Making the Office the Destination 

A community library for a hybrid workplace

Hybrid schedules meant the organizations sharing the Water Cooler rarely crossed paths. We turned an under-utilized shared space into a social zone anchored by The Inkwell, a community library, with an online layer to manage it. Early tenant feedback was positive on the look, the energy, and being asked for input.
Project: Water Cooler at Pegasus Park, Dallas
Team Astronauts · My role: led strategy and design research; ran qualitative fieldwork with staff and customers 

Challenge

Shared spaces, but few reasons to share them

The Water Cooler is a shared workspace across multiple floors of Pegasus Park, home to many of Dallas' leading social impact organizations. With people on hybrid schedules, there were few chances to meet anyone outside their own team or organization. Common areas like break rooms, printer rooms, foyers, and hallways existed but went largely unused. 

The challenge: Incentivize hybrid workers to come in, and create awareness, inspiration, and connection between tenants without disrupting their workflow. 

The turning point: participants were delighted by space amenities that enhance current experience in office such as the shared spaces white boards, coffee stations and break room but are burdened by experiences that break their flow of work throughout the day.

Insights

Invite people in with nature, interaction, and flexibility

  1.  Nature makes a workplace more inviting. The team's research found value in bringing natural, plant-like elements (biophilia) into office design, so the prototype uses natural earth elements and greenery.
  2. Spaces need something to do in them. Spaces that lack vibrance and interactive elements attract few new users. A shared library lets people collaborate passively by sharing knowledge they choose.
  3. Fit the space; don't rebuild it. The prototype could not change walls or the space's boundaries, so it had to be modular, portable, and flexible enough to complement different spaces and draw people into low-traffic ones.

Participant Survey: Co-design for shared library

  • "I've already heard good feedback about the look and feel and that people appreciated the survey to give their input." -- Water Cooler tenant

Solution

The Inkwell: a portable library that fits the space

Using participatory design, we activated a social zone inside existing shared space and built a prototype to test it.
  • A physical social zone across two 7th-floor spaces: the break room and the elevator lobby
  • The Inkwell, a portable community library the team designed and built from natural materials, sharing knowledge its users select
  • An online connection through library management, extending the experience beyond the room
  • Testing: we tested two high-traffic areas to see how far people would travel from their work areas to spend time elsewhere. The break room drew more engagement.

"People seem to have been using it and there's been good energy around having it available outside of the main Water Cooler entrance." — Water Cooler Tenant

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