If the futurologists are correct we are about to see a huge shift in how our buildings work. Cloud computing is still in the formative stages but I can see a trend developing that will eventually be able to replace the traditional model of tethered desktop working.
There is endless geeky debate about what cloud computing actually is, but the key feature that affects the built environment is that by putting data and even the applications onto the cloud a business and its people will be able to free itself from the geographic restrictions and therefore the need for a building to carry out those traditional functions.
We’ve all seen laptops scattered around coffee shops. Whereas a few years ago those people were seen as either hardcore road warriors or sales reps far from home, the changes in accessibility mean that those meetings are now equally likely to be about business deals, job interviews, or even architects working on drawings.
Those people aren’t just working remotely from the office. They have understood (even if they don’t realise it) that don’t actually need an office at all!
It’s early days and this new-found flexibility could easily be mistaken as the death knell of the traditional office but I think that is a little premature. We are social creatures and the fact that coffee shops are providing meeting places says a lot about the desire to get together with colleagues.
What seems more likely is that there will be a shift in how commercial premises are used. Rather than being stuffed full of tethered technology a new model (models?) look like emerging where the building acts as a venue for the human network within.
That might mean smaller buildings with more flexible layouts. Perhaps hot-desking principles will see a resurgence or perhaps we’ll see more collaborative office layouts where groups form and disband quickly around projects rather than corporate structures.
Using the construction industry as our example, we’ve already seen on-site design offices. In the same way project teams from different disciplines and different firms could come together in a place to work together – maybe even for only a couple of days a week if they are engaged on multiple projects, with multiple teams. The physical closeness of the people in the team should lead to a better output in a shorter time with fewer problems, delays and future defects.
The key factor is the flexibility to form groups, sub-groups and then disband them within the project context.
It follows that the building will need to adapt to follow suit. Most of us would recognise that a building in no more than a container for what goes on inside. If the insides don’t need lots of technology, plant, equipment, HVAC, wiring, etc then the requirements for that container will change fundamentally.
Cloud computing might be the driver of the next great leap in workplace trends.
I think you overestimate the practical influence cloud computing will have on office design. In the majority of businesses the footprint of information services is not large compared to the more mundane demands of providing adequate lighting, electricity and HVAC to workspaces.
Physical network infrastructure, such as cables and routers, will still be required as wireless still demonstrates significant capacity and performance bottlenecks. This may change in the long-term, but history has shown people have an insatiable demand for bandwidth. Perhaps the only area where physical space maybe reduced is in the server room, which for many is already minimal and hardly prime real estate.
The greatest barrier to the spaces you describe isn’t the technology (or lack of it) but the tendency of people to turn their work areas into a nests and construct walls around it for protection:
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/BionicOffice.html
Likewise the introduction of cloud computing will not influence organisational structures because they existed before servers entered the office and will undoubtedly remain once they leave.
“Cloud computing”, i.e. Platform as a Service & Software as a Service, are great advancements in network infrastructure, but office design is about people and their professional needs, not the unseen technologies that assist in these tasks.
About ten years ago I visited a new office in London that had been restyled by BT, British Telecom, to support more flexible working approaches. At the time, much was made of the potential savings in air-conditioning that would come from switching from CRT to flat-screen monitors (now largely achieved, of course), but also reductions in cabling from using wireless communications for telephones and networking. As David suggests, this re-design of the workplace also did away with the creation of personalised cubicles, creating open office environments that could be continually reconfigured to suit the needs of the individuals and teams that were using the space at any particular time.
More recently, I have heard similar efficiency arguments proposed in relation to PC virtualisation, where users no longer need processing power on (or under) their desk, but access it from a centralised facility. This is changing the way that IT is managed in some public authorities, but I suspect we are some way from doing similar things in respect of users needing access to high-end, specialist software solutions (eg: CAD).
In visiting the offices of construction industry clients and firms of contractors and consultants, I have noticed similar trends in setting up flexible meeting spaces that allow ad hoc meetings to be held, as well as touch-down hot-desks for visiting staff, external visitors, etc.
As the recession has hit, companies also seem keener to explore tools like WebEx, LiveMeeting, Skype, etc as alternatives to some expensive face-to-face meetings.