Designing space to support knowldege work

Based on spatial analysis, network analysis, self-assessment questionnaires, field discussions and accounting documents, the authors discuss how work-place design and spatial layout support productivity in a communication design organization. The authors suggest that the impact of design goes beyond supporting more intense patterns of interaction and smoother flows of information. Workplace design and layout provide an intelligible framework within which collective knowledge is continuously explored, represented, interpreted, and transformed in relation to ongoing projects. Thus, the structure of space supports an organizational culture with cognitive functions.