Discussion of graduate student spaces
AAAACoC currently makes use of the following types of spaces as primary
graduate student homes:
- cubicles (walls that don't go to ceiling)
- offices (four walls that go to ceiling)
- labs
Our current mix depends heavily on building. CCB is mostly
offices (30% cubicles, 55% offices and 15% labs); CRB is mostly
offices and labs (20% cubicles, 40% offices and 40% labs); GCATT
is exclusively cubicles.
The Klaus building will house at least 200 CoC graduate students.
We need to decide what mix of these types of spaces to include.
Please contribute your input on this decision. Here are some
questions that might get you started:
- what is your current type of space home, and how effective is it for the work you need to do?
- if you have a cube or office, and also access to a lab, how much time do you spend in each location?
- how much time do you spend working at home, rather than in any CoC space?
- what are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of space?
- what conditions cause primary homes in labs to work well? poorly?
EWZ
If you are willing, please sign your contribution so that followup, off-line discussion is possible!
I work mostly where the temperature is cool enough (though not frigid), where I can be alone, and where the best computers are. This means that I haven't worked in my office much because it has a not-so-great computer (compared to my home machine and the labs) and for a while stayed absolutely frozen (until they told us the thermostat worked backwards). I now spend most of my time in the Infosphere Lab because it is quiet, well temperature regulated (the GLC is woefully not so), and has great machines. The few cubicle spaces I have been in have been uncomfortably hot and have too many people who can go in and out. Another plus to the lab is that the people you encounter there work on similar projects. I might add, however, that it is nice to have exposure to people from other areas, too, as it allows for "cultural exchange." I now probably spend time 40/40/20% in home/lab/office. IMHO, labs should not be primary homes due to their lack of privacy, potential to be busy and distracting, and ill-defined boundaries to personal space.
I like my office very well, it is crucial to have a place to
land or organize my books and papers. Labs are noisy or crowded and
have too many distractions for the times when serious work must be
done. The biggest problem with labs is when sponsor demos occur, work
basically stops or is just impossible. My only real problem with the office is that my computer is broken most of the time, and that student machines are given zero priority by CNS for repair or re-install. This often forces work to be done in the lab or at home.
I don't mind my office (CCB 153), but I don't really like it either (the computer kinda sucks, though). Open (or semi-open) cube space is really very good. The idea being that everyone can talk (oh, okay, "collaborate") if they want to, but face the wall and work if they don't want to be distracted. It's actually good practice to get in the habbit of facing the wall and working and ignoring potentially interesting conversation going on in the vicinity at the same time. Of course, most grad students are fairly busy and work far more than they (well, we) just hang out and chat, anyway. The idea is that cubes have better personal space boundaries than, say, lab space, but can still be arranged "openly". A good example of what not to do is rooms 153 and 154 in the CCB. It was almost open cube space, but not quite. (and hence, it falls under my list of top 10 worst cube arrangements of all time–you couldn't possibly fit that many people in those offices at one time anyway).
I have one of the new offices, and it really works well. I have only two major complaints:
First, there is no sunlight. I feel much more tired after 8 hours of working in my CoC office
than I do after working at home. Secondly, the furnature design in the new offices terrible.
My desk is several inches too low. It is uncomfortable to write on my desk; and the
brackets that hold my keyboard tray dig into my legs. Hopefully,
when we choose furnature for the new building, we will make sure it is adjustable.
I am now working from home two or three days a week. In spite of the lack of
sunlight and fresh air, the CoC is a slightly better work invironment..
First, I go nuts if I am cooped up alone in my apartment for too many days in a row.
Secondly, there are too many distractions (i.e. "toys") at home. The CoC is a work
atmosphere, whereas home is where I go to relax. The main readson I work from home
is to save travel time.
I can't imagine having the systems lab as my primary space. It's uncomfortable and
distracting to work in there for even short periods of time.
For me, the best environment to get work done is one without distractions. As a result, I tend to go where there is little noise and few people around. I live in GLC, and probably work from home about 60% of the time and in my cube in CCB 40% of the time. The main advantages of my cube is that I keep my CS books/papers there, mostly, and the machine on my desk is pretty nice. The main advantages to working from home is that I'm near my fridge and my bed, and that it's typically quiet here during the day. As a result, I tend to work at home during the day (too noisy at CCB) and either home or CCB at night. Since I live in GLC, it's easy to switch locations; when I'm tired of being cooped up in my room, sometimes I go to CCB just for the change in surroundings.
Re: Ellen's request for someone who _likes_ working in the lab...I think my working space is almost perfect. Granted, our lab (ELC) is a little tight on space - but it's probably one of the most efficient uses of space there is! I really enjoy having my labmates around – it's great to have people to bounce ideas around – as well as someone to find your stupid bugs after you've started at them for too long. I tend to enjoy working around people - it keeps me sane. The only negative points I really have are the fact that I really only have 3 feet of desk space total and the lack of a true quiet space. While we have a room across the hall to use as a quiet office - it's unfortunately the hallway to the CNS data closet, which has proven to be more trafficky than we had thought. (~lizzie)
HiYa!
