Is there Creative Life Beyond the Cubicle?

Does anyone actually work here?

 Allison Arieff, former editor of Dwell magazine, design maven and NY Times blogger, examines the stark differences between  the image of the office cubicle, as promoted by high-design modular furniture companies, and the down to earth, ad-hoc places where many creatives actually do their work. She asked the provocative question, is there a better big-new-idea than the cubicle - and boy did she get responses. Most people railed against the cube, a few suggested only a private closed office will do; but no-one really described anything remotely new or different.

Making it real: a creative comfort zone

Ideas about work spaces range from interesting to absurd, but we are always curious to see the actual places where creative people work. Most telling was Andrew Berardini's musing on his own, very real desk.The differences between the real and the ideal seem to be vast.
Get the full story here: Beyond the Cubicle

Izzy's Funhouse

When the Circus came to Town.

We have heard stories about the wild and playful places where some people work - the Google and Pixar palaces with loads of kids toys for grownups. They sport foosball tables and basketball hoops to fool with while they wax creative. Forced fun for a captive audience, these corporate idea mills cannot hold a candle to Izzy's Funhouse.

He's a pinball wizard, that has to be a twist...

 Izzy is an artist and commercial photographer who collects iconic trappings of 20th century American life - such as Halloween masks, paint-by-number kits and pinball machines. It turns out that a photo studio and amusement arcade can coexist quite nicely. Mechanical Pinball and arcade machines reached a zenith of popularity in the 1960's, sucking kid's quarters like slot machines. These were sturdy workhorses, designed for punishing use. Many machines are still in existence, though they now could use some TLC, if not outright rebuilding. Izzy is a handy guy, and so a corner of the photo studio has become a dedicated renovation shop for vintage arcade games.

Pre-circuit board technology

The inside of a vintage pinball machine is a collection of coils, switches, solenoids, lights and levers. This is old-school analog technology at its best. Needlenose pliers, dust brush, tweezers and a soldering iron are the preferred tools here.

The studio is in a nondescript one-story business park, about as anonymous as can be. Izzy says he misses his old Midtown Sacramento studio with its friendly neighbors, restaurants and services in easy walking distance. But more space, better layout and lower rent just make good business sense. Between photo assignments he tinkers with an old wood-rail machine, preparing for the Pacific Pinball Expo in September. It is an enviable creative environment in which to work, with stress relief always right at hand. Eat your heart out, Pixar.

Izzy Schwartz is an artist, commercial photographer and arcade aficionado residing in Sacramento. His work can be found HERE 

Ghost Lab Design Conference 2011

Nova Scotia site of the Ghostlab

Architect Bryan McKay-Lyons has run a summer design/build camp for creative architectural students for the past dozen years. This year, he decided a conference would be a nice change. Esteemed luminaries such as Rick Joy, Glenn Murcutt, Kenneth Frampton and Ted Flato joined nearly 200 others for this June gathering to talk about architecture, sustainability and place. Wouldn't it be something to get an invite to the Ghostlab 2012 conference!

Full story here -
Ghost Lab 2011 | Editorial | Architectural Record

DIY Bike Shop

Over in Minneapolis, a couple blokes have started an alternative to the full-fledged bike shop. Maybe you are a rider who has dropped a chain or snapped a cable on the way to work; or some nagging adjustment you meant to make slipped your mind and is bugging you. Old alternative - take the bike to a bike shop, navigate through all the beautiful but pricey new bikes, find the repair counter, drop it off for a few days, figure out how to get by without your bike and pay an irritating bill. NEW alternative - pull into the Bike Fixation, swipe your debit card and choose your pleasure (tube, tire, lube, cable etc.) put it up on the repair stand, use the provided tools  and viola - a self-actualized improvement to your steed, right before your eyes.

Sure, it's not for everyone nor every situation, but it's a great idea for some and seems like a good way to encourage riding and demystify repair. A go-to, public work station with key bicycle tools - a whereuwork gem.

Get the full story HERE

The moveable feast, or nomadic workplace

 

raison d'etre

Russ & Laura are a hard-working couple. They run a cottage industry around bicycle travel and touring, conducting interviews, testing and reviewing bicycle products, creating art and books, making presentations and leading bike tours. Now they are entering the world of video production. And they do all this without an office or a home.

Amtrak as office

In January of 2009 they  " turned in their housekeys "  and hit the road on bicycles, carrying everything they need for living. They make frequent stops along their travels, for impromptu presentations in bike shops, hosting S24O campouts and generally promoting the adventure of bicycle living.

People love to hear their stories

Here's Russ describing their first season on the road:

  "After rambling across the country for 15 months, we feel like we’ve become hardened travelers. The idea of heading back out into nothingness isn’t something we need to steel ourselves against, and the details of life on the road aren’t overwhelming like they were two years ago. Instead of figuring out health insurance or a home for our couch, we can focus on how to structure our work flow on the road so that we can actually accomplish everything we want to do. We feel like we’re able to be much more pro-active in our plans for this next trip, and think about the bigger picture."




In the Spring of 2011, they are hitting the long road once again.  You can follow their progress at Path Less Pedaled. It makes for very interesting reading.

Working in a Secret City

Oakridge, TN - a prefab, secret town

Oakridge, Tennessee has an anniversary this month. In 1945, the Feds hastily created a city (planned by SOM Chicago) that would grow to 75,000 residents - all off the map, off the grid. People who lived and worked there barely knew what they were up to, only that they should keep their mouths closed and heads down. They were part of the Manhattan project, building the world's first atomic bombs. It's remarkable and difficult to comprehend in this age of Google maps that 75,000 people could hide in plain sight for several years.

Get the whole story here -
Secret City

How to be there for more than 1/250 of a second

August Heffner makes the persuasive argument that sketching is a more enriching travel experience than snapshotting (that's my new verb for the day). Extend this beyond vacation travel to many more situations: sketching is self-enriching, old school, luddite, contra-technology.

And what could be wrong with that?

Get the whole story here -
http://www.salon.com/life/imprint/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2011/05/16/vacation_photos_imprint