By Christopher Murphy CHAPTER 13Two smaller but no less potent spaces are the d.school at the Institute
of Design at Stanford, and Erik Spiekermann’s innovative model for a per-
fect studio, the “Centralized Office”, which channels all its staff purpose-
fully past each other every day. The d.school comprises a kind of flexible
space design that is slowly but surely influencing creative office designs
the world over. The Centralized Office is currently just a concept, Spieker-
mann’s idea of a perfect workspace — let’s hope that he puts his enthusi-
asm and passion into making it a reality. I, for one, would like to visit it.
The D.SChool
The d.school^10 at the Institute of Design at Stanford has a simple manifesto,
which fits neatly on the back of a napkin^11. It reads, simply:
Our intent:- Create the best design school. Period.
- Prepare future innovators to be breakthrough thinkers & doers
- Use design thinking to inspire multidisciplinary teams
- Foster radical collaboration between students, faculty & industry
- Tackle big projects and use prototyping to discover new solutions
Founded in 2004 by David Kelley, (chairman and managing partner
of internationally respected multidisciplinary design firm IDEO) the
d.school’s approach to creative space design has informed creative spaces
the world over. The d.school started in a “decrepit one-room trailer on the
outskirts of Stanford’s campus.” Within a year it had to move to larger and
larger spaces as demand for its projects and classes grew.
The school’s attitude towards space as a fluid tool, designed to reshape
and mould collaborative working is summarized neatly in the school’s
thoughts on how to “Make a Space for Innovation”^12 :
10 http://j.mp/thedschool
11 http://j.mp/napkinmanifesto
12 http://dschool.stanford.edu/make-a-space-for-innovation/