From Questions to Breakthroughs
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This question focuses on identifying the factors limiting “hominess” in free-address environments.
We hypothesize that understanding the elements that make these free-address, open-plan spaces conducive to work—such as layout, ambient conditions, and social norms—can reveal key insights. By identifying these factors, our work will inform our future design interventions that replicate the positive aspects of free-address, open-plan environments, ultimately enhancing productivity and creativity in free-address environments.
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We aim to investigate how design elements influenced by user behavior and preferences can create a sense of identity and ownership in spaces that lack permanent seating arrangements.
Our hypothesis is that incorporating behavior-driven design principles will significantly improve the perceived hominess and comfort of free-address, open-plan environments, leading to improved working experience.
Our Methods
Direct Observations of Behavior and Workplace Design
Observation as recognized outsider to observe workers’ activities and the relationships with the space that support or hinder the feeling of “hominess.”
User Experience Diaries
Employees volunteered to record their daily working experience, highlighting specific needs, preferences, and pain points.
“SomePlace Like Home” Survey
Feedback from knowledge workers to better understand what "hominess" means to them.
Ideation Workshops
Solution generation workshops and idea prioritization with design students.
"SomePlace Like Home" Survey
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To better understand the role of hominess in physical work environments.
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What environmental elements do people associate with hominess?
How important is a feeling of hominess in a work setting?
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Based on past work, we hypothesized that:
Participants would likely value objects of identity, physical comfort, environmental control, privacy, and familiarity in feeling at home.
We also expected people to emphasize the importance of feeling at home in their workplace.
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Self-report online survey hosted on SurveyMonkey.
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We collected data in two rounds, once between February and August 2023, and again between October and November 2024.
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477 people participated in our survey (358 in 2023, and 119 in 2024). In 2023, we targeted employees of a large architecture and design firm. In 2024, our recruitment was broader, targeting any knowledge worker. Across both samples, our participants were:
58% women, 36% men, <1% non-binary
38% Millennials, 35% Generation X, 14% Baby Boomers, 10% Generation Z
66% in the Architecture, Graphics, & Design industries
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The survey asked participants to indicate what features of the environment (such as objects that reflect your memories and values, the ability to modify your environment, and a sense of privacy) make them feel most at home in a space. We also asked participants to indicate how important it is for them to feel at home in their office/place of work; and to describe their regular workspace in terms of the environmental features that we hypothesize contribute to a sense of hominess.
Workplace Observations
We conducted observational research to gain insights into employee needs in free-address, open-plan environments. As a recognized outsider, we observed people’s behavior, their activity, their time and location, and interaction of different activities in the space. We also observed the physical environment and the way it supports or interferes with the behaviors in the space.
“Observing behavior in physical settings generates data about people's activities and the relationships needed to sustain them; about regularities of behavior, about expected uses, new uses, and misuses of a place; and about behavioral opportunities and constraints that environments provide.”
Tech Company
An 8-person technology start-up in downtown San Francisco.
Architecture Firm
A mid-sized (35-person) Seattle studio within a large global architecture firm.
Co-Working Café
A shared workspace in downtown Seattle, used by both customers and employees of an interior design company.
Public Library
A community library in a small city outside San Francisco.
User Experience Diaries
The goal of user experience diaries is to gather a diverse range of user artifacts that reveal how individuals create a sense of ‘hominess’ in free-address environments, using creative collection methods rooted in ethnographic and user-centered design theories.
We asked participants to document their workplace experience for two weeks (at least two days per week). They could record their experiences using photographs, voice memos, written journal, and collection of artifacts that capture their everyday work experience in the space.
We conducted two, 1.5-hour virtual ideation workshops to explore the challenges and opportunities inherent in free-address and open-plan work models, focusing on hominess attributes like comfort, privacy, and personalization. The workshops were run virtually with between 5-8 participants at each workshop.
The purpose of these workshops was to present our research findings to date for reaction, and to brainstorm possible opportunities for intervention. Workshop activities included facilitated discussions and ideations for design solutions.
Ideation Workshops
Results from Our Research…
How important is it for you to feel at home in your office/place of work?
Over 85% of our participants reported that it is at least moderately important for them to feel at home in their place of work. About half, 55%, reported that it is very or extremely important for them to feel at home in their place of work.
The Four Tensions
The Four Tensions
How “free” are free-address office environments in practice?
While employees may have more freedom of choice in free-address, open-plan environments, behavioral norms and guidelines can limit individual’s experiences.
Achieving a balance between freedom of spatial choice and designation of behavioral expectations, requires a deep understanding of the four key underlying tensions below.
Autonomy versus Conformity
While the open-plan, free-address model gives some degree of flexibility to choose what is best for one’s needs, some things remain to be shared with others in the same space, especially factors related to indoor environmental quality, such as temperature, lighting, and acoustics.
Freedom to Choose Versus Time to Settle
The freedom to select a spot is valuable, but the process of adjusting to new spaces can hinder immediate productivity or comfort.
“Relocated eight times total today. Each location had a different power source, seating type, table height, etc. While visually it’s nice to have variety, physically, this was frustrating - constantly getting acclimated.”
“Generally, on days that we have to move spots a lot, I find myself less focused, less productive, and more overwhelmed.”
Collaboration Versus Privacy
Open-plan spaces are designed to foster collaboration and spontaneous interaction, but the lack of physical barriers can make it hard for employees to engage in focused and sensitive heads-down work.
Temporality Versus Identity
The ability to personalize a space makes it feel like “home.” In free-address environments, employees can temporarily “claim” a space, but the time-dependent nature limits the ability to personalize it.
Shared Personalization: can be achieved by adding items that are relatable and enjoyable for the community (e.g., displays, basketball hoop, projects showcase, etc.) with the aim of enhancing the character of the space.
Time-Dependent Individual Personalization: even in a free-address environment, a spot/space can be claimed for a certain time span. Once claimed, one can personalize the space through organizing belongings, adjusting the physical and digital settings, etc.
