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What is your ideal office?
16 points by johnrob on Feb 14, 2008 | hide | past | favorite | 44 comments
I was thinking about how I dislike the current setup at my job. We have desks instead of cubes in the main open space. Many folks dislike cubes, but I miss the illusion of privacy they create. I hate distractions, and the open desks only cause more of them.

Other than cubes, it's nice to have access to a clean shower and be in an area where you can run. A kitchen is essential too (fridge, sink, toaster oven, microwave).



My ideal office would have an ocean view, be close to everything geographically but never have any traffic congestion. Preferably the top floor (or at least a corner) of a large building with everything I need located inside of it (bathroom, shower, couch, kitchen). There would be two desks. One would be facing away from the large glass window (where the ocean is visible from) so that I can interact with the people who come to visit. The other desk would be against a wall (maybe a corner, or even a small hallway shape) where the real work gets done. In there I would have my computers, printers, and the other essentials. The couch would face the ocean, but rotate to face the flat screen TV. Scratch that. The Couch faces the ocean and when I want to watch TV the window is covered by a drop down wall with the TV inside of it. I'd also have a bed so I could stay the night comfortably when necessary.

As you can tell, I think it's healthy to dream big.


What, no girls fanning you with palm fronds and a little chamber music quartet? :)


Hmm. Good point. But I do need to be productive at some point. Maybe if the question was expanded beyond "Ideal Office" I could include those.


A 12x12x12 private office (I'm 6'5", so high ceilings are a definite mood enhancer).

One wall is entirely glass, looking over a shaded garden with the Ocean in the distance (probably on the side of a mountain here).

The wall to the right of the window wall is a bookcase.

The wall to the left of the window has an extra long couch (that I could actually fit on) to sleep. That wall also has the door.

The wall opposite the window is at my back, with my 72x40 inch desk in front of me. On my desk are three 24 inch Dell LCDs, each running at 1920x1200. My chair is a Herman Miller Mirra (fully loaded).

Behind me and to my right is the door to the en-suite bathroom, complete with shower and closet full of clothes and a kitchenette (with tap that has Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke, Boulevard Wheat, Murphy's Irish Red, and Guinness).

Behind and to the left of my desk is a door to a wiring closet, where all my computers and stuff are.

The carpet is black and deep like grass, and all the lights are LEDs.

Between the window wall and the desk is an extremely comfortable recliner and table (for reading).

Outside the office itself is a common area with doors opening onto all the other offices (of my brilliant fellow coders). The common area has couches and big long tables for collaboration. At one end is a recessed movie-theatre-esqe area for group presentations and movie nights. At the other end is the entrance to the building.


An attempt at a rough diagram. Common area is to the left of this image.

   .___________window____________.
   /                             |
  /                              |
   |                reading     b|
   |                 chair      o|
   |c                           o|_________
   |o                           k| b       |
   |u                           c|  a      |
   |c         deskdeskdesk      a|   t     |
   |h         deskdeskdesk      s|    h    |
   |          deskdeskdesk      e|     r   |
   |              chair          \      o  |
   |                              \      o |
   |_____________________________|________m|
   |      |
   |wiring|
   |_clos.|


Upmodded for ascii image hack alone. I love how he uses slashes and backslashes to show that the doors are opened. lol


I'm at work, it was bound to happen. hehe


I absolutely love the deskdesk and the sort to show that it is the desk, and the size of the desk.

On that note, I love huge desks...that are mainly empty. But that probably relates to my insanity.


amazing graph. well done:)


12 foot ceilings ftw. Presently in an office that has approximately 22' ceilings and is 22'x10'x22'. However, absolutely no windows in this state sanctioned fallout shelter. With some mods to my chair, office positioning and window display (and resignation that kansas is a long fn way from the ocean) this is tolerable.


Wouldn't 12' ceilings in a 12'x12' room feel weird? I would think that 10' would still give you plenty of clearance without feeling like you were in a pit.

Fantastic vision, though. When I rule the world, I'll have you and gibson1f design my control room!


Well the 12' was a concession to a nerdy desire for symmetry. I figure a big silent ceiling fan hanging down will make the room feel less like a cavern.


One with great colleagues that help, inspire, and challenge me. Everything else is optional.


"... One with great colleagues that help, inspire, and challenge me. Everything else is optional. ..."

Do you need other people to give you the core motivation & challenge to get things done? Individualism is at the core of Startups. Individuals first, team second. Why? Because designing & building stuff is a pretty much a solitary task. Sure you can have a team to assemble the bits. But in the end it's really down to how well one individual does particular job, task. You will fail where individuals fail, regardless of help by other team members.

    where failure is the norm an ideal office is not optional
The ideal workplace is an important concept for Startups. It's where you do your thinking and execute your ideas. Your thoughts are your product. The better the ideas, the better the product. Poor workplaces, no matter how good the team or individual is toxic to good thinking. A good workplace can be like wearing safety kit doing a dangerous job. It shields your thoughts from unwanted distractions. Filters the environment of distracting noise. It lets you get on with the job not having to stop, cough your lungs up, wipe the crap from your boiler suit every time you sit at your keyboard. Another concern. If you want to keep your co-workers, fellow hackers on the job, the office has to be close or a lot better than their own house. [0]

You have lots of hurdles in a Startup. An ideal, even good workplace is a core concern. It is not optional.

[0] This is a Phil Greenspun idea on building and keeping good engineering teams. There are a whole lot of good practical ideas here ~ http://philip.greenspun.com/ancient-history/managing-softwar...


