At Arvetica we find that space is very important to foster creativity. This is the reason why we have brainstorming rooms with whiteboards and flipcharts, but also a “living room” area to get inspired. I rarely find such spaces in other places, which is sometimes limiting when working at our clients’ premises.
Last Friday, however, I found such a space, which was perfectly designed for creativity. After a morning meeting at the college of management at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL), I decided to stay on the campus. At the architectural school I found a beautiful working spot, which you can see on the above photo.
It’s an open space in the middle of the hallway of a relatively frequented building. There’s a set of colorfull sofas and a large whiteboard (!). It feels like an open invitation to any person or group to sit down and get creative. The whiteboard is the perfect support to explain things visually and illustrate ideas on the wall. The electricity plug and WiFi allows you to pump information from the Internet. I realized how rarely I see such places at the companies I visit and wonder how many ideas get lost as a consequence…
This is probably particularly crucial when it comes to more strategic themes and ideas that are relegated to closed meeting rooms. Hasn’t everybody of us experienced that the most interesting ideas come in a relaxed atmosphere. So maybe space is an instrument to help design the most innovative and effective business models…
Worth a thought?
