PROJECTS
Workplace Strategy
May, 2018
A master's thesis examining the interaction effects of office type and personality on employee outcomes of workplace satisfaction, work experience, and work engagement.
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Analysis of a pilot versus control group case study of a large U.S. research and consulting organization piloting a non-territorial flex office design (from traditional cellular offices).
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Strong personality traits of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness are found to impact work experience in the flex office typology.
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Recommendations were made on how to integrate findings into practice, including features of office design, design development process, change management, and management implications.
December 2017
A remote strategy and consulting project for the design of a new 6,867 sq. ft. workspace for the Energy Labs department within the Sino-U.S. Low Carbon Building Center in Shenzhen, China. The aim was to provide multiple scenarios that increase employee communication through space planning (layout) and facilities (amenities & concepts). The deliverables were case studies and 5 layout solutions with floor plan drawings (6,867 sq. ft.), evidentiary rationale, explanations, and annotations. Additionally, a floor plan evaluation tool was developed and implemented.
March, 2017
With an impending office relocation to smaller, disjointed spaces, Cornell Global Learning: Education Abroad (then, Cornell Abroad) sought the help of the Workplace Strategies Studio to develop solutions for the tricky new offices. Not only did they need to fit into the new spaces, but they wanted to strengthen their brand, improve staff experience, increase student engagement, and accommodate workforce growth.
As a member of one of three competing teams, we delivered a report, presentation, and pitch for two workplace design proposals; one was a near-term budget-friendly plan and the other sought to fully address the long-term needs of the client. My team's design proposal was selected. I continued to work with the client, creating customize iterations of the design and specifying fixture/furnishing options.
Design Strategy
May, 2017
This report is the outcome of an evidence-based design (EBD) project undertaken by a multidisciplinary hands-on class, Innovations in Healthcare Research and Design, and the Institute for Healthy Futures within Cornell University. Small student teams worked closely with NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, New York, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) to create innovative design concepts for an expected future renovation as well as implementable design interventions for the current space. The goal of this collaboration (Feb-May 2018) was to identify innovative evidence-based solutions to enhance patient safety, increase family and patient satisfaction and optimize the work environment for staff.
May, 2017
Through a collaboration between Cornell's Workplace Strategy Studio and Zhejiang University's Senior Architecture Studio, multicultural and multidisciplinary teams were tasked with the development of a mixed-use urban masterplan that conceptualized the future of work.
As design strategists, our challenge was to take the lead, providing much of the front end research, concept development, programming, and branding. Later, we would transition to consultants as the architects built out schematics. We managed the project's development (global, remote work) over the span of several weeks, bookended by site visits of Hangzhou, China and several cities in the U.S.
Later, as a Teaching Assistant for the Workplace Strategy Studio, I would design a studio book (template and content) to showcase the ongoing 3-year collaboration. While the first year's project tackled the future of work, the second year's project focused on future learning/academic environments.
Ergonomics and User Experience
May, 2017
Co-experimenter, co-author, and co-presenter of two studies/papers on active standing and active sitting, two strategies in the fight against occupational sedentarism. These papers were accepted into and presented at the 2017 Human Factors and Ergonomics International Conference in Austin, TX. The manuscripts for publication are in progress.
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Effects of Active Sitting Chairs on Short-Duration Computer Task Performance, Postural Risks, Perceived Pain, Comfort and Fatigue
May, 2017
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Lab at Cornell University was asked to consult on an active sitting product: The Språng Chair. As a part of a multidisciplinary team of graduate students, I performed ergonomic assessment and user experience analysis of the chair. We presented the findings to the creator and founding CEO of The Språng Chair. We also recommended adjustments to the product's design.
In conjunction with that consulting project, we also analyzed an active standing product: the Wurf Board, by JumpSport.
Our team conducted literature reviews, investigated methods/tools, designed a study, developed surveys, generated an operational needs statement, and extracted insights from the data.
With the proliferation of "ergonomic" products for work environments, it's important to assess the effects the use of these products have on worker comfort, musculoskeletal risks, and productivity.