An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation “There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed by email and iChat. That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say ‘Wow,” and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.” 1 - Steve Jobs on the design of Pixar Headquarters Heather Blanchard American University of Paris Media, Stuff and Values: CM 5033 - Spring 2012 An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033 Page 1 1 Isaacson, Walter. "The Real Leadership Lessons from Steve Jobs." The Magazine. Harvard Business Review, Apr. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
The aim of this research paper is to investigate how space and landscape provide tangible (i.e. shared resources) and intangible (i.e. shared sense of community) benefits for entrepreneurs. The research question I would like to explore is why are entrepreneurs attracted to and participate in shared space? What benefits does these spaces provide? What are the similar environmental conditions within the physical space? Ultimately, this paper will seek to understand how communal working and co-creation necessary (or not) for innovation.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation
“There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed by email and iChat. That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say ‘Wow,” and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.”1
- Steve Jobs on the design of Pixar Headquarters
Heather BlanchardAmerican University of ParisMedia, Stuff and Values: CM 5033 - Spring 2012
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 1
1 Isaacson, Walter. "The Real Leadership Lessons from Steve Jobs." The Magazine. Harvard Business Review, Apr. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
Overview
The aim of this research paper is to investigate how space and landscape provide
tangible (i.e. shared resources) and intangible (i.e. shared sense of community) benefits for
entrepreneurs. The research question I would like to explore is why are entrepreneurs
attracted to and participate in shared space? What benefits does these spaces provide? What
are the similar environmental conditions within the physical space? Ultimately, this paper will
seek to understand how communal working and co-creation necessary (or not) for innovation.
To explore these research questions, field research was necessary to collect primary
source data of spaces which entrepreneurs occupy. Three spaces were observed for this paper
including two in Paris, France, La Cantine and DojoBoost and one in Brussels, Belgium called
The Hub. Critical theory and secondary research sources are used to provide contextualization
to for the innovation space observations as well as the participants who occupy them.
This paper will provide a relationship of the rise of co-working spaces, the role of the
workplace, the role of learning, three observations of innovation spaces and a private sector
approach to creative space. Through these areas this paper will present arguments which
relate to the use of adhocracy, experiential learning. Also provided is the concept that both the
space and the interaction between people within that space are both objects which support
mediation and circulation which in turn create its value. insights and illustrations of
environmental conditions by which entrepreneurs are attracted to collaboration space.
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 2
Through this research an initial set of conditions may be developed for future research to
better understand environmental conditions which may facilitate a greater probability for
innovation and creativity.
The Rise of Co-Working in a Networked World
The genesis of co-working can be attributed to an open source software developer,
later a Google employee, Brad Neuberg who from 2005 - 2007 who founded and fostered a
movement of a new kind of workspace. Dubbed, co-working by Neuberg as “alternative office
space for self-employed developers and writers, (which create) a forum for structure,
community, and innovation.”2 Neuberg offered the framework to anyone who was interesting
in opening their own space. “Disseminated [the] co-working idea as a kind of Johnny Appleseed
by encouraging others to take ownership of the idea and run with it in any direction they
wanted. Co-working spaces are now around the world and United States, and is a real
grassroots movement thanks to this unorthodox policy.” As a founder he felt that his role was
to “develop and evangelize the need for new kind of work environment through blog posts,
wikis, articles, speeches, and more.”
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
The idea for this new kind of environment germinated from the need to connect with
others. Neuberg explained to the New York Times3 that the choice to found a space what
perhaps a simple one. “It seemed I could either have a job, which would give me structure and
community, or I could be freelance and have freedom and independence. Why couldn’t I have
both?”4 Mother Jones5 offered a more detailed description of the formulation of Neuberg’s
first co-working space. “In 2005, Brad Neuberg, a software programmer in San Francisco, hit
upon a simple solution: He got a few friends together to share a rental space, as well as
printers, fax machines, and wireless Internet, and—like a good start-up founder—branded his
creation "coworking." As the 31-year-old recalls, "I said, 'Why can't I have my cake and eat it
too? Is there a way that I can have community and independence?' It's a false assumption that
you can't have both." Word of Neuberg's San Francisco Coworking Space spread, and techies,
writers, and entrepreneurs began dropping in. "I urged people to steal the idea," he says.
