Telephone booths

On the tenth and eleventh floors everything possible has been done to give the visitors an initial impression of their future work environment. The contours of the desks and cupboards are marked on the floor with yellow tape and there are cardboard mockups of seating areas and telephone booths. A number of the latter will be installed on each floor. They are intended to give people the chance to carry on a private conversation without leaving the workplace.

Also on show is a demonstration model of one of the height-adjustable desks. With enquiries into the option of standup working on the increase, it will soon be possible to electrically adjust the height of twenty percent of the desks, giving scope for everyone to work at their own preferred height. Example designs of meeting and concentration rooms are also on display.

Concentration is a topic many of the visitors are keen to ask questions about. How will I be able to find enough peace and quiet in a more open work environment to concentrate? According to Ankie van Steen, who under the Innovation@Work  program is supervising the transition for floors 10 and 11, this will definitely be possible. “A wide range of work spaces will be provided. The work spaces on the eleventh floor are suitable for individual work requiring concentrated; floor 10 is more appropriate for cooperation and movement. The height of the partition walls between desks is also something we can still vary. In addition, both floors 10 and 11 have enclosed concentration workplaces.”

Initially, it will not be possible to reserve these rooms in the Book my Space reservation system. “These rooms can be used ad hoc,” says Van Steen. “People are not supposed to start claiming them as their own. No one on floors 10 and 11 has their own work space, with the exception of the cluster secretariats. They work at permanent places. We will see how this works in practice once people move in.”

The clusters, capacity groups and groups of the departments ID and IE&IS each have their own work areas on floors 3 through 9. With the current layout of their work areas, they will decide among themselves where everyone sits and how they want to work together (and collaborate) here. A major question playing on people's minds is how much of their paper archives can they bring with them to Atlas.

Fantastic view

All visitors without exception are enthusiastic about the fantastic view offered by the fully glazed frontage. However, some remark that it is now evident that the roof of the market hall in MetaForum is not exactly attractive when viewed from above. Questions are also raised. Whether there will be enough bathrooms for all the building's users; whether the soundproofing of the telephone booths could be improved; whether a single photocopier to a certain number of people is sufficient, and why carpet was chosen for the flooring. “In terms of hygiene I don't think it's the best solution,” remarks one of the future users.