新興設計方式_數據驅動策略——以微軟公司辦公室為例

微軟公司如何運用數據驅動策略來構思辦公空間設計語言？

How Microsoft Is Making Data-Driven Decisions to Craft its New Workplace Design Language

本文最初發表於「Metropolis Magazine」，標題為「微軟全新設計語言背後的故事」。

近期，微軟公司正在對全球800個分公司進行改革，並在此過程中就融合技術和辦公場地設計發表了深刻的見解。Riku Pentik?inen是微軟公司的設計策略主管，他向Metropolis公司的Avinash Rajagopal講述了微軟公司辦公場所的新設計，本次設計與各種設計師和傢具製造商合作，並且講述了如何通過數據驅動策略來進行辦公空間的設計。

This article was originally published by Metropolis Magazine as "The Big Ideas Behind Microsoft』s New "Design Language.""

Microsoft is undertaking an ambitious overhaul of its 800 offices around the world and uncovering great insights about the intersections of technology and workplace design in the process. The technology giant』s global director of workplace strategies, Riku Pentik?inen, speaks to Metropolis』s Avinash Rajagopal about the company』s new workplaces, collaborating with designers and furniture manufacturers, and how his team takes a data-driven approach to office design.

Image Courtesy of Microsoft

Avinash Rajagopal：您近期公開了多個辦公場所，其中運用了多個辦公場所設計策略，那麼其中的主導因素是什麼？

Riku Pentik?inen：回溯幾年前，微軟公司出品了一些非常酷炫的辦公場所，但這些場所都沒有共通之處，2年前，我們著手設計微軟專屬的設計語言，這其實非常棘手，因為每個人都有自己的觀點，並且這些觀點還並不一致，那麼你該如何為微軟公司設計專有的設計語言呢？微軟公司的辦公室應該是什麼樣子呢？

通過一系列的工作，我們建立了現有的微軟專屬設計語言，如今，我們的許多新辦公場所都有著同樣的風格，並且合作的建築師也以此為基礎進行設計工作。但是這只是一個方向，我們並沒有在例如顏色、地毯等細部設計做出強制規定。但設定了一個受歡迎、溫暖、溫馨，以及實用的方向。

老實講，我們的設計語言非常受歡迎，這讓我吃了一驚。建築師們往往會認為甲方總是從他們身上索取些什麼，但是甲方其實很高興能夠看到心目中所期待的設計。因此我們的設計發展迅猛。以米蘭為例，義大利以其設計而聞名，但是他們的設計和我們的設計又不太相似，因為他們只是想要做好當下的事情而已，他們喜歡這項工作，並且接受成果，因此微軟的米蘭分公司就是我們設計語言的一個代表例子。

Avinash Rajagopal: You recently opened a number of new workplaces, and there』s a broader strategy around workplace design in place at Microsoft. What drove that?

Riku Pentik?inen:Going back a couple of years, I saw Microsoft doing a lot of cool spaces from a design perspective, but they didn』t have a whole lot in common. Two years ago, we started a project to establish a design language for Microsoft. It』s very tricky to do—everybody will have a view, and most times it』s not aligned, so how do you establish that for a company? What should Microsoft look and feel like?

As a result of a ton of work, we established what is now the Microsoft design language. Today, many of our new offices are reflective of the design language. We use that as guidance to architects on our aspirational direction, design-wise. But that』s what it is—a direction. We did not want to be prescriptive in terms of color, carpet. It』s about setting a direction that is welcoming, warm, homely, residential.

Quite honestly, I』ve been blown away by the reception we』ve gotten for our design language. You would think that architects would feel that we』re taking something away from them, but they』ve been really appreciative that we』re clear on what we』re expecting. Therefore, we』re seeing less iteration and it does increase speed. I』ll take Milan, for example. Italians are known for their design, and I was certain that they wouldn』t align with our design language, because they』d want to do their own thing. But they loved it and they embraced it, and that site [Microsoft House in Milan] is one of the best examples of our design language.

Image Hufton + Crow

AR：對於甲方與建築師之間的關係，你提到一個很有趣的觀點，就這個問題你能描述得再詳細一些嗎？一個典型的設計過程應該是怎樣的？

RP：首先，我們必須吸引到願意與我們合作的建築師。對於辦公設計項目，我會考慮很多，尤其是建築師的觀點與我們發生衝突時，我會進行更深刻的思考。我們不排斥挑戰，但是必須要呈現出最好的用戶體驗。我們團隊的員工無論是銷售還是機械工程方向，都必須要知道自己在幹什麼。

每個區域的辦公空間設計策略負責人會最先與建築師進行溝通，他們會給建築師一個大概的設計方向與思路，這樣的溝通非常重要。但是同時，每一個觀點都非常重要，因為最終要呈現出最優秀的設計成果。

AR: You bring up a very interesting point about your relationship with architects and designers who design your spaces. Can you talk a little bit more about that? What does a typical process look like?