Today, there are 29 coworking sites across North America and a few more around the globe—
all listed on a wiki that has instructions for anyone who wants to start her own.”
Since these interviews, there are thousands of co-working spaces across the world.
Some even created in partnership and supported by local governments such as Fab Labs in
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 4
3 Fost, Dan. They’re Working on Thier Own, Just Side By Side. New York Times. 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 29. Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20cowork.html?pagewanted=all>.
4 Fost, Dan. They’re Working on Thier Own, Just Side By Side. New York Times. 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 29. Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20cowork.html?pagewanted=all>.
5 Butler, Keira. Practical Values: Works Well With Others. What if a day at the office is actually good for you? Mother Jones. 18 Jan. 2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/01/practical-values-works-well-others>.
co-workers that day. The space is laid out in a modular fashion. Technically it is one large
space on the first level that is divided three ways. The bar area, the co-working tables and the
conference table in the back. From outside you can see into the space as there are floor to
ceiling windows. On the windows there are post-it notes which create squared objects which
resemble computer game characters circa 1980s.
The design of the space is open. Along the entrance way there is a sitting area with
couches and bar stools where co-workers can meet and have a coffee. This space doubles as
the free co-working area. The entire space has free Wi-Fi. There is a bar with beverages, coffee
and wine to the left and upon entry is a large chalkboard (which is the size of an entire wall)
which announces upcoming events or just to use to draw ideas. To the right of the entry way is
a large open room which is divided by a round sitting area atop a slighted raised stage area.
This area is in the middle of the room and acts as a divider between the two areas. One area
(in the back of the room) is quieter space with a thirty person white oval table and the other
side of the room is a re-arrangeable space with movable tables which can configure to seating
50-70 via chairs people for a presentation (complete with A/V capability) or for daily use are
two-three long work tables where 20-30 people a day co-work together. Along the far wall is a
DJ-booth which controls all of the A/V equipment in the space. The floors, tables and shaped
sitting area are black. The conference table is white as well as the screen that can come down
to separate the two areas. There are red accents with aluminum, industrial-looking lamps. La
Cantine has a second floor connected by a spiral metal staircase with additional conference
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 14
rooms and small offices. The second floor is reserved for co-workers who rent offices upstairs
where they have a permanent space. However much of the activity in La Cantine is on it’s first
floor.
La Cantine has strong community with events happening almost daily. When the technology
celebrity comes to town, they often are hosted and stop by La Cantine. For example, Google’s
Chris Bonilla, the lead of their open source development team visited La Cantine where
participants were able to hear what Chris was interested in and connect to Google’s efforts.
While french is the primary language used, English seems to be the secondary language used
at La Cantine.
Space Profile: DojoBoost (Incubator)
Recently opened DojoBoost builds upon the work of Frederic Dembak who operates
DojoCrea a french entrepreneur incubation space in Paris. DojoBoost is a franchise of
DojoCrea which supports a model of membership where entrepreneurs are selected to
participate in a five month program to ready their company for first round venture capital
investment. While there is co-working space available for about 350 EU a month (not on a
daily basis), Dojoboost is primarily focused on attracting and supporting early stage
technology development companies. Entrepreneurs receive 5 months training program the
facility provides office space, mentoring and training for start up companies in exchange for
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 15
five percent of common shares. Services provided include a graphic designer, community
management, public relations, technical expertise, legal and accounting counsel.
DojoBoost is located at 41 Boulevard Saint Martin in Paris in a street level commercial
space. The space is newly opened and renovated with a bright open floor with open space for
co-working. There is a small presentation area on the right where companies pitch there
ideas. There is a upper level and a lower level with offices. There is a lower level lounge area
with couches. The upstairs is brightly lit while the lower level has low intensity lighting with
exposed stone walls. There are blonde wood floors with white tables. There are green accents.
