Windows or no Windows that is the question

[Adam Dean]

Hi All,

First off thank you all for the incredible insights I've gathered from the group. I just have a simple question and all feedback would be great! Would you rather open a space with a lot natural light or have a space with an innovative design but would rely on artificial light? Thank you all for your time and I look forward to hearing the responses!

Adam Dean

Founder

3C-Coworks

[Alex Hillman]

I suppose that depends on what you mean by an "innovative design"? 

Personally, I wouldn't trade natural light for anything. Lighting has a HUGE impact on people's moods, productivity, energy levels…and there's not really a substitute for natural light.

-Alex

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/ah

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[Mike Pihlman]

AltamontCowork's answer attached.  :-)

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[Tom Brandt]

I'm afraid that no matter "innovative" the design you will still feel like you were living in a cave. I'll take natural light everytime.

twb
member, Workantile

@twbrandt

[Alex Hillman]

On the same note, I was visiting some nearby offices yesterday and they were admittedly…"not innovative". So much so that the person touring me kept apologizing, comparing them to Indy Hall. :)

While the offices certainly had that corporate aesthetic & design that I personally don't care for, the ones with natural light were SO much more tolerable, bordering on "nice".

Good natural light can make up the difference for a lot of things, I don't think it works the other way around. 

-- 

/ah

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[Jonathan Graham]

I think access to daylight is still one of the most under appreciated and overlooked qualities of a workspace. Take a look at this attachment and read about a pretty intriguing perspective on the subject. 

PS, save money and reduce your footprint by reducing your need of interior lighting!

[Toni Hogan]

I personally like natural lighting. We have four quads, each with a
skylight. The bordering offices have windows some "regular" windows,
some 6 inches wide...they look 6 inches to me. We are in the lounge.
There's natural lighting from the front doors, a "regular" window, and
a skinny window. We are in Texas and the front of the building faces
west, so right about evening time it gets hotter'n heck. But, I
wouldn't trade it. May get blinds or a window shade though. ;-)

TH

[Jerome Chang]

FYI, blinds do not stop the heat, since the heat will have penetrated thru the glass by the time it hits the blinds on the interior. The only thing blinds do is reduce/stop glare.
The best is double-pane glass, and the cheapest is a window film to reduce infrared and UV rays. An overhang can help if it's large enough for your building direction/longitude-latitude/etc.


Jerome
______________
BLANKSPACES
"work FOR yourself, not BY yourself"

www.blankspaces.com
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.330.9505 (office)

[Toni Hogan]

the blinds are heat-resistant and designed to help control room temp
as well as block direct sunlight.

TH

[Anca Mosoiu]

About half my space doesn't have a lot of natural light, and it's not especially pleasant.  That's something i'm looking to change soon.

Anca.

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[Jerome Chang]

Try higher Kelvin (4500K) lights (usually fluorescent type T5 or T8's) for a cooler, bluer light, vs. the dimmer 3500K yellow-ish tint.

Jerome

______________

BLANKSPACES
"work FOR yourself, not BY yourself"

www.blankspaces.com
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.330.9505 (office)

[Adam Dean]

Thank you all for the feedback! Basically what we have now is the option to go into a 12000 SqFt space with a lot of beautiful windows or take a space in the interior of the building w are considering that has no windows but would have a glass wall looking out into an atrium of sorts. Personally I really like the window space over the other space since we aren't selling widgets there is no need to have retail frontage. Once I am home I'll post some Pictures of the space we are looking at as well as a general layout! Thanks everyone. 

[Jerome Chang]

I'm going to provide a dissenting opinion on this, but not to say I would avoid windows altogether: windows can be distracting (outside noises like fire trucks, buses, trucks, etc. can spill in much easier) and focus people to look out, vs. within the office where the community is.  Windows were traditionally viewed as ideal because perimeter office people could stare out to a view and think.  To me, that sounds like someone who wants to isolate himself, vs. be in the mix of a community in the central open space.

Something to think about.  Design your space appropriately.

Jerome

______________

BLANKSPACES
"work FOR yourself, not BY yourself"

www.blankspaces.com
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.330.9505 (office)

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[Tom Brandt]

Jerome,

I find a windowless environment pretty oppressive. Yes, street noise spills in. We are on the ground floor, and so passers-by are always peering in wondering what is going in our space. But those distractions are minor compared to the closed-in feeling I have when I can't see outside.

Light is important. Artificial lighting, no matter how much it tries to emulate sunlight, just isn't the same, and doesn't feel that same.

[Toni Hogan]

my husband would, and probably will if he sees this, agree with
Jerome. We've had the discussion. I'm not distracted by the normal
flow of traffic on the street, but rather the people who use our
parking lot as a turnaround. My hope is that as we fill up our parking
lot with member cars it will deter the turnarounds.

you have lots to consider. ;-)

TH

> member, Workantile <http://workantile.com/>
> @twbrandt

[bfogle]

I agree with most of the posts on here. I went from working in an office with floor to ceiling windows to working in an office with no windows at all and I can say that my personal experience was that I lost most of my motivation to work when I couldn't see the outside. I don't know what it is but you just need natural light and to be able to see the world around you in order to be productive and creative.

Bfogle

Indianapolis Coworker

On Wednesday, August 1, 2012 2:17:01 PM UTC-4, Adam Dean wrote:

[Adam Dean]

Here is some of the images of the window room from both the inside and outside

On Wednesday, August 1, 2012 2:17:01 PM UTC-4, Adam Dean wrote:

[Alex Hillman]

Floor to ceiling windows!? WANT. 