As for me you can't beat working in a lab, especially if it is like Beth's ECL. (Unsolicited plug)
I usually spend 10 to 12 hrs a day (during the week) in the lab.
All my stuff is there.
The thing that a lab affords that private spaces don't is the interaction. Not only with those other people in the lab but with those who drop in to talk to the others in the lab. This casual interaction is essential to creativity. Overheard discussions draw you in and allow you to think in directions that would never have come to mind on your own.
OF COURSE the lab members must respect one another's needs. Usually individual concentration times are facilitated using headsets and playing what ever music/noise you prefer to mask (drown out) other stuff that is happening.
Simply having other people to discuss ideas with is a major plus.
There is of course the ancient and unresolvable issue of "scruffies vs neats" (Kolodner, 1995?) but most of the time that can be handled because people are attracted to particular labs because they house people of similar ilk.
As for me personally, I'm a scruffy.
To summarize my opinion:
Labs? YES!
JimRowan
I primarily work in my lab. An office is needed though to house books etc. and to be able to run to in case the lab is noisy. Since we are get along very well is our lab, it works out for me, sometimes attending phones is a bit of a problem. We don't have any demos in our lab, that along with noisy and inconsiderate colleagues could be a problem. I would imagine noise problem won't go away completely for cubes too since the cubes are very close. But having some alternate place to sit in works out quite well.
I really like my new office in CRB. I like having my own desk and space, but being able to turn around and have a conversation whenever I need to. I think I would like being housed in a small lab - like ECL or ELC or Mark's. But something like the systems lab or GVU lab is too big and impersonal and would get too loud if people's desks were there I think. I also like having small informal areas close by like I have now in CRB. Someplace to run into people, play and talk in without bothering your office-mates. –Heather
I have class during the meeting today, but I still wanted to pipe in in favour of labs. Keep in mind, of course, that my experiences are somewhat biased by the great lab that I'm in.
I actually find that I am able to be much more productive in the II lab than anywhere else that I have tried to work. The lab setting seems to have an appropriate balance of work and play – when I need to work, I can simply turn and face the computer or the desk and work with minimal distraction. Of course, anyone who knows me also knows that I'm great at blocking out the world when I'm facing a computer screen.
Most importantly, however, is the collaboration that I get from my labmates. A day doesn't go by that I don't get a valuable suggestion from my peers. If I were in an office or a cubicle, I simply would not have access to this channel of input. In fact, when I had an office in the Fall term, I felt much less productive because, while I may have been cranking out slightly more, it was almost entirely based on my own thoughts – i didn't have the same access to people who were doing relevant work.
In short, the value of a lab full of people working on "similar" projects is priceless. In some ways it can be a distraction working in a lab, but it can also be an invaluable one. (James Eagan)
In our four person office, there is no lack of interaction or collaboration. Our door is almost always open, and people frequently stop by to ask questions, or just to take a break. Don't make the mistake of assuming that office == no collaboration.
I'm in a cubicle (148B). I like being in CCB because I'm able to work close to where I have class, but being near CNS isn't a prime location because they tend to be sort of loud (they work together a lot and that's great for them to get things done, but I don't have any way to tune out noise. I like having my personal space here, though, where I can put my CS books and old papers to reference as needed. For now, I like the idea of being able to leave my work at work since that's where I need it most. I like being able to put lots of stuff on my walls and use the walls as an organizational space as well as a place to decorate. Being able to put stuff on the walls is a big deal to me, but I don't think that cubes are the only way to do that. Lab space might be great since now we have to get a conference room if we want to have a meeting in this building or work on anything with more than 3 people involved, but I wouldn't want to give up wall space entirely, and I don't do well with distractions.
I have worked in 3 different labs and 3 different offices in CCB, and the simple truth is that your neighbors' work habits determine the quality of a workspace. Staggered schedules or lab-rules on "take it outside" can make any place quiet and productive. You need a backup-workplace for days when you don't have that (office in my case - I share a desk). As for machines, advisors usually buy new machines for their labs, leaving rejects for the offices. Some advisors will accomodate you if you can't get work done in the lab.
I think I'm happiest in my current lab because it has both raised ceilings and limited line-of-sight (former A-lab). The L-shape of the lab really does wonders in terms of balancing exposure/privacy, and the 60" x 30" desks w/ tucked file-cabinets are EXACTLY the right size. 28" high seems comfy as a default, since adjustable furniture is super-expensive (but necessary for some fraction of people). We furniture-shopped for a long time when the GVU-remodeling happened, and it's pretty clear that nothing beats plain rectangular tables. Don't buy that lousy stuff from the companies that have made "deals" with the state govt.
I do almost nothing but lisp hacking, so I can do almost all my work on the linux box on my desk in CRB 388. Nobody else is ever in there, though, so it's lonely. I'd love to be in a lab like the ecl or the elc. Maybe we can make an lce! The public space in CRB is nice, but shitdog, there aren't a lot of people around it seems. I go into the AI/FCE lab area when I need to use windows for a powerpoint presentation.
Jim Davies