RP:First and foremost, we want to attract architects who want to work with us. If I think about our workplace programs, where we get into trouble, time and again, is when the architects』 view is not aligned with ours in terms of program. While we welcome the challenge, we know our end users best. I have a team of people working together, whether it』s our sales or our engineering side, purely understanding how they work.

The regional workplace strategists are the first spoke, in terms of contact with the architects. They give design direction and support to the architects, and it』s a very strong dialogue with the architects on the direction that we want to take. But at the same time, I can』t stress enough the importance of challenging [every idea], and out of that I see us getting the best design outcomes.

AR：就技術角度來說，我了解到米蘭和倫敦分公司都使用了數據驅動設計方法，你能否談談其中的空間利用技術？你是如何在項目中運用的呢？

RP：幾年前，我們改變了原有的設計思維。我們曾經進行過單人空間的設計項目，然而，我們仍然傾向於功能性為主導的設計方式。在最後，我們與我們的數據科學團隊合作，開發出PAA策略，這種方法結合了標誌文件，將標誌文件與激活的有線數據或無線數據相連接，然後為我們留出了充分的輸出時間，這讓我們能夠了解到建築中任何時間點的空間利用性。

這讓我們在全球範圍內減少了額外的工作量。我認為這種方式最大的益處在於微軟公司是一個數據驅動型公司，我們只需要直觀地展示數據即可，並不需要花費多餘的時間來讓客戶信服我們的觀念。這從根本上改變了我們與客戶的工作方式。

AR: To get into the technology angle a little bit more, I know that the Milan and London offices had a data-driven approach to design. Can you talk about your space-utilization technology and how you used it for those projects?

RP:A couple years back, we changed the fundamentals of how we design space. We used to do the industry practice of square feet per head; however, we really wanted to go toward utilization-based planning. In the end, we connected with our data science team and we developed what we call our PAA, which is our peak average attendance. In essence, it takes the badge files in and, through machine learning, learns to associate those badge files with a wireless or wired connection that is activated. Which then, on the hind side, gives us exit times, which gives us actual utilization of space at any given point of time in any of our buildings.

That has then enabled us, on a global level, to reduce our footprint significantly. I think one of the biggest benefits in this area is that Microsoft is a super data-driven company. When you have the data—when you』re able to show that for the last six months, this is how much use, or lack of use, your site saw—we don』t need to use as much of our time and energy trying to convince customers. It has quite fundamentally changed the way we work with our end users.

AR：剛才你談到了數據和它的應用，但在未來，它是否會影響到設計的決策方向？

RP：現在我們仍然在進行嘗試，利用無線網路進行定位，然後形成熱點地圖，這能告知我們正在被使用的空間。這是我們將會推出的新技術，我們也通過數據來分析空間的使用狀況。

我們還結合了MyAnalytics，從中可以得出數據的運用方式和合作對象，這能夠有效提升團隊的業務水平，我們從中能夠清晰地看出工程合作和銷售數量。從物理環境的角度來說，我們支持這種驅動式合作，這是我們在空間程序中引入的另一種數據模式。

除此之外，我們也將此技術用於人力資源管理，通過這些數據，我們能夠了解到員工的個人偏好。因此，在這種趨勢下，我們的空間程序變得愈發複雜，因為我們結合了多種數據，但這能將我們的收益最大化。

AR: You』re talking about taking data and using it to inform, say, square footage or space allocation. But do you foresee a future where it might be able to inform design decisions?

RP:We have in a pilot phase the ability to use a wireless LAN to triangulate positioning and then create heat maps, which tell us what kinds of spaces are being used. That』s something we will launch in due course. We are bringing in the data feed on how space is being utilized.

We are also bringing in MyAnalytics, which is this whole host of data about how and with whom the individual collaborates. That then can be elevated to data sets on how business groups and units work with one another. As a very classic example, we can see how much engineering collaborates with sales. From a physical-environment perspective, we can support driving that collaboration. That』s another data feed that we』re bringing into our space programming.

