ValueClick in Chicago. Photo by Barbara Karant.
Programming is crucial to every design project, but particularly for the workplace. It drives the requirements of every project, from quantities of work stations to how people want to be organized. Typically, programming happens toward the beginning of a project, prior to or coincidentally with a visioning session. This session can include any and all client parties, across any level of any function with parties that are usually identified by the client, dictated by the size and culture of the organization: real estate teams, C-suites, engineers and human resources have all been part of this phase. These are the people who build the “must-have” list for a new office.