Presentation by Sanna Peltoniemi at The 7th Annual Symposium of Architectural Research in Finland, Espoo 23-24 October 2015 #popupresearch

1. Spatial solutions supporting
information exchange and
knowledge creation
Sanna Peltoniemi1, Jenni Poutanen1, Aino Ahtinen2, Henna Salonius3
1 School of Architecture, Tampere University of Technology
2 Human-centered Technology, Tampere University of Technology
3 Novi Research Center, Tampere University of Technology

2. • Background
• Theoretical
framework
• Methodology
Intro
• Different types of
knowledge workers
and their mobility
• Layout analysis
Results
• The role of team
rooms
• Activity-based
layout
• Further research
Conclusions

3. Introduction

4. “Often we cannot say what
it is that we know”
(Schön 1983, p.49)

5. information
exchange
transfer of tacit
knowledge
architectural
practice!
layout of the architectural office
different types of knowledge workers
focus
“intuitive” knowledge
ideas and
concepts
visual references, which support the verbal communication
mobility

6. Tacit knowledge is converted into
explicit knowledge
Individual tacit knowledge is
converted into group tacit
knowledge
1 Socialization
2
Externalization
Separate explicit knowledge is
converted into systemic explicit
knowledge
3 Combination
Explicit knowledge is transformed
back into tacit knowledge
4 Internalization
(Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995)

7. Supports concentrated work and
guided work processes by an
atmosphere, which is task-oriented,
and the focus is on tangible
performance
Brings people together
Offers room for privacy and
repetitious routine tasks.
Supports the role of the individual.
Hosts a relaxed and sometimes even
lazy atmosphere. The sharing of
knowledge and innovative spirit is
essential part of this place.
1 Socialization
2 Externalization
3 Combination
4 Internalization
Ba is a shared space which serves as a
platform for knowledge creation.
(Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995; Nenonen 2004)

8. Research questions
Which different types of office workers can be
identified among the participants?
How the mobility of the different types of workers
impact on the information exchange and knowledge
creation within the office?

9. Methodology
Semi-large architecture office.
The office is located in the city center of Tampere and it
had moved to the new premises in the spring of 2014.
Semi-structured theme interviews (N=18, F=8, M=10).
During on-site visit observations about the context
provided an additional and informal data collection
method.

10. Results

11. ”Navigator”
• highly mobile including the global network
• variation of job profiles
”Gatherer”
• spend half of their working hours away from the office at different meetings
• do not necessarily require their own office desk
• need different types of working stations
• space for concentration and collaboration
”Connector”
• move around the office building
• spend their working hours at meetings or talking to colleagues
• interact a great deal with different people, but they stay within the office building
”Anchor”
• the lowest mobility
• the office everyday, working at their desks most of the time
• have the essential role in knowledge transfer within an office, because other employees
go to them in order to get information
(Greene and Myerson 2011)
DIFFERENT TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE WORKERS AND THEIR MOBILITY

12. Frequency of changing location
Location
Low ContinunousHigh
FixedlocationMultiple,changinglocations
Anchors
(8 identified)
Gatherers
(3 identified)
Connectors
(7 identified)
Navigators
(0 identified)
THE CATEGORIZATION OF THE INTERVIEWEES
on four types of knowledge workers in relation to previous studies of
Greene and Myerson 2011, Schaffers et al. 2006 and Vartiainen et al. 2007.

13. THE LAYOUT OF THE ARCHITECTURE OFFICE

14. Team rooms support information exchange and transfer of tacit
knowledge between team members in the same room

15. The team-based layout does not support
individual working preferences
♬
!
♫ ♩♫
!

16. Team-based working inhibited the information exchange
between different teams

17. Conclusions

18. Brings people together
1 Socialization
Supports concentrated work and
guided work processes by an
atmosphere, which is task-oriented,
and the focus is on tangible
performance
2 Externalization
THE ROLE OF THE TEAM ROOMS

19. TRANSFORMING THE TEAM-BASED LAYOUT TOWARDS
ACTIVITY-BASED LAYOUT

20. TRANSFORMING THE TEAM-BASED LAYOUT TOWARDS
ACTIVITY-BASED LAYOUT

21. Thank you!
https://popupknowledgework.wordpress.com/
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sanna.peltoniemi@tut.fi
jenni.poutanen@tut.fi
aino.ahtinen@tut.fi
henna.salonius@tut.fi