Beyond that, we are looking at data feeds like HR data. We』re bringing in survey data, in terms of personal preferences of people. So on a broader trend, I see our space programming becoming more complex, because we』re bringing in more and more data feeds, but it will enable creating environments that will maximize productivity.

AR：一些數據來源於前輩的提供，設計也是如此。

RP：數據的輸入並非來自盲目的查看數據源。你需要將主觀態度結合客觀態度來看待空間的運用。我們希望每個空間都能適配於不同的團隊，並且每個團隊也能以自己的方式調整空間。

在此我們與Steelcase、Herman Miller、 Knoll、 Haworth等進行合作，從而尋找更多的解決方案。同時我們也與Orange Books、 Framery合作，為空間帶來更多靈活性。另外，我們仍然也在尋求終端用戶自身能夠操縱的靈活性方式，這樣空間也能夠更加隨意地變化。這是我們當前最為關注的事。

AR: Some of this data comes from people with experience providing input. Design has that experiential dimension as well.

RP:Getting input is not blindly looking at a data source. You need to have the subjective and the objective to form a holistic view of how space is performing. We』re looking to do it in a manner where we』re easily able to configure the space to bring in another team, and the space they』re given adjusts itself.

That』s an area where we work with the likes of Steelcase, Herman Miller, Knoll, and Haworth to push them to bring us more solutions that enable that adaptation. We also work with the likes of Orange Books and Framery to bring that flexibility into the space. Ultimately, we』re seeking a flexibility such that the end users themselves can do the changes, and the space transforms itself for a new team, or for more concentration or collaboration. That』s something that we are super focused on: giving more flexibility to the end users.

AR：你能否談談其工作空間設計和技術運用中所遇到的困擾？

我想了解這樣一個問題，那就是人們對於未來工作空間變化趨勢會有著怎樣的期待，同時我們應當如何調整空間來適應這樣的變化。我們對此正在進行深入地了解，我們還不知道實際會是什麼樣。其實，我看到了許多來自不同層面的數據投入，有時我們甚至比高校的發展更加先進，但是，孩子們在上學之後，未來如何發展？具體在哪裡工作？這些其實是未知數。

RP：

研究項目的另一部分是關於如今的一些干擾因素對辦公場所會有著怎樣的影響。例如，3D列印傢具對辦公場所的影響有哪些？經濟因素的影響是什麼？物理環境對人們意味著什麼？這一過程還有著許多未知數，但是我堅信我們的團隊能夠解決這些問題。

AR: Could you talk about some of the pieces of the puzzle that you』re still figuring out in workplace design and technology?

RP:One of the questions I want to get to the bottom of is how the expectation of the future workforce will change, and how we can adjust our space to meet that. We』re getting insight into what that expectation might look like. We are not yet at the phase of translating that into a physical layout, so that is still an unknown for me. I』ve seen a lot of the input that we get from what I would call the future workforce on different levels, because we look further than university: kids starting elementary school, how they work, and how they will expect to work. That to me is still an unknown.

And another part of the research program is about understanding how some of the disruptions that we』re seeing today impact the workplace. What is the impact of 3D printing of furniture on the workplace? What is the impact of the gig economy, and what does that mean for the physical environment? The list of unknowns is very long, but what gives me confidence is that we』ve established a top-notch team, combining people from within and outside Microsoft.

AR：隨著技術和文化的變遷，你是否認為微軟語言將會成為適用的理論框架？它會隨著時間而改變嗎？

RP：設計語言的一大標準是不能隨意地變動，因此我們的設計語言是一種固定的模式。我認為，我們在十年後設計建造的空間仍然與米蘭分公司有著類似的風格，並且我們也將持續發展，同時也會結合眾多未來的因素。我們不會給出異想天開的設計理念，「現在我們需要重新開始」，這也是設計語言的關鍵因素之一，它並不會隨著時間的流逝而改變，因為它基於微軟的企業文化，這在未來也將充滿意義。

AR: As technology and culture change, do you foresee the Microsoft language being a sort of living, flexible framework? Will it change over time?

RP:One of the first criteria for our design language was that it needs to be timeless with distinction. So our design language will remain. I』d say that a space we will build ten years from now will have some of the same feel to it as Milan. However, we will continue to evolve. It will continue to take the future workforce into account. We will not throw the design language out and go, 「Now we need to start fresh.」 That was one of the key criteria for the design language when we were creating it: that it needs to be timeless with distinction, and it needs to be founded on the new Microsoft culture. I think that will ensure that it will be relevant in the future.

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