PARTICIPATORY DESIGN WHEN RENOVATING PREMISES PROCESS AND METHODS

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1 Electronic Proceedings of the NES2013 Conference, Nordic Ergonomics and Human Factors Society, August 11-14, 2013, Reykjavik, Island PARTICIPATORY DESIGN WHEN RENOVATING PREMISES PROCESS AND METHODS Ruohomäki, V 1 Lahtinen, M 1 and Joutsiniemi, A 2 1 Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI Helsinki, Finland, Virpi.ruohomaki@ttl.fi 2 EDGE laboratory, Tampere University of Technology, Finland Energy-saving solutions must not deteriorate the quality of the indoor environment; instead, the objective should be healthy and safe space solutions that support the wellbeing of users. Participatory process is relevant when planning working environments that support fluent work processes, effective working and well-being of users. This article describes and assesses the participatory design process and methods through a case study of an university renovation project. Keywords: participation, workplace, renovation, process, methods 1. Introduction and objectives Sustainability - the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs includes attention to natural and physical resources, but also attention to human and social resources, in combination with economic sustainability (Pfeffer 2010). Energy conservation and efficient space utilization in buildings are central targets in all renovation projects. The quality of buildings has a decisive effect on satisfaction and well-being of users. Buildings need to be sustainable, technologically up to date, meet the needs of the users and healthy in terms of well-being for people working within it (Clemets-Croome 2011). The objectives of the research are to develop a participatory design approach to promote energy efficiency targets and to support effective working and well-being of users. The aim of the article is to describe and assess the participatory design process and methods of an university renovation project. 2. Participatory design Human factors/ergonomics has great potential to contribute to design of work systems with people. Human factors/ergonomics takes a systems approach, is design driven and focuses on outcomes, i.e. performance and well-being (Dul, Bruder, Buckle et al. 2012). Various user-centered and participatory design approaches have globally been dominant theoretical approach e.g. in ergonomics, organizational development, architecture and urban design in last decades. Despite this there is uncertainty how the user-centered problem solving should be implemented in a beneficial way. Participatory ergonomics and Scandinavian participatory design (i.e. co-operative design) have been adopted mainly in software industry, product design and management. Theoretical background for most of the methods is based on action research and progressive/iterative problem solving. However, in the highly conservative construction sector their influence has until recently been nearly non-existing (or at least not developed systematically). In this research, participatory design refers to the active participation of the users of the premises in design process. We assume that participatory design is pivotal when pursuing an indoor environment that supports well-being and the productivity of users as well as a

2 fluent change process. In the same manner, the users of the premises could be motivated and their commitment to energy saving objectives can be strengthened. The idea is to improve the design process and its outcome by utilizing user experiences. Common knowledge generated during the learning process, strengthening participants commitment to changes and facilitating the implementation of changes, could also be considered as key advantages of participation. Participatory design requires close cooperation between the users of the premises, the designers and other specialists, and well-functioning cooperation forums. Participatory design needs methods that help parties representing design, research and practical aspects to understand each other and help in supporting the implementation of the change. The methods should support the creation of models of thinking that are common to all participants; help in making design documents and concepts used more concrete and illustrating them; quick to adopt and promote group decision making (Launis & Lehtelä 2011). The starting point for space planning should be the users of the premises and their work. The organization s basic tasks, key working processes, working methods and tools are determined through a job analysis e.g. with surveys and interviews. In addition, new types of information visualization methods are needed to support communication and collaboration between different stakeholders, like the owners, designers and users of the premises. A visual display should e.g. reveal the data at several levels of detail and be closely integrated with the statistical and verbal description of a data set (Tufte 2001). One aim of this research project is to develop methods for participatory design in the contexts of a renovation project. 3. A case study of an university renovation project The object of the research is a university building built in 1969 currently under renovation. The building has four floors above ground and two underground floors in 10,161 gross square meters. The building contains auditoriums, classrooms, research and teaching laboratories, meeting rooms, offices, the faculty office, a library, employee facilities and storage rooms. Altogether 170 employees of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences work in the building in research and teaching positions as well as in administration and support services. The faculty has more than 1,000 students. Upon the initiative of the owner of the university property, the research project was started with common planning meetings in which representatives of the owner, the university facility management and personnel as well as researchers were present. The objectives set for the renovation were: 1) to chart functional space solutions, 2) to optimize space utilization, 3) to bring flexibility into space utilization, and 4) to improve energy efficiency. Information about the renovation project and research was provided at a joint kick-off meeting for the university, to which the entire personnel of the building and students were invited. Led by of the Dean of the Faculty, a working group was established from among the heads of the departments and representatives of different personnel groups, with the Head of Administration acting as the secretary. They held five strategy meetings, with themes related to future space requirements, distribution of users in the premises and the move into temporary premises. The scope of the article is restricted to the project planning phase including survey, interviews, workshops 1 4 and related milestone results (Figure1).

