UCSF Mission Hall Activity Based Workspace (ABW) Evaluation

Jean Wineman (University of Michigan)

Effective workspace provides the materials, resources, and the varied and flexible spaces to support both individual and group activities. However, the role of space goes beyond simply task support: the design of space actively structures the context of work, ways of working, and the interactions of workers within the larger organizational setting. Changes in patterns of work have resulted in a growing need for varying types of facility support, from individual space to group space, from structured space to informal space. The nature of the particular physical solution will depend on the organizational context.

In an era of immense challenges to higher education, and similar to the experience of many other urban campuses, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) struggles to contain growing facilities expenditures resulting from the rising cost of prime urban real estate. These pressures have led the campus leadership to search for innovative ways to curb rising facilities expenditures while maintaining their ability to provide excellence in campus facilities.

Mission Hall, a major new building on the UCSF Mission Bay campus was designed as an “Activity-Based Workplace” (ABW). This design can be less costly to construct and is intended to enhance the ease of interaction with others. While ABW is increasingly common in corporate settings, evaluations have yielded mixed results. ABW designs are rare in academic environments.

Mission Hall offered a unique opportunity to understand the impact of an ABW design on faculty and staff satisfaction, work effectiveness, wellbeing, and engagement. A multi-method workplace evaluation was conducted. Final results from the workplace survey, interviews and focus groups are reported in this paper. Lessons drawn from this experience can inform workplace solutions at other Universities and organizations.