While centered in Paris, Dojoboost is actually managed by an American who has lived in
France for 20 years. On their website, which is all English they offer that, “Even though the
majority of our staff is French, we have a strong flavor of the American startup culture.”
Space Profile: The Hub in Brussels (Monthly Membership)
The Hub in Brussels is a co-working space which is affiliated with and part of a
network of “The Hub” spaces around the world. Currently 25 Hubs exists in 5 continents. One
of the spaces connected within The Hub network is The Hub - Brussels. Located in the 37 Rue
du Prince Royal in Brussels the Hub is a co-working space operates as a meeting destination
space with the ability to co-work on a full time basis. The design of the space is impactful
upon entering. A large cardboard hive-like hanging model is displayed from the ceiling with
rows of tables which were handmade to be rearranged in the space. The space is within a
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 16
renovated industrial building with other small businesses surrounding it. Like the other two
co-working spaces, The Hub is a large open, brightly lit space however The Hub is focused on
created a sustainable eco-friendly environment. Free wi-fi is available for co-working
participants and events are held almost everyday to provide training and networking
opportunities for entrepreneurs in Brussels.
The space is focused on being low to no impact on the environment and is vegetarian
by design. Reusable cups, recycling bins and organic food align its kitchen where shared
healthy snacks are available for any participant. The Hub has a full service kitchen which was a
unique aspect of its space. The Hub is membership based at varying levels. From a virtual
membership to be connected to the community in a digital space to the amount of hours that
an entrepreneur might need. For people traveling the Hub provides a free space to work.
Environmental Condition: Sense of Community
One of the core common themes of these spaces is the ability to connect with
community and network with others. These spaces provide an environment for the ability of
people to come together, to form community. “Even people who are antisocial feel a need to be
around other people for at least part of the day while they’re working,”8 said Laura Forlano, a
visiting fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School who has studied people
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 17
8 Fost, Dan. They’re Working on Thier Own, Just Side By Side. New York Times. 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 29. Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20cowork.html?pagewanted=all>.
working in communal offices and cafes.” Learning theory confirms this sentiment as Schepers
and van den Berg offer, “In line with social learning theory, we defined knowledge sharing as
the tendency to provide expertise to fellow professionals.” (Schepers and van den Berg, 2007:
414)
Like Dojoboost, entrepreneurs not only are participating in the incubator but they are
being actively mentored by others to share knowledge. Related to social learning theory,
“According to Vygotsky (1978) cognitive growth is fostered when experts provide guidance and
encouragement on tasks that are too complex to be mastered alone: the “zone of proximal
development.” This guidance is helpful for inexperienced, as well as experienced, colleagues.
Lave’s (1988) situated learning theory emphasizes social interaction as a critical component of
learning and advocates that learners become involved in a “community of practice.”
Communities of practice are groups of people who share insight experience and tools about
an area of common interest (Wenger, 1998).” (Schepers and van den Berg, 2007: 413) They also
move towards a wider view of “expertise” to include non-experts as part of their approach.