3 Electronic Proceedings of the NES2013 Conference, Nordic Ergonomics and Human Factors Society, August 11-14, 2013, Reykjavik, Island Figure 1. Research phases and implementation as part of the renovation project. 4. Participatory design methods and assessment of their functionality Participatory methods include the Work Environment and Well-being Survey, thematic interviews and workshops, tailored for this research by the authors of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health as well as the visualization method developed by the author of EDGE Laboratory. These methods are next described and assessed by the multidisciplinary research group of the authors. The functionality of the workshops was assessed with a feedback survey, which the participants filled in immediately after the event and with the follow-up interviews of the participants after one year. 4.1 Work Environment and Well-being Survey: description and functionality The Work Environment and Well-being Survey is a method for job analysis and assessing user needs and experiences of premises. The objective is to serve as a basis for space planning before renovation. It also acts as a post-renovation follow-up method when assessing the effects of renovation on the users satisfaction with their working environment, well-being and work performance. The survey looks into various factors, such as job content, the nature of tasks, working processes, working places, the functionality of premises, the complaints associated with the indoor environment, the wellbeing of the users of the premises, attitudes towards changes to premises and ideas for improvements. It was conducted online with Digium s browser-based software. The survey was sent to all 170 employees working at the site, of which 105 (62%) responded. The survey functioned very well as a job analysis method. It produced a many-sided view of job content to serve as a basis for space planning. With the help of the survey, different user groups of the premises could be profiled, with different tasks, tools and space requirements. Furthermore, it provided information about problems related to the indoor environment and the development needs of the current premises, to be taken into account in connection with the renovation. The respondents also submitted a great number of feasible development suggestions with regard to the working environment.

4 4.2 Visualization method: description and functionality To get a comprehensive overview of the questionnaire results, data was combined with the geometry of industry standard (data specification) for building information modelling of the university building. Methodologically this falls into a category of cartograms and thematic mapping with the difference that the map in this case was a full 3D model and therefore required some extra care due to the overlapping data values of 4-story building. The georeferencing was based on the room number of each user and the maps were processed using Safe software s FME application (Feature Manipulating Engine). That is a tool for advanced data transform and combination. All thematic maps were created in a single batch process where the classified questionnaire values were used to shade the corresponding volumetric room object. The results were stored in multiple 3Dpdf files that allowed researchers to do their observation by navigating in true 3-dimensional mode. Using enhanced common PDF format was found beneficial among research group where neither specific skills nor visualization software for virtual environments distributed equally beforehand. Data sharing, inspection and further communication was proofed easy to learn and understand, and encouraged group to continue same direction in further communications with the users Thematic interviews: description and functionality An interview template was drawn up for this research, and its themes are related to the human resources strategy of the university, technological changes, development of learning and research methods in different disciplines and changes in working methods. Thematic interviews were used for investigating the work-specific needs of different user groups of the premises, working processes and tools, functionality and development needs of current premises and views on future space requirements. The researcher interviewed 10 key persons who represented management in different university units and departments, research and teaching personnel, the faculty office personnel and students. The interviews complemented and provided more depth to the survey results. With these interviews, one could specify requirements and future outlooks for different disciplines that impact on space planning. The interviews provided a many-sided view of the practical work of university personnel. The interviewees expressed a number of concrete development needs and feasible ideas for space planning. Nevertheless, it was difficult for them to perceive potential future trends in research and teaching activities. Indeed, in addition to interviews, scenario tools are needed in order to chart future development Participatory workshops: description and functionality At the project planning phase, four workshops were organized for the users and designers of the premises. The first workshop reviewed space and other requirements of work carried out at the university in the light of the results of the surveys and interviews. The objective was to create a common view of the functionality of the current premises and future space requirements in order to support design. The objective of the second workshop was to create an understanding of the current state and renovation needs of the building as well as to contemplate the users opportunities to promote efficient space utilization and energy efficiency. The workshop reviewed the personnel s experiences of the indoor climate on the basis of the results of the survey and interviews. The survey results were visualized with the 3D model showing users satisfaction in specific rooms of the premises. The participants produced ideas for improvement and for shared use of workspaces.

