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Harvard University - Offices for Faculty of Arts and Sciences Information Technology | Cambridge, MA |
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Harvard University
The growth of information technology groups at universities, which has lead to the addition of technology personnel, has brought with it increasing computer technology needs. A combination of the real estate value and the changing work methodology has pushed organizations towards a more open model of office layout. Ultimately, reconfigurations within the Science Center and two Harvard Square locations were identified as relocation sites for the department, where the desired adjacencies would be obtained and additional staff could be accommodated. The use of workstations has been embraced as one way to attain more programs within the same spaces.
The reconfiguration occurred in two phases over two academic years in order to maintain smooth operations within the university. In the first year, some spaces were added to the Science Center, in addition to others in two Harvard Square buildings. Minor renovations gave the department an extra conference room and a few additional workstations were added.
In the second year, an existing under-utilized classroom and a large adjacent elevator lobby were reconfigured to house network operations staff and technicians. Here, a portion of the lobby space was added to the classroom to accommodate a total of sixteen personnel within less than 2000 SF. The workspace gave generous individual workstations, with extra deep work surfaces and large amounts of overhead storage to the tech staff, while also providing a twenty-one-foot-long, four-foot-wide work table for testing and assembling network equipment. Two small managers' offices and a network operations center were included within the space.
In light of suggestions gathered from interviews in the initial program effort, the lobby was identified as an area that could provide a communal work space with seating, white boards, and touch down stations in a cafe-like setting. Providing a group meeting area where none existed has proved a boon to the interactive workings of the information technology group.