“Our definition embraces guidance of inexperienced employees, as well as interaction among
experienced employees. Amabile et al. (1996) has shown that work group support fosters
creativity. Work group support is defined as open communication in which members
constructively challenge each other’s ideas, and trust each other. Work group support should
lead to creativity because individuals are exposed to a greater variety of unusual ideas. Such
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 18
exposure has been demonstrated to have a positive impact on creative thinking (Parnes &
Noller, 1972)” (Schepers and van den Berg, 2007: 414)
Power Dynamics of Innovation Space
Entrepreneurs are often individuals who at some level were frustrated by their own
ecosystem within a bureaucratic system (i.e. traditional corporate job). This kind of behavior,
simply “dropping out” of the corporate structure perhaps wasn’t on the mind of many
management theorists. Stewart quoted Peter Drucker in is book, Intellectual Capital, where
Ducker stated, “Only the organization and provide the basic continuity that knowledge
workers need in order to be effective. Only the organization can convert the specialized
knowledge of the knowledge working into performance” (Stewart, 1999:108) This is counter
the finding that Schepers and van den Berg argued where adhocracy, the polar opposite of the
“organization” or bureaucracy is the ideal place for knowledge creation, specifically learning
through experience, experimentation and creativity. “According to Claver, Llopis, Garcia, and
Moline (1998), the ideal profile for creativity is an adhocracy. Adhocracies foster creativity
because they adapt to the environment Cameron and Quinn (1999). Bertrams (1999) states that
an adhocracy is excellent for innovation because people are motivated to learn, experiment
and take risks. Accordingly, Nystrom (1990) found that organizational divisions with cultures
reflecting challenge and risk taking were more innovative. Brand (1998( showed that an
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 19
innovative culture stimulates creativity, whereas a controlling culture hinders
creativity.” (Schepers and van den Berg, 2007: 412)
In relation to space, these opposing views also relate to each other. In a corporate
environment (closed contrived, hierarchical space) there can be a hierarchy which creates
meaning for its workforce where in adhocratic spaces (open, organic community driven space)
there is a level of autonomy but interest in collaboration and production in ways which cannot
be created within a power structure. The area which these interpersonal dynamics take place
often create the ethos of the production in that innovation space. Roman Gelfer, a former
equities trader launched his own co-working space in San Francisco remarked to the New
York Times, “If you build a space from the ground up for co-working and networking as well,
you could do a better job and I definitely believe it’s a great business.”9 This kind of
grassroots, almost organic nature of how the community as an “opt-in” approach where all of
the participants seek out its environment changes contribute to the decentralization of power
dynamics of the space. While participants who actively support the development of
collaboration through this kind of self-selected behavior, within an organization it can be very
different even if you provide the open space for collaboration. It could relate to the notion of
the rights of individuals verses the right of a community of practice. “Effectively, the removal
of rights of individuals to space makes everyone a visitor to the building, much as students are
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 20
9 Fost, Dan. They’re Working on Thier Own, Just Side By Side. New York Times. 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 29. Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20cowork.html?pagewanted=all>.
in a campus, or pedestrians are in the city. In this situation it is possible for ‘hidden’ power
structures to emerge (the bully in the school playground is one example) that can be far more
conservative in their effects than the more explicit power structures embodied in
organisationally sanctioned statuses.” (Penn, Desyllas and Vaughn, 1997:12.23) The sense of
product may be shifted because production is singular and not within a group dynamic,
although selection of partners can come from the social structure of these spaces.
Looking towards theory of capitalism Marx might be challenged by this new kind of
production. The power relations that once supported industrial production may have shifted
in the new information economy. Marx creates an illustration in Capital where he offers, “Let
us now picture to ourselves, by way of change, a community of free individuals, carrying on
their work with the means of production in common, in which the labour power of all the
different individuals is consciously applied as the combined labour power of the community.
All the characteristics of Robinson’s labour are here repeated, but with this difference, that
they are social, instead of individual. Everything produced by him was exclusively the result of
his own personal labour, and therefore simply an object of use for himself. The total product
of our community is a social product. One portion serves as fresh means of production and
remains social. But another portion is consumed by the members as means of subsistence. A
distribution of this portion amongst them is consequently necessary. The mode of this
distribution will vary with the productive organization of the community, and the degree of
historical development attained by the producers.” (Marx, 1955:3)
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 21
While Marx offers that production indeed is social, he may not have imagined the role of an
institution (often created by a collective of consumer turned producers) not as a producer but
as a platform by which micro-production is placed individually. There could be, under the
same roof, two competitors who are not collaborating towards a common production. In fact
the entire institution specializes on the fact that the producers within themselves aren’t
creating a common product but rather they are creating common skills and value. Producers
within the collaborative innovations space share in the benefits of proximity. This can be
tangible such as finding a new business partner, problem solving, learning a new skill or it
could even be intangible by providing mentoring support. The concept of the producer
needing a place to create production in a social environment confirms Marx view that
production is social, however not to split hairs, and if you wanted to compare in relation to
space that instead of one producer where work is produced socially today in the information
economy this is decentralized where everyone is a producer and still wants to be connected to
a social system while producing. Referring back to Schepers and van den Berg these
innovation spaces provide a home for producers themselves to create in instance a community
of practice around similar interests and often values. It could be argued for the future that,“As
utilization of space becomes temporary and the office society becomes effectively ‘nomadic’,
rule systems surrounding space use and cultural devices to allow individuals and groups to
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 22
maintain their identity are both likely to become more elaborate.” (Penn, Desyllas and Vaughn,
1997:12.24)
Creationism verses Optimization
One entrepreneur (who anonymously provided input in a candid conversation) from
La Cantine, a co-working space in Paris, France, reflected on his experience in co-working and
references how power dynamics are represented in the workplace, especially the challenge of
creating verses optimization.
