What are the issues with Open-Plan Flexible Spaces?
The feedback from the study questionnaire provided a useful insight into what concerns the users and managers of open-plan technology-rich spaces. These issues were clearly in two categories - those concerned with the physical environment itself and those concerned with what Watson and Anderson called the psychological environment, how the space affects people and their behaviour within the space.
The most prevalent physical issues identified were related to air quality in the space. Much of the feedback identified that the heating, cooling, and ventilation were all problematic in many of the spaces. This was not a surprising result as Watson and Anderson point out whether a space is too warm, stuffy or cold is often a matter of personal preference. Add to this that people generally like to control their local source of heating or cooling then no wonder that this was the top issue. But, as mentioned in the introduction to this section, design is an important way of dealing with this issue. During a new build or refurbishment of a space it is important that serious consideration is given to these aspects of air quality.
As many of those completing the questionnaire for this study were referring to open space in libraries and learning centres (91% of the respondents) it is also not surprising that lighting and glare were commonly reported as an issue along with acoustics and noise, either from behaviour or co-location of incompatible activities, for example those institutions attempting open-plan teaching spaces found this difficult as noise from adjacent sessions inevitably causes interference. Other physical issues that were identified less frequently were smells, the difficulties of maintaining the space and security. Issues with staffing and booking of space also cropped up in the findings of the study as shown in the table below which shows the percentage that each issue was reported.
Relative importance of issues as a percentage
Psychological issues identified in the study by the authors were less tangible and included the image and liveliness of the space, its overall comfort and sense of fun.
In 2007 Les Watson, Hugh Anderson (Principal, haa design) and Katherine Strachan (Architect, haa design) undertook JISC-commissioned work on physical learning space design and investigated issues associated with large open-plan spaces designed for technology-enhanced learning and teaching. Watson et al explore strategies for containment of noise, management of environmental controls, maintenance issues and user behaviour.
