD.
A summary of the design brief, which includes the draft occupancy model for MEC Hall and the current working assumption for student access is now available.
The full design brief was handed over to our interior designers, Hawkins Brown, in late November. Hawkins Brown have now commenced the detailed design of MECD workspace, this is a 12 week process due to finish in late February. Designs will be shared with staff when they are available.