Going to the same office every day can get old. Whether you work at a high-rise in the city or are a remote worker commuting to the couch, it’s natural to want a change of scenery sometimes.
This was what Sam Aquillano had in mind when he created a passport for the workplace.
Aquillano is the executive director of the Design Museum Foundation and head of the Center for Workplace Innovation, a center that’s part think tank, part inspiration hub centered around making the modern workplace better.
The passport program idea was born when Aquillano was trying to come up with an exhibition about workplace innovation for the Design Museum Foundation, a nonprofit design education organization dedicated to teaching the world about the role of design in our lives.
Typical exhibitions involve hanging some paintings in a gallery, which “isn’t very immersive,” Aquillano said. He started to wonder how difficult it would be to provide people with access to cool workspaces they normally wouldn’t experience.
The passport will offer employees experiences that range from guided tours to desks for a day, all with the goal of connecting communities of people and companies looking to improve the way we work.
Though the program is still in its pilot phase, Aquillano said they’ve already partnered with six Boston companies, all of which are current supporters of the CWI and represent a diverse range of industries including marketing, design and architecture.
At Autodesk BUILD Space (one of the company partners), passport holders can tour Autodesk’s new coworking and shop space located in South Boston's Innovation District. The 34,000-square-foot facility houses workshops for metal fabrication, woodworking, water jet cutting, laser cutting, glass, robotics and 3D printing.
Other member companies include the Cambridge Innovation Center (above), Neoscape, architecture firm Silverman Trykowski Associates and architecture systems firm Red Thread + Steelcase (below).
The passports are currently only available to the CWI’s board of directors and advisory council, but if the program is a success, Aquillano said it could be expanded to the public.
“It’s always good to have as many experiences as possible,” Aquillano said. “[The passport] is great for anyone wanting to redo their office or experience best practices. Also, working professionals experiencing other offices will get ideas for things they might want to do — the cross-pollination of ideas could inspire people to make changes.”
The pilot program runs until November 6, and the 60 passport holders are encouraged to experience as many of the open offices as possible, even getting their physical passports “stamped” along the way.
And what do the member companies get in return? Aquillano said that’s one of the things the pilot program is trying to find out. But he has a hunch.
“They get to show off a little bit of the cool things they’re doing,” he said. “So it’s a recruitment tool for people who want to work there. It’s also a way to infuse new ideas because they will hear feedback from outside people as they give tours.”
Photos via social media
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