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/ah
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[Aliza Torok Schlabach]

Those windows are FANTASTIC. Natural light all the way. 

Aliza

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[Tom Brandt]

That looks fabulous!

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@twbrandt

[rachel young]

Adam, if you don't take a great space with floor to ceiling windows, we'll just encourage someone else to.  :-P

Natural light, however you can get it into your space, is essential. We have some wide supporting walls that we couldn't take down but are in the middle of our open space. It actually provides people with a choice for where they want to work - next to a window with some street noise but a great view to the park with dogs running around, or away from the windows where they can control their own lighting.  (internally we jokingly call it the light side and the dark side)

r.

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[Adam Dean]

I have to say it's a little intimidating selecting a space since I'm just a college student forming a coworking community. Thank you all for your responses. I agree that having windows and natural light is something we shouldn't look over. Rest assured I'll be keeping you all posted on our progress here in the Cincinnati area! 

On Wednesday, August 1, 2012 2:17:01 PM UTC-4, Adam Dean wrote:

[Alex Hillman]

Adam, have you connected to the guys at CincyCoworks? 

I was really impressed by the beginnings of the community when I was out there for QCMerge in the spring. Good stuff going on there, glad to hear you're working on something new!

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[Angel Kwiatkowski]

Um, windows. No matter what unless all of your prospective members have been dying to NOT have windows. My members never even turn on the lights--even when it's cloudy and dark out. They cringe like vampires when fluorescent light hits them.

r.

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[Noel Schaefer]

One more vote for the windows camp.  We have definitiely found that our members love our front windows.  One of our artists actually came out a wekk ago and took soome great photos of our front windows.  Take a look:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onyxone1/7662959544/in/photostream

 

-Noel

 
FACIL!TY

a local coworking space

215 Gold SW, Suite 102

Albuquerque, NM 87102

505-504-1405

No...@facilitycoworking.com

 

 

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[Jen Vincent]

Hi Adam,

Our space is an old church with narrow but 8ft high windows on the north & south sides which let in a lot of natural light.  Interestingly, I've noticed that our members have all naturally gravitated to the south side where the most light pours in - so I suppose that says that these people crave the natural light.

I was concerned initially that as clouds moved to block the sun and dimmed it that the light level change would be distracting.  So I invested in a LOT of compact fluorescent grow lights for our overhead lighting.  They're hardly noticeable on a bright sunny day, but as the day wanes, or on overcast days, it balances the light.  The thing about grow lights is that they emit a close-to-daylight spectrum which means they feel like natural lighting.  I use a brand called 'Sun-Blaster' if you're interested.  They aren't cheap, but they're super efficient and everyone comments on how good the light feels in our spaces that aren't blessed with windows.  I bought mine at a plant nursery, but you can also find them at hydroponics stores.

Hope this helps!!

Cheers,

Jennifer

Co-Founder & Community Manager

Cowork Penticton

www.coworkpenticton.com

[Jerome Chang]

Let's clarify a little. Do you really need soundproof as in you could scream inside and no one outside would hear you? Or just muffle normal discussions and some raised voices?

People often come into our space and question if there's sufficient soundproofing/resistance/muffling and privacy. What I ask them is, how private and how often do they really need these factors? And if so, will they pay for them?

In general, the answers are no. They just think they do and particularly, they don't want to pay for these. 

Unless you are working on top secret NSA stuff or in the case of LA, tv scripts for the next episode, your privacy and acoustic needs are way overblown, in sacrifice to the benefits of collaborations and affordability. 

And Kirsten and many others: glass is $$. Movable walls are $$. Movable glass walls are $$$$$. 

And finally, if you need to yell in the office, maybe it's time to reassess yourself. 

Jerome

www.BLANKSPACES.com

On Aug 2, 2012, at 8:25 AM, KPow <kirste...@gmail.com> wrote:

For me, first, most important is the ability for different companies/ organizations working in the same space without interrupting/ disrupting the workflow.

So, my first concern or preference is an environment where, since I am sometimes on conference calls, soundproofed -

So an office with a divided area surrounded by either glass or some transparent soundproofed material [I hear that they are coming out with new more soundproof recycled wax paper type dividers soon] 

For me, soundproofing is key.

So, I suppose - [inside artificial light] with a larger office space around with natural light if possible.

All the best,

Kirsten Power

On Wednesday, August 1, 2012 2:17:01 PM UTC-4, Adam Dean wrote:

Hi All,

First off thank you all for the incredible insights I've gathered from the group. I just have a simple question and all feedback would be great! Would you rather open a space with a lot natural light or have a space with an innovative design but would rely on artificial light? Thank you all for your time and I look forward to hearing the responses!

Adam Dean

Founder

3C-Coworks

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[Tom Brandt]

Agreed. People frequently overestimate the amount of sound deadening they think they need. Phone conversations don't have to be completely silenced so as not to disturb other coworkers, just muffled to some extent. That can frequently be accomplished by going into a corner of the room.

[Skid Vis]

My coworkers might just be weird, but I often find them all working away "in the dark".

CoVis has two moderately-sized windows that let in the daylight, they seem to prefer it as they rarely turn on the lights during the day.

- Skid Vis

CoVis CoWorking - www.covisco.com