The ideal work environment

In the previous article I wrote about how concentration and focus are valuable elements for the work of knowledge workers. Distractions, however, constantly try to capture our attention and steal time from our essential tasks. Many of these interruptions arise precisely within the workplace itself. In this article, I present an alternative design of the work environment aimed at achieving maximum dedication.

The Eudaimonia machine

The term Eudaimonia comes from the Greek εὐδαιμονία, a word composed of εὖ “good” and δαίμων “spirit, fate.” Its meaning, taken from the philosophical context, becomes: happiness understood as the fundamental purpose of life.

It is precisely from this term, and from the profound meaning it holds, that David Dewane, professor and visionary architect, developed the Eudaimonia machine. The purpose of the project is to create a work environment in which people can enter a state of deep human development, maximizing their personal abilities.

The structure

The structure of this environment is made up of five rooms, designed with very specific rules:

• The only entrance is located in room #1
• Each room allows access only to the next and the previous one
• The only exit coincides with the entrance

For this reason, the Eudaimonia Machine is often designed as a rectangular structure with rooms in a line, one after the other. To reach a specific room, users must necessarily pass through the intermediate ones first. In this environment, imagined by architect Dewane, each room has a precise placement and role.

Room #1: the Gallery

Imagine being on the street, in front of the headquarters of a company that has chosen to organize its spaces according to David Dewane’s Eudaimonia Machine. We cross the threshold of the main entrance and find ourselves inside a room that contains, as if in a museum, an exhibition of all the company’s products. The feeling is that of being in a welcoming environment, even for those who are not necessarily employees. If we were clients or simple visitors, we would immediately have a first impression of what the company produces and of what best represents it. The main purpose of this room is to serve as a space from which to draw inspiration and, at the same time, it is a snapshot of the company’s hic et nunc development. After carefully exploring the gallery and, perhaps, after a pleasant conversation with the other users of this room, we move on to the next one through the only other passage.

Room #2: the Salon

As soon as we enter this room, we notice that it is designed to engage the user for a longer period of time. The salon contains a bar where one can sip a good coffee, a kitchen where meals can be prepared, and areas to spend time in long conversations with other users. This is the environment dedicated to letting ideas flow freely, without predefined structures, which will later be developed inside the machine. Those who have worked with companies on the Iberian Peninsula know very well that the most productive meetings often happen in a bar with cold beer on the table. We leave the sofa in the salon and move on to the next room.

Room #3: the Library

We are now at the center of the machine, and as we continue, the environments become increasingly oriented toward providing a workplace that encourages concentration. In this room, we find a large library with tables and chairs for study and consultation, much like in a traditional library. This environment is designed to foster research and contains all the documentation of the products developed within the machine, along with all the resources used in previous projects. Users can consult books and digital material, print, and scan. Architect Dewane defines this environment as “the hard drive of the machine.” In this room, the goal is to give a solid foundation to the ideas generated by the machine; thus begins the focus process on the next project. In religious silence, we proceed to the next room.

Room #4: the Office

We have just entered the environment where users of the machine spend most of their time. The room is a large open space with shared desks and a large meeting room equipped with a whiteboard and projection screen. This environment is where all the low-intensity work is done—routine tasks or, in general, work that does not require particular concentration. The open space guarantees basic contact with other users, which on the one hand stimulates willpower in performing daily work, but on the other hand inevitably represents a source of distraction. We therefore leave the office to move on to the last room in the structure.

Room #5: the Chamber

This room represents the peak of the structure, the highest expression of an environment designed to foster concentration. In this space, there are true single rooms, furnished in a minimalist way to minimize sources of distraction. Each room has a one-person desk, and the walls separating the rooms are thick and soundproofed. Inside the chambers, totally isolated from distractions and contact with other users, it is possible to focus on work that requires total dedication and an uninterrupted flow of development. Dewane imagines the use of the chamber in 90-minute intervals, alternated with 90-minute breaks, to be repeated two or three times throughout the day.

An ideal vision

Dewane’s vision is ideal, probably at times utopian, and for now remains a visionary architectural project in search of the best work environment. In reality, however, distractions continue to surround us both in noisy open spaces and in our small offices, while we answer emails and phone calls. The fundamental question at this point is: do we really need an Eudaimonia Machine in order to work in a concentrated and distraction-free way? We know that focus is precious, but simply repeating to ourselves that we need more concentration is not enough. That’s why the example of the Eudaimonia Machine is useful: it helps us understand the complexity of the subject. The pursuit of distraction-free work is a process that is anything but simple, full of obstacles created by human nature itself.

Bibliography

[1] Newport, C. (2016). Deep Work. Piatkus.