Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1156106
48 I ICT TODAY BlueSky... A Workplace Renovation for Future Growth This new style of work prompted Georgia-Pacific (GP) to take a look at the business process and operating pro- cedures in GP Center, its headquarters in downtown Atlanta, leading to a complete overhaul of the workspace. GP and companies involved in the renovation called the project BlueSky. FACING THE CUBE FARM FACTS The way people work has changed since the GP Center was designed in the 1980s. GP Center was no longer an efficient or desirable office space. The design of the office space offered only individual offices or cubicles and generally large collaboration spaces like conference rooms. The design and furnishings were outdated, which did not foster innovative thinking and did not support attracting and retaining talent. GP Center was unable to handle immediate and future business and capability needs. Meeting spaces, for example, were equipped with different forms of technology through- out the building, requiring additional effort to connect equipment. GP needed room to grow efficiently—as it was challenging to find space for new employees—but it also needed to eliminate waste through more innovative uses of resources, such as office space, electricity and water. The face of the modern workplace has officially changed. Employees are no longer part of cube farms with staid interiors that can often stifle creativity in its tracks and contribute to a legion of sleepy, bored workers. Today, employees are looking for flexible, open spaces—something that can allow easy collaboration and not leave them feeling tied down. They need to be able to move around and change their scenery in order to maintain a high level of performance. A CASE STUDY By Murad Mohammed and Andrew E. Schindler