Thers's a reason most successful startups have two or more founders.

You don't build greatness yourself, you do it by leveraging other people.


I'm not sure anyone has ever accomplished anything when they set out to "leverage other people."


I'm not sure anyone has ever accomplished anything when they have not leveraged other people.


I'm not sure anyone has ever accomplished anything arguing about leveraging people (whatever that means) either...


You win :-)


A large room with a desk, computer, sofa. In an old country house in the UK.

http://xara.com/gaddesden/


I like desks instead of cubicles, if the office is silent (no phone calls). I like to have near some healthy foot (mainly fruit, coffee, milk, water and juices), and a shower appreciated.

Yesterday I was talking with a colleague that it would be also great to have a small room to relax/sleep. Sometimes, when I'm blocked or with headache a quick nap (20-30min) is magic.

Of course, good coworkers is a must!


+infinity for nap room


"... What is your ideal office? ..."

Hmm couch to the left, bookshelf in front. Large table. Places outside to walk and think.

       a quiet place that's a 
       leap and a bound from 
       a keyboard & monitor
Close to food, kitchen, stereo, whiteboard. With all these things I can move from idea to code quickly. Having said that it's a fair hike from the city central. Read these articles to rate your own environment: [0]

- http://www.paulgraham.com/gh.html

- http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/BionicOffice.html

[0] btw I add these references not because of "who" wrote them, but the quality of the descriptions.


i'll take a desk or a cube with a brick alley view where i can sit whenever i want to (within reason) over a pastoral mansion that looks at me funny when i show up at noon.


"... i'll take a desk or a cube with a brick alley view where i can sit whenever i want to ..."

I'll agree with the place you can sit anytime. But views are important, to me. I'm not sure why but having something natural to look somehow improves my thinking ~ http://flickr.com/photos/bootload/1270954109/


I think Connected Ventures has the greatest office in NYC, followed by SkinnyCorp in Chicago.

Slide is packed like sardines, and Facebook has no style.


Something on the beach, with an ocean view.


We're on Waiheke Island in New Zealand:

http://www.waihekeweek.co.nz/logo4.gif


I have a theory that the day to day experience of at a company is what makes/breaks people's moral. If people like their environment, they will want to support the company that provides it. Normally one would assume that things like salary/stock options would be bigger motivators, but in reality those things are just numbers on paper and in bank accounts. And they don't make a bad office suck any less. The 8+ hours a day spent at the office are concrete and you never get them back. Few things are worse than not enjoying them. Obviously, there are plenty of exceptions, especially for people who have financial obligations to support non-work things. In this case people are probably more driven by financial opportunities.


Short commute, good free snacks and food and drinks and tea (and soup!), within walking distance of lots of good restaurants, great coworkers, minimal distractions, no politics, flexible hours, occasional telecommute (but not so frequently that the office becomes a ghost town), free parking, great view, stacks of all useful computer books near your workstation, room to walk around and stretch, trust-based environment where you can leave all your stuff at your workstation and not worry about it, plenty of whiteboards available, freedom to personalize your workspace.

My new job features all of these (except soup! :'-{ ), although the commute could be a little shorter, and the hours a little more flexible. ;-)


Some place so boring I can do nothing but work all day everyday. As well as a full supply of water, gatorade, tea, crackers, pizza pops. A big desk, a pile of books, one or more whiteboards, my stereo/headphones, and of course my laptop.


This is my startup setup. We have arcade games and every employee is given a 30 tokens a week to use on vending machines, air hockey, pool table and other games. It's their choice to use them all at once or spread out over the week. They can even hoard them and save them up. That way they are in charge of their time. We even vote on new games to be added as we reach milestones.


"... We have arcade games and every employee is given a 30 tokens a week to use on vending machines, air hockey, pool table and other games. It's their choice to use them all at once or spread out over the week. ..."

What tokens, you gotta be joking. How bl%*dy lame is that? The best fun I had at one Startup was playing the pin-ball machine and pool table. More mileage was taken in the press with a single pool table than the cost it took to put them in. More work, ideas & fun were generated around that table & arcade game than any meeting. Except the ones at the pub.


What, no foosball? No better way to end the frustration of a long refactoring session that a cold beer and a Texas pull shot.


Hmm. Maybe just this:

http://www.stefandidak.com/office/


This may sound weird, but I've come to prefer lying face-down on the floor with a laptop in front of me. I think it's because that's how I did homework as a kid (in front of the TV).

So my ideal office would have to support that.


Lots of different places to work - from a 24" monitor attached to the MBP in the "office" to the Eames lounge in front of a big TV. Add the coffee shop down the street and I'm set.

Note - don't forget about ergonomics!


Ideally, a home office with a lakefront view. But I'd settle for elements from Adobe/Flickr as shown at:

http://www.officesnapshots.com/


I kind of prefer desks instead of cubes and I'd really like a huge monitor that I can plug into my laptop. Plus, free food and drinks. :)


I'll take the real privacy of an office over the "illusion of privacy" offered by cubes any day.


Doesn't matter as long as there's an All You Can Eat Chinese Buffet within walking distance.


something cool is wiki.coworking.info where you can collaborate with other hackers to share space.

my ideal office would have alot of light, a plasma, a couch, wifi and a wireless keyboard amd mouse.


something cool is wiki.coworking.info where you can collaborate with other hackers to share space.

my ideal office would have alot of light, a plasma, a couch, wifi and a wireless keyboard amd mouse.


Port City Java.




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