{"id":26026,"date":"2020-02-13T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alternativ.be\/?p=26026"},"modified":"2020-03-12T09:14:57","modified_gmt":"2020-03-12T09:14:57","slug":"engaging-the-five-senses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alternativ.be\/en\/engaging-the-five-senses\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging the Five Senses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One company is taking a sensory approach to rehumanizing the workplace. Italian firm Il Prisma, a Steelcase distributor, used research to create LinkedIn offices in Milan, Munich, Paris and Madrid that engage the five senses\u2014in order to better engage workers. \u201cOur research proves that sensorial design improves concentration and learning,\u201d says Il Prisma architect Elisabetta Pero. \u201cIt\u2019s all about turning on the senses at work, not turning them off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the best employers, providing the best workplace solutions\u2014ergonomic seating, height-adjustable tables, views to the outdoors, multiple break rooms\u2014may be missing something huge. What about the color of the walls? The smells in the office? The texture of furniture materials? It\u2019s through the five senses\u2014sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch\u2014that humans perceive the world, notes Pero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is that while the number of desks in a workplace can be measured, as can the temperature of the work environment, the quantity of incoming light and the noise volume, measuring the impact of the five senses seems impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Il Prisma architects decided that these qualities\u2014long left to aesthetic intuition\u2014 could, and should, be quantified. So they undertook a scientific study to measure how the five senses within an office neurologically affect people. In the study, Il Prisma used electroencephalograms ( EEG scans) to measure electrical activity in the brain and an eye tracker device to detect eye movement and the dilation of the cornea. These measurements helped determine what fosters different states in the brain, specifically attention, focus, learning, evocative, simplicity and calm which help people work better. (Definitions of these States of Mind can be found at the end of this article).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The study was conducted in two phases. First, the architects contrasted two sensory-based environments, one called a neutral room, the other a sensorial room. While the neutral room was a basic meeting room with a white conference table and homogenous lighting, the sensorial room had a wooden table and bookcases made of fragrant cedar that were rough in texture, three wooden chairs, each of a different design, a curtain made of leaves, a blue light behind a bookcase and food on the shelves. The subjects were split into two groups, one for each room, and asked to perform a problem-solving test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second phase, subjects were shown pictures of different colors and images, i.e., a photo of blue fabric or of different types of workspaces. This prompted similar neurological responses compared to those that would naturally occur if participants were holding the blue fabric or were physically in those working environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While you might expect the sensorial room was best for all types of work, the firm found that engaging multiple senses can also have a negative effect on work\u2014it all depends on what type of work is being done. \u201cThe sensorial room might be better for sitting down to write a long memo, but it may not be as ideal for group problem solving,\u201d explains Pero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants in the sensorial room performed well on the individual listening task. \u201cWhile the subjects were memorizing, learning and studying, they were able to remember more words, reproduce more words and their concentration levels were heightened compared to those in the neutral room,\u201d Pero says. Other findings include the discovery that the colors blue and green and the use of wood and natural materials promoted calm and relaxed brain states. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The goal for the study was more than to create rules for how to design ideal workplaces. Il Prisma was also interested in using the scientific measurement to create humanistic design. \u201cWe weren\u2019t trying to arrive at a set amount of data or a number that gave the exact formula for designing sensorial spaces,\u201d Pero says, \u201cbut a method that could be used to help people personalize settings necessary for the tasks carried out and for the specific people that work within that space.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embracing the senses at LinkedIn<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the Milan LinkedIn office, with an umbrella theme of transformation, the company used different rooms to represent five typical locations in Italy: a theater, a restaurant, a tailor\u2019s shop, a cellar and a garden. LinkedIn referenced the Il Prisma results, which the architects call \u201cemotional grammar,\u201d to design each room to best suit the tasks that would be done in them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in the Cellar, workers can drink a glass of wine while listening to music and cedar wood is present. The room is ideal for highly private meetings or intense moments of concentration. Whereas in the Tailor\u2019s Shop, sensorial elements are muted so that problem-solving meetings can be held. There are large swaths of materials such as fabric and metal, but no color or texture that attracts undue attention. The variety of the five rooms offers an ecosystem of spaces in the office, so workers can match their current work needs with the space that will best support them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ultimately, the Il Prisma research reports that, \u201cThe contemporary worker prefers places that are no longer antiseptic and standardized, but customized and with strong connotations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The takeaway for all firms is that the senses should be taken into account so workers can choose the environment that best suits their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Il Prisma has published the full study in a book entitled \u201cNow We Work.\u201d The book has also been adopted as an academic textbook in European universities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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States of mind<\/h3>\n\n\n\n