To meet the demands of an increasingly virtual 21st century workforce, IBM sought to establish new offices in Herndon, Virginia, which would be designed to allow and support flexibility in employee work patterns and schedules. The design team implemented IBM’s new e-workplace guidelines, an initiative intended to develop a new workplace aligned more closely with the mobile work patterns of IBM employees while increasing employee satisfaction and connection to the organization, improving space utilization and reducing overall real estate costs.
The majority of workspaces in the IBM’s Dulles Station West are unassigned and intended to be used on a temporary basis; this is in contrast to the typical one-to-one worker to workspace ratio, to align with IBM’s mobile workforce which increasingly relies on telecommuting and wireless communications. To meet IBM’s need for proposal generation for its government contracting group, the design team established suites on each floor which allow for privacy and sufficient table space for teams meet to discuss and respond to large-scale proposals. Breakout spaces are included on each floor to allow for informal meetings or provide privacy; touchdown areas are also located on several floors to provide short-term hoteling areas for visitors and staff.
Included on the first two floors are classrooms, new hire rooms, conferencing, and a data center to meet IBM’s meeting and training needs for both new and established employees. Amenities such as a mother’s suite, pantries, and mailroom are placed throughout the building. Fourth, fifth, and sixth floors include open offices with temporary filing and storage systems adjacent to mobility areas for more casual, interactive cafe-style seating with wireless connectivity and immediate access to resources. IBM’s new workplace meets their organization’s needs for training and supporting a mobile workforce while providing space for teaming, proposal generation, IT infrastructure, and conferencing.
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