5 Electronic Proceedings of the NES2013 Conference, Nordic Ergonomics and Human Factors Society, August 11-14, 2013, Reykjavik, Island The objective of the third workshop was to plan how the move into temporary premises would be organized. In addition, feelings related to the change, well-being and the ability to cope were discussed. The objective of the fourth workshop was to provide information on the progress of the renovation project and to create a communications plan for the project s duration. Different options for shared laboratories and hot-desking were visualized in order to promote participatory planning. At the event, the roles of different parties were clarified and practical questions related to communications were discussed. The stakeholders invited to the workshops included management of different units and departments, personnel representatives from different user groups, persons in charge of facilities and moving, space designers, the developer consultant and representatives of the owner of the property as well as researchers of the project. There were participants at each workshop. The authors of FIOH acted as facilitators of the workshops. The working method applied in these half-day workshops was dialogic and future-oriented. The workshops were documented with photographs and making notes of the discussions. Summaries were written of the output of group work. Figure 2. The participants assessments of the workshops as average values, on a scale of 1 (fully disagree) to 5 (fully agree). The stakeholders participated actively and enthusiastically in the workshops. They considered the workshops as useful and felt that issues were handled in a well-structured and understandable manner. The discussions were open and different views could be expressed freely. The participants estimated that they can commit to the results. (Figure 2) Assessments of different workshops differed slightly and their positive note declined as the process proceeded. There may be several underlying reasons for this trend. The first workshop the one that received the most positive assessments dealt with a theme that was perhaps the most interesting and relevant from the users perspective: job content and requirements set by it on premises. The atmosphere of the third workshop reflected ambiguities resulting from problems related to intra-organization arrangements and the division of responsibilities as well as the concern felt by the designers about the delay in

6 the design schedule. The fourth workshop was carried out at a time when the move into temporary premises was underway in the entire property and the personnel were burdened by additional work caused by the move. The successful implementation of workshops and the facilitation of cooperation required careful planning and group guidance. According to the follow-up interviews, the participants perceived the workshops useful and their objects were gained so far: to prepare for moving and working in the temporary premises; to promote effective use of workspaces; to promote idea generation for new workplace solutions; to support communication and collaboration between users and designers. The interview examples illustrate the outcomes: The workshops prepared us to move fluently into temporary premises where teaching and working continued normally... The workshops had an effective structure that helped us to discuss about common topics together and to create a shared view quickly. Collaboration with the head of the departments and the designers was a positive experience. For example, we planned effective use of corridors and rooms for small group teaching. Lecturer of one department As a result of the workshops, our attitudes towards workplaces changes become more positive and more flexible; we are not so fixed with the old premises any more. We received competences to think about workplaces in a totally new way, and our collaboration improved, which still have positive effects in our organization. Head of Administration 5. Discussion The study revealed complex and dynamic renovation process. The results showed work specific needs of different user groups, and plenty of ideas for workplace improvements. The paper contributes to the participatory workplaces design by describing process and developing methods. According to the preliminary assessment, the methods function well as support for the project planning phase; however, there are many development challenges, too. Cooperation between parties from different fields and tight renovation project schedules proved to be challenging. Different models of thinking and linguistic worlds met in the design process. Development needs were detected both in transferring user information to designers and in illustrating design information for users. A particular challenge is posed by the timely and flexible anchoring of the participatory process to the renovation project. This research continues as a prospective longitudinal case study including evaluations of outcomes. 6. References Clements-Croome, D Sustainable intelligent buildings for people: a review. Intelligent Buildings International, 3 (2), Dul, J., Bruder, R., Buckle, P., Carayon, P., Falzon, P., Marras, W.S., Wilson, J.R., Doelen, B A strategy for human factors/ergonomics: developing the discipline and profession. Ergonomics, 55 (4), Launis, M. & Lehtelä, J Ergonomia. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 95. Helsinki. Pfeffer, J Building sustainable organizations: the human factor. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24 (1), Tufte, E. R The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd Edition, Graphics Press, Cheshire, Connecticut.