An Office Dilemna

[Rain Man]

I'm going to be moving offices soon, and have a dilemna.

I am considering between two office choices.

Office A is a classic corner office with windows on two sides. It's a pretty big office, big enough that I think I could put a couch in it as well as a desk. It's got great views of a city scape and some distinctive buildings like the art museuam and the state capitol and the library, and you also see an urban park and just a teensy bit of mountains. It gets a lot of natural light and is bright, but the down side is that it's a southern and western exposure, which means a lot of direct sun. My guess is going to be that it may be hotter in the summer and cooler in the winter.

Office B is a window office as well, but only on one wall. It's a western exposure and probably has only one-third of the window space as Office A. The view isn't nearly as good since it looks more or less across the street at another building, but if you stand at the window and look left, you get about one-fourth of the scenery stuff that you'd get with Office A. However, it's an enormous office and has more of a den-like feel. In addition to a desk you could easily put a couch in, and maybe even two couches facing each other for a meeting area. It also has two very large built-in bookshelves. It doesn't get a lot of sun since the building across the street blocks the western exposure, but would probably have a more stable temperature as a result.

What do you think?

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

I would rather have the more window space to feel more connected with the outdoors

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by kysirsoze

Okay, do you meet with staff often or is that the exception?

Various staff people occasionally wander in and out for short discussions, but generally for actual meetings we go to a conference room. That might change a little if I have a couch in my office.

Mostly, though, my office is "me space".

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Various staff people occasionally wander in and out for short discussions, but generally for actual meetings we go to a conference room. That might change a little if I have a couch in my office.

Mostly, though, my office is "me space".

In that case, I'd probably go with A. I'm not more or less comfortable being in a big space, but a nice view can be a great stress reliever.

[trndobrd]

As long as office A has enough room for a large couch, that's really all that matters. Oh, and some blinds, and a small bar. You might enjoy the extra sun exposure:

Client: "Oh Mr. Rainman! My husband ran off, took all the money and left me with this huge marketing research project. I just don't know what to do! I don't know where to turn! Oh, Mr. Rainman, I'm desperate. I would do anything to get some marketing research done."

Kevin: "Dear, dear, it will all be OK. Just sit right down here [pats couch] and tell me all about it. Here, have a Vodka tonic, it will calm your nerves. My, that direct sunlight from the southern and western exposure is making it hot in here...."

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by trndobrd

As long as office A has enough room for a large couch, that's really all that matters. Oh, and some blinds, and a small bar. You might enjoy the extra sun exposure:

Client: "Oh Mr. Rainman! My husband ran off, took all the money and left me with this huge marketing research project. I just don't know what to do! I don't know where to turn! Oh, Mr. Rainman, I'm desperate. I would do anything to get some marketing research done."

Kevin: "Dear, dear, It will all be OK. Just sit right down here [pats couch] and tell me all about it. Here, have a Vodka tonic, it will calm your nerves. My, that direct sunlight from the southern and western exposure is making it hot in here...."

Case closed.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

That's very interesting.

As a followup question, I'll ask something that may or may not be specific to your faculty.

Do you think they're really valuing the space over the views and are unhappy because of that, or are they merely unhappy that there's a tradeoff that was made instead of improvement in all areas?

And does the fact that there's change at all make them unhappy, which may impact their views? Or does change produce more happiness, which is tempering their unhappiness about the specifics?

In general everyone is excited about having a new building. This new building is housing activities that are currently spread over 3 buildings, and one of those is well over 100 years old. I've had more than one faculty member comment that they wish they could keep their office in the 60-year old building, while doing all of their other activities in the new building. A lot of it has to do with book shelves (12 feet of floor to ceiling shelves is not uncommon) and having to deal with decades of accumulated clutter.

[Iowanian]

I choose office B.

I choose office B for a couple of reasons. Working on a computer most every day, glare from the sun from my front glass door and window are a constant battle for me, resulting in shades pulled down all of the time anyway.

More space gives you more flexibility in office setup, working area, and meeting options. You could go classic small conference table, you could go dueling sofas. With too nice of a view, people meeting with you could be distracted and not pay as much attention to what you're saying.

I'll take a house with a view and an office with functionality and room for toys if I want.

[patteeu]

All else equal, I'd go with Office A for the sunshine and the view (unless the comfort factor is really significant).

But one factor that you didn't address is the proximity of these offices to all the workers in your company. You don't want these guys walking in and interrupting your naps all the time so you should pick the office that is the most remotely located. Just install an intercom so you can push a button and tell DaFace to pick up your dry cleaning or wax your car.

Originally Posted by trndobrd

As long as office A has enough room for a large couch, that's really all that matters. Oh, and some blinds, and a small bar. You might enjoy the extra sun exposure:

Client: "Oh Mr. Rainman! My husband ran off, took all the money

Kevin: Oh, look at the time. I feel a heart attack coming on right now. I'm gonna have to let you leave. Thanks for coming in... OHHHHHH!

[Groves]

Floors.

Everyone knows that the floor connects your body to the world, and thus carries particular importance in this equation.

Are you choosing between marble and parquet floors? Shag and tile?

Maybe you could put in a shallow sand floor with those peace inducing rake marks. Would you rake your own office or have someone else rake it? These are the tough questions.

[Rain Man]

Okay, the decision was made. I went with Office B. I decided that I prefer to have more size and a higher likelihood of HVAC comfort instead of a nice view.

My new office is practically a dorm room. It's 14x19, so I'll be able to put in a couch and coffee table and stuff, and a mini-fridge. I'm down with it, even if my view is squat. Plus, it's closer to the front door, and I like to bark at the mailman.

Here are the pictures prior to move-in.

As you can see, my view is kind of squat - straight into another building if I'm sitting in the office. If I stand at the windows, I can get an oblique view down the street, which is okay (Photo 3). If I look the other direction, I can also see the people on the rowing machine at the YMCA gym.

Picture 5 is the inside wall of my office, which looks through glass into what is becoming our kitchen. I'd rather not have the windows, but I'll just put the blinds down. No big deal.

[Rain Man]

Office A is 12x15 and is your basic rectangular office. However, it's on the corner and has some really nice views. You can see the Capitol, the main library, the art museum, and the big park where the Occupy Denver people camp. Plus it's fun to see the cars coming toward you on the main downtown entry street. It's a very nice office.

However, a couch would be just a little bit crowded, and the windows are on the south and west sides, which is going to produce a lot of direct sunlight, and direct sunlight bothers me.

[ReynardMuldrake]

Man, I would kill to have an office with a window. I had a window at my last job that looked straight at a brick wall. Didn't think I would miss it, but I do.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by ReynardMuldrake

Man, I would kill to have an office with a window. I had a window at my last job that looked straight at a brick wall. Didn't think I would miss it, but I do.

Yeah, it's nice to have one, and I really, really like the view in Office A. The photos don't do it justice. But I think my main window goals are just to have a window where I can see the weather and get a little natural light. So while a panorama would be nice, I'll just stare at the office drones in the next building.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

I've never had an office without a window. It would suck. It sucked enough that my new(er) employer didn't have windows that opened.