“We are the first generation who actually has a choice of how they want to work. I left the
corporate environment. My office travels with me. Today I might be working here (at the co-
working space), tomorrow I might be at home. I like it this way. It fits my lifestyle. The
companies I work with all work this way. We don’t have a fixed line. We just use our cell
phones. I like working like this.”
“Idea is that the kind of people who run companies are sometimes just alike. Often they are
similar kinds of people who have been who have been taught to optimize the company (i.e.
MBAs). They are there not to create new ideas but to optimize processes and systems which are
already there instead of creating a creative process. In effect, what they do is castrate the
company from all of its ideas.”
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 23
“Often real leaders who are innovative are people who have have strong sense of what they
want to do. They have been told by many people that their idea won’t work. They are dedicated
to their vision. These people have a will which push on despite what people say or do. They are
focused on achieving their idea regardless if it makes sense or not.”
“In effect you have to have an extreme personal bias about your idea. You have to be okay with
risk and appreciate it. Companies are often only focused on optimization where the sole focus is
to eliminate excess instead of trying to do something that is new. These are different things.
They (the companies) don’t have the space to actually exploit their ideas.”
“In economic environments like today which can be austere, the concept of sharing and creating
is a challenge. People don’t want to help each other in an environment which is focused on
optimization. Information is power. When the economy is booming it’s so much easier to
collaborate and work together, but when jobs are being threatened people tend to keep to
themselves. They are scared to loose their job or their status.”
Indeed while the challenge remains for large institutions to reflect a more agile, perhaps
arguably more contemporary, even adhocratic environment, the ability of talent who reject the
“corporate environment” may be on the rise. Structuralization may prove to be a barrier to
these efforts as, “The concentration is to develop a ‘corporate culture’ conducive to the aims of
an organization, rather than to enforce organizational aims through a management hierarchy
and formal mechanisms.” (Penn, Desyllas and Vaughn, 1997:12.3)
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 24
Reinventing the Creative Corporate Workspace: A Profile of Pixar Animation Studios
While co-working may adopt open space, experiential learning, active networking and
flexible environments, the private sector is keenly interested in utilizing the workplace as a
competitive advantage to fuel production, especially in the innovation and creative arts. One
story is that of the development and design of Pixar, an digital animation studio in California.
Pixar is a household name across America responsible for such digital animation classics as a
Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. They are in the business of creativity and
innovation to bring together both artistry in traditional animation and computer science to
generate vivid animation. “John Lasseter, the chief creative officer at Pixar, describes the
equation this way: “Technology inspires art, and art challenges the technology.”10
In the beginning the company was, not unlike many entrepreneur ventures which
sprout up in the Bay Area, bootstrapped driven by passionate people. In the documentary
film, The Pixar Story, executives of the digital animation company reflected on the role of
space had on the company. Steve Jobs, one of the principle investors in Pixar reflected,
“Pixar’s facilities grew with the company. Which meant that they were hodge podge.”11 While
some offered almost a nostalgia of the space, “The animation bull pen was this amazing
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 25
10 Lehrer, Jonah. "The New Yorker." Steve Jobs: "Technology Alone Is Not Enough" The New Yorker. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/10/steve-jobs-pixar.html>.
