MICHR presents

Rethink Space

How we redesigned our workspace to support flexibility, collaboration and engagement.

Why we redesigned our workspace?

Space matters.

Space matters. We read space like we read people's faces. Space is the foundation for the expression of our cultural values. Space is an instrument of collaboration and innovation. At MICHR, we realized that our workspace was playing a big role in how we were functioning. As a result, the Rethink Space team was created as a grounds-up initiative to creatively and economically enhance our operating space into a flexible workspace that supports privacy, innovation, creativity, and most importantly a culture of collaboration.

90

Employees impacted

21,940

Square feet space re-imagined

$34,000

Project cost

How did we go about it?

We followed a human-centered, participatory design and development process that we think you should experience. We also think that this process can be applied to any problem that has a fuzzy goal.

Some other details

Team structure.

A fluid and ambiguous project like Rethink Space required us to have a flat, multidisciplinary team structure. We were a team of five individuals from disparate organizational groups making us just big enough to handle the volume of change we wanted to make, but small enough to be nimble and flexible.

Learn more about our team structure.

Project management.

Our project management was deliberately fluid, visual and fun. Our most important project management tools included a large whiteboard depicting where we were in the process, a large calendar to denote our deliverable dates and timelines and to-do lists written on large sticky pads.

Learn more about our project management.

Lessons learnt.

From lessons on innovation and momentum to those on communication and human behavior, we learnt a lot through the project. We have catalogued some of our learnings in case they are useful to you.

See lessons learnt.

Resources.

From individual designers to large scale organizations, we have been inspired from a lot of different sources. We have also had the chance to read some great books and visit some cool places. Hopefully our collection of resources will help you as well.

Get inspired.

Why did we make this website?

We as the Rethink Space team have found immense joy and satisfaction working on this project. We have also learnt a lot on how to approach problems that have nebulous goals. We believe that we have the beginnings of a framework for exploration, experimentation and trial and error that can help solve complex problems that have fuzzy goals. Whether you are redesigning your workspace, rethinking a service that you offer or reimagining a more just world, we think that the empathetic, visual, human centered process we have experienced deserves a consideration.