Seeking recommendations for glass walls/offices

[Lauren McDaniel]

Hi,

I'm exploring the possibility of adding some glass-walled offices to our coworking space and curious how much these typically cost. I'm looking for enclosed (with door) floor-to-ceiling options since the purpose would be to create more privacy for phone calls. Seeking an option that could fit one desk and another that could fit a desk of four. 

I'd welcome all suggestions and manufacturers! 

Thanks,

Lauren McDaniel 

[Barbara Sprenger]

Lauren, we were able to find some used, originally manufactured by DIRTT. They were about $2K/office used, but I think that's close to 10 - 20% of what they'd be new. You might check your favorite, well-supported used supplier. These were a bear to put up, but they look gorgeous finished. (If you were closer, there's about 85 linear feet left, with 2 glass barn doors, 9' tall.)

[Angel Kwiatkowski]

I've never sourced glass walls/offices but I'd be curious to know if you *really* need the expensive glass option or if you could build out with drywall but splurge on nice glass doors? This way you save some money, can have power on the walls and still get lots of light flowing in and out.

Angel

[Alex Linsker]

I'd suggest finding a local makerspace nearby and having them price and do it. Then it becomes more human than just a glass wall. If you run the options by your members, $4K (or $10K) for a 2-person quality phone booth built by localMakerspace that goes inThisSpot or $4K or ($10K) for _________ over time, what do they choose. (They probably want lots of things.)

I looked at glass walls (and other walls) and personally it isn't a project I will lead, but if members ever want to lead, I could assist, and would share any leads from here.

[Lauren McDaniel]

Thank you, everyone, for your feedback and suggestions! 

Best, 

Lauren 

On Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 2:30:21 PM UTC-6, Lauren McDaniel wrote:

[SphereMail SphereMail]

Tempered glass gets very expensive, Ask for store-front type glass with aluminum frame around it, it would be a quarter of the tempered glass price.

Hasan Mirjan
SphereMail.co

On Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 1:30:21 PM UTC-7, Lauren McDaniel wrote:

[Alex Hillman]

I'm gonna toss a perspective in here that hasn't been mentioned:

Glass walls can look amazing, though I hear from a lot of people that they hate feeling like they're in a fishbowl. I personally think it's a weird architectural hack for trying to bend office-demand into a misunderstood open aesthetic. But that's a longer debate, and for another day.

The bigger issue is that glass walls turn small rooms into awful echo monsters. Yes, you can temper it with acoustic treatment, but that's yet another expense on top of the glass. Especially when the goal is to create spaces for phone calls, I'd be doing everything imaginable to get rid of echo'y surfaces. 

Fundamentally, floor to ceiling glass is one of those style trends that I see doing more damage than good. Maybe an unpopular opinion? I'm not sure. I know we ruled them out as a usability concern very early in our renovation.

-Alex

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[Chad Ballantyne]

Agreed x100

Chad Ballantyne

705.812.0689

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[Jerome Chang]

I agree x100…if it’s glass all the way around.

I’ve been using glass on just one wall and the feedback has been excellent. I also use partial height, either lower or upper half.

Basically, use them judiciously - your wallet will thank you as well

JEROME CHANG

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On Apr 3, 2017, at 11:05 AM, Chad Ballantyne <ch...@thecreativespace.ca> wrote:

Agreed x100

Chad Ballantyne

705.812.0689

ch...@thecreativespace.ca

<TheCreativeSpace-door-decal.png>

[Lauren McDaniel]

I appreciate everyone weighing in with the different options (and downsides) related to the glass-walled offices. I am now reconsidering my original plan. 

Thank you! 

Lauren

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[Jeannine van der Linden]

I would like to second this.  We have glass fronts on the small meeting rooms in Amsterdam, primarily for architectural reasons -- Dutch canal houses (which is what the Amsterdam location is in) tend to the narrow and deep, and get their light and ventilation from one side only. The fishbowl effect is therefore magnified.  

Entertainingly, local code requires either partial glass walls, frosted glass, or stickers on the glass to avoid people walking into them.  :-)

Agreed x100

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[Maureen Soules]

While a more expensive initial investment, I'd seriously consider a product like DIRTT.  Several reasons: First, the product can be depreciated like furniture, installation (including electrical work) can happen over a weekend or after hours with almost no downtime or disruption to your business, and it can be reused and reconfigured as the needs of your office space evolve. 

[Jerome Chang]

Right...but are these demountable walls, like by DIRTT, actually feasible to re-arrange easily by community managers or administrative types? And while they can be paid as furniture, their cost is something like 10x (?) more than traditional drywall. 

Jerome

www.BLANKSPACES.com

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[Maureen Soules]

No, they typically cannot be reconfigured by managers or admins; you need a trained installer.  The cost you cite is very exaggerated over drywall.  Yes, the initial expense is considerably higher than drywall, but if you also factor in construction time + office downtime, the cost is more like 3X, not 10X.  And, if you reconfigure two or three times, you've already recouped any cost difference. What must also be factored in is the cost of building systems.  Data and electrical are typically plug-and-play, and lighting can usually be reconfigured by the electrician on the installation team.  The biggest problems I've seen is the incorporation of sprinkler heads and code compliance for spacing, and the edition of air supply and returns, based on local code requirements.

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[Barbara Sprenger]

Hi Maureen,

We were able to find about 11 DIRTT offices second-hand at $2K/office. After reconfiguring, we were left with lots of wall sections and insufficient parts to make more offices, but we got 10 offices out of them! They’re really quite nice looking and I was surprised by their sound absorption.

They took a lot longer than a weekend to install, but we’re still happy with the result.

Barbara Sprenger

 bspr...@thesatelliteinc.com

  www.thesatelliteinc.com

  831-222-2101

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[Maureen Soules]

That's great!  Yes, I'm not surprised it took more than a weekend to install; reconfiguring existing product takes a bit more management than new product straight from the factory!  I'm glad to hear it works for you.  Sound absorption has greatly improved in these wall systems.  For future reference, should you need to improve sound absorption even more, consider replacing the tempered glass with laminated glass.  It should still comply with the code for safety glass, and has even higher ratings for sound.

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[Jerome Chang]

Got it. 10x was a guess.

What would be the proper #x if just the upfront cost? I think the construction time is an indirect cost that depends upon the # of future reconfigurations, if any.

And yes, sprinkler heads is a huge unknown difficulty and cost, as is re-routing HVAC.

I wouldn’t normally recommend any electrician to reconfigure data as you’d have to bring in your IT guy anyway to update/reconfigure your patch panel, etc.

JEROME CHANG

talk to us: (323) 330-9505

chat w/ us: http://www.BLANKSPACES.com/chat

WEST: Santa Monica | 1450 2nd St (@Broadway)

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