11 The Pixar Story. Dir. Leslie Lwerks. Perf. Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter. Leslie Iwerks Productions, 2007. DVD.
building. Probably not legal at all because of fire code.”12 Others remarked, “It looked like a
playground. It was loose. It was free. It was rough. It was like 200 people showed up during a
college dorm room.There was this infectious enthusiasm in the building. I can imagine what it
must be like say for the guys in Monty Python to be like sitting around a table writing material.
You expect there to be a great creative feeding frenzy at the table. That’s what we had. It was a
place where you could go and draw on the wall or make a hole in the wall and not feel bad
about it.”13
As the company became successful and sought to produce movies on a larger scale, the
facilities needed to be able to accommodate growth of the company. This challenge was
looked at by the leadership of Pixar (especially Steve Jobs) as an opportunity began the
intentional open space innovation design of Pixar Studios. Steve Jobs sought to reinvent the
corporate creative workplace. Ed Catmull reflected the drive that Jobs had to create a creative
space, “ Steve had this belief that the right kind of building can do great things for a culture.14
The initial conception of the new space was to separate the workforce into separate buildings
for computer scientists, animators and everyone else. Jobs disagreed. Steve realized that that
was a terrible idea; that the real challenge of Pixar was getting people from these different
cultures — these computer scientists and these cartoonists — to work together, to really
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 26
12 The Pixar Story. Dir. Leslie Lwerks. Perf. Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter. Leslie Iwerks Productions, 2007. DVD.
13 The Pixar Story. Dir. Leslie Lwerks. Perf. Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter. Leslie Iwerks Productions, 2007. DVD.
14 Lehrer, Jonah. "Imagine: 'How Creativity Works': It's All In Your Imagination." NPR. NPR.com, 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.npr.org/2012/03/19/148777350/how-creativity-works-its-all-in-your-imagination>.
collaborate." This direction led Pixar in a different direction and collapse the space into one
large building with “an airy atrium at its center.”15 The New Yorker continued to chronicle this
effort, again with Catmull sharing that, “The philosophy behind this design is that it’s good to
put the most important function at the heart of the building,”16 Catmull emphasized, “Well,
what’s our most important function? It’s the interaction of our employees. That’s why Steve
put a big empty space there. He wanted to create an open area for people to always be talking
to each other.”
This was a point echoed several times by biographers and reporters about why Jobs
was so focused on the design of the Pixar space, " ... He wanted there to be mixing. He knew
that the human friction makes the sparks, and that when you're talking about a creative
endeavor that requires people from different cultures to come together, you have to force them
to mix; that our natural tendency is to stay isolated, to talk to people who are just like us, who
speak our private languages, who understand our problems.”17 Jobs personally shared his
reasoning to Walter Isaacson, writer of Jobs biography, "If a building doesn't encourage that,
you'll lose a lot of innovation and the magic that's sparked by serendipity,”18 And it is best
summarized (again) by Steve Jobs, “There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 27
15 Lehrer, Jonah. "The New Yorker." Steve Jobs: "Technology Alone Is Not Enough" The New Yorker. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/10/steve-jobs-pixar.html>.
16 Lehrer, Jonah. "The New Yorker." Steve Jobs: "Technology Alone Is Not Enough" The New Yorker. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/10/steve-jobs-pixar.html>.
17 Pomeroy, Ross. "The Importance of Good Building Design." Real Clear Science. 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2012/01/buildings.html>.
18 Pomeroy, Ross. "The Importance of Good Building Design." Real Clear Science. 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2012/01/buildings.html>.
ideas can be developed by email and iChat. That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous
meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say
‘Wow,” and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.”19
Conclusion
The information economy is creating a new workplace for production, the co-working
space. This space is just one of many spaces which aim to attract a variety of participants such
as entrepreneurs (social and for-profit), writers and developers. The ability of production to be
location agnostic provides the individual with agency to opt-in to a workplace environment
conducive for their needs. As production is inherently a social convention, these spaces are
developed through social construction to provide an ability for participants to interface
through a mediated structure, the co-working (or other kind of) space. These spaces provide
environmental conditions such as community-focused, modular physical space and openness.
