Move call boxes from hangout space to office space

[franzihei]

Recently, two more call boxes have been installed.

Currently, they are located on our top floor in the "green house" / chill area.

I propose to move them down to the working area for the following reasons:

• The upstairs area was nice when it had a calm, chillout vibe where one could really take in the views and relax on the sofa. By adding the call booths into that room, it now feels like a walking through hallway with people coming in and out of the booths frequently.
• The hangout space thus cannot be used for meetings or relaxation anymore since it is disturbed by people coming in and out of call booths.
• The upstairs area makes a stuffed/overcrowded impression now and has too many use cases mixed.

I propose to move the call boxes into the main working room on the wall where the "La Fusion" poster is currently.

The dimensions of both call booths together are: 2m wide, 1m deep and 2.15m high.

With that, they fit perfectly on that wall:

I marked the outlines of the boxes with gaffa tape on the floor. See photos above. 👆

This change would only require minimal movement of our existing furniture setup: We could either move the fridge a bit more to the left, or move it somewhere else.

This placement has the added benefit that people can "hop" in and out of call booths easily and restores the balance in atmosphere of

• upstairs: creative, calm, relaxing
• downstairs: focussed work, functional

Let me know what you think!

[franzihei]

Adding one more reason why moving the boxes down makes sense imo: In the summer it's usually always rather hot up there, making the call booths more useful downstairs. Unless we are looking for two small saunas. 🧖

[AfafOua]

Thank you for your proposal @franzihei . After careful consideration, I believe maintaining the current placement aligns with our long term office optimisation strategy. Here's why:  

Space Improvement Need:

Given the increasing attendance in the office coupled with the demand for privacy, the recent change of moving the wall was necessary to eliminate the underutilised corner and make better use of available space.
I see only positive impact through this adjustment, it creates new space without impacting the conference room or lounge, and it creates new privacy space for office members as requested.

No Impact on Hangout Space:

The newly created space and it's phone booths doesn't disrupt the hangout space, which remains the same comfortable and relaxed area. People can continue to enjoy the lounge, even with one or two people occasionally passing by to use the phone booths. This has been the norm even before when people visited the conference room or terrace for various reasons, be it for relaxation or work.

Downstairs Space Optimization:

The broader perspective for downstairs involves enhancing the space for desks and adding room separators. However, the designated corner could also serve as a potential location for a larger four-person phone booth, meeting a potential need in the future.

Weather/Hot space

The phone booths can be equipped with small ACs (similar to what we use in the ChainSafe office, which is entirely under a glass roof), or the whole space can be equipped with an AC similar to the server room.

I will make sure next time to have everyone involved in making such a decision and chose what's best for our office space.

Thanks for your understanding :)

Edit: Just to clarify, I’m not looking to impose anything, this is just my point of view so we can of course continue to discuss here

[rosee8]

I completely understand Franzi's perspective, and if you had asked me in the beginning, I would have probably agreed to place the booths where Franzi suggested. At the same time, I personally don't think the booths upstairs are a negative addition. During the Christmas dinner, I didn't find them to be disruptive, and they aren't directly placed in the chill area. I also do appreciate Afafs effort and creative idea to use the upstairs space, which is generally rather underused.
And while I understand that it's hard to loop everyone in and sometimes it's easier to just make a decision without asking for everyones opinion, I also agree that we should discuss significant changes like this with the office team beforehand in the future.