The building I worked in for over two decades was designed to be a manufacturing facility: Large amounts of interior space. High ceilings. Not many windows. No air conditioning. As the company prospered, it built a new building for the manufacturing line and remodeled the old building. The old building now has private offices for the executives. It has a showroom and a conference room for the marketing people. It has open office space for the the administrative staff. And for the engineers: cubicles and test labs.

Executives

Each executive has an office with a door that can be closed for private conversations or for uninterrupted time to concentrate on a task. Each executive furnishes and decorates their office according to their own needs and taste. Most executive offices have a window – the more important the executive the larger the window. Less important executives get the offices without windows.

The building speaks to the executives, telling them: Your work is important. I value your unique qualities. I provide a stage for your self expression. I provide you privacy when you need it. I provide space where you can concentrate on important tasks without interruption. And for those of you that are important enough to have a window, I provide enlightenment.

Visitors

The showroom is a spacious place filled with light from large windows and enhanced by white marble floor tiles. Surgeons and hospital administrators can enter the room directly from the front lobby, never seeing the rest of the building. They can examine our newest medical equipment at leisure in a quiet and relaxing setting. When they are ready to discuss purchasing details, they are ushered in to an adjoining conference room. They sit in comfortable armchairs around a glossy table and are offered snacks and drinks as they negotiate a deal.

The building speaks to our visitors, telling them: Our medical equipment is of the finest design and most advanced technology – just like the expensive automobile you probably drive. Our company is well established and successful – just like you. You are making the right choice when you buy our equipment.

Administrative Staff

The administrative staff occupies a large open office area immediately off the lobby. It is surrounded by the private offices of the executives. It is well lighted and comfortably appointed with tasteful furniture and planting.

The building speaks to the staff, telling them: Important people rely on your help.

Engineers

The engineers occupy several large rooms. These rooms have no windows; they are lit by utilitarian rows of fluorescent lights. Each room contains a matrix of 30 or so identical cubicles. The older cubicles are a dingy grey color and measure 7 feet square with neck high walls. The newer cubicles are a dark beige color and measure 5 feet square with waist high walls.

Cubicles allow for their occupants to overhear all nearby conversations. The engineers who work in cubicles generally consider this to be a distraction given that most overheard conversations have nothing to do with what they are working on and destroy the concentration and state of mental flow so necessary when working on a design or a model or a program. The companies that make and sell cubicles claim that this promotes communication, collaboration, teamwork and therefore productivity. The managers that buy cubicles are happy to believe the cubicle vendors. They may not see any evidence that cubicles enhance the productivity of their engineers, but they are unquestionably cheap.

On the other hand, the test labs are spacious and well equipped. People can concentrate on their testing. When people talk to each other it is generally to collaborate on analyzing a problem. There is little distracting conversation. The test labs have a pleasant vibe.

The building speaks to the engineers, telling them: You are all interchangeable. The design work you do isn’t worthy of a pleasant physical environment that promotes thought or concentration. Testing is more important than design.

How to talk back to a building

How do engineers respond to what the building is telling us? Sometimes we talk back. We wear noise cancelling earphones and listen to music to create an environment that allows us to do our best work. Or we find a more respectful location to do our work: perhaps a home office, perhaps an empty conference room, perhaps a public library or coffee shop, perhaps a test lab.

But all too often we just give in to the messages. We don’t do our best work. We accept the reduced productivity that our workplace promotes. We allow the distractions to compromise our creativity.

Buildings Speak for their Organizations

Of course, buildings don’t build themselves. A building embodies the values of the organization that inhabits it. Buildings express these values far more honestly than words in a mission statement or a human resource department policy. If you want to understand what an organization truly values, listen to what its building has to say.