There are two actors in innovation when discussion the physicality of space. First that space
itself is an actor. It provides meditation and circulation among its participants who have
opted-in to participation, thus creating stronger social connection to the physical
environment. In essence the participant has a choice and flexibility to participate or not. The
second actor as relates to space and innovation is the mediation point by which knowledge is
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 28
19 Isaacson, Walter. "The Real Leadership Lessons from Steve Jobs." The Magazine. Harvard Business Review, Apr. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
shared, it is the interaction of experience between people which provides a secondary object
which mediation occurs. This again is opt-in and participant selected. No one forces anyone to
meet or talk to each other but the space itself, as pointed out by Jobs can guide the
participants to share beyond what they intentioned. These two objects act as mediation points
which creates the network of community (including skills, language and knowledge) where the
environmental conditions may be more conducive for innovation to occur.
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Page 29
Bibliography
Arvidsson, Adam. Brands: Meaning and Value in Media Culture. London: Routledge, 2006. Print.
"About La Cantine." La Cantine Wiki. La Cantine Co-Working Space. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://wiki.coworking.info/w/page/16583879/La%20Cantine>.
Butler, Keira. Practical Values: Works Well With Others. What if a day at the office is actually good for you? Mother Jones. 18 Jan. 2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/01/practical-values-works-well-others>.
Cohen, D. and Prusak, L. (2001) In Good Company: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
de Certeau, Michel. The practice of everyday life.. London: University of California, 1984. Book.
Fost, Dan. They’re Working on Thier Own, Just Side By Side. New York Times. 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 29. Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/business/businessspecial2/20cowork.html?pagewanted=all>.
Garcia, Cristobal H. Spacing innovation and knowledge creation on design organizations and the study of working spaces. Diss. MIT, 2006. Cambridge: Unpublished.
Glasser, Charlotte. Governing the knowing and innovation space. Diss. Stockholm School of Economics, 2005. Stockholm: Unpublished.
Horgen, Turid, Michael L. Joroff, William L. Porter, and Donald A. Schon. Excellence by Design: Transforming Workplace and Work Practice. New York: Wiley, 1999. Print.
Isaacson, Walter. "The Real Leadership Lessons from Steve Jobs." The Magazine. Harvard Business Review, Apr. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
Kolb, David A. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984. Print.
Lang, R.D. The Politics of Everyday Experience. New York: Pantheon Books, 1967. Book.
Lehrer, Jonah. "Imagine: 'How Creativity Works': It's All In Your Imagination." NPR. NPR.com, 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.npr.org/2012/03/19/148777350/how-creativity-works-its-all-in-your-imagination>.
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033
Lehrer, Jonah. "The New Yorker." Steve Jobs: "Technology Alone Is Not Enough" The New Yorker. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/10/steve-jobs-pixar.html>.
Lury, Celia. Brands: The Logos of the Global Economy. London: Routledge, 2006. Print
Knight, Sarah. Designing Spaces for Effective Learning: A Guide to 21st Century Learning Space Design. Publication. Bristol: JISC Development Group, 2006. Print.
Marx, Karl, Friedrich Engels, Samuel Moore, and Karl Marx. Capital,. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1955. Print.
Pomeroy, Ross. "The Importance of Good Building Design." Real Clear Science. 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2012/01/buildings.html>.
Schepers, Paul, and Peter T. Berg. "Social Factors of Work-Environment Creativity." Journal of Business and Psychology 21.3 (2007): 407-28. Print.
Stewart, Thomas A. Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations. New York: Doubleday / Currency, 1997. Print.
The Pixar Story. Dir. Leslie Lwerks. Perf. Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter. Leslie Iwerks Productions, 2007. DVD.
An Examination of Space as an Actor in Innovation Media, Stuff and Values - CM 5033