MIT seems to find a correlation between smarts and messiness, but it’s MIT, and is probably filled with messy-desked people who might be skewing the results in their favor.

Anyways, they say that “Messiness is often associated with artistic, creative and scientific or mathematical genius, spontaneity, but also with carelessness, eccentricity, madness and unreliability.”

They also noted that other messy-deskers were Francis Bacon, Alexander Fleming, and Alan Turing.

Thoughts?

Sources: Einstein, Jobs, Twain

A little about the space from Contract Magazine:

“This is a think tank balancing privacy and transparency: glass-enclosed private offices line the perimeter, and open meeting areas and a central enclosure enable creative talent to work side by side.

The triangular floor plate of the steel-and-glass building provided abundant natural light on the two long sides, and the light extends to the core thanks to the transparent room-height divisions. From the elevator, visitors enter at an angle and find a long table, rather than a conventional reception desk, that pulls double-duty for client meetings and ad hoc displays of small samples.”

The project was completed by Felderman Keatinge + Associates. More info here.

“It’s an unusual layout for an office building that nevertheless great advantages knows. Users do not look away from the organization, but are in constant contact with the spatial and social heart of it. This encourages encounter and engagement. The hall will thus also be a optimal spatial power: bridges, underpasses and stairs make sure you can wander and thus the space and the people in it from different perspectives can ever experience, “said architect Joost Ector. 

“By not only the entire hall is also air conditioned pavilions energy consumption to a minimum. Together with the choice of lightweight recyclable materials, an existing building as a base and boost for the environment that provides an exceptionally durable design. “

[from Dezeen]

“The views of Canberra’s natural surroundings provide a strong connection to place throughout the workfloor. Canberra’s unique urban planning and relationship to indigenous Australia has strongly influenced design decisions from the creation of graphic and signage details to the selection of colour.

Front of house spaces take on a modernist appeal providing a sharp and professional introduction, while the less formal staff areas are treated with bands of bright colour that wrap the workfloor, providing a sense of dynamism, intensity and way finding.

Just as importantly key efficiency factors, specifically increased density of workplace population, flexible environments facilitating cost effective space management and environments encouraging interaction, have been introduced.”