Try
to picture
a plastics injection molding plant, and most of us will call up images
of thick cement walls housing giant, inhuman machines that tower in
the eerie glow of florescent lights. Managers can spy on employees
through a small window that looks down on the plant floor. A savvy
architect has another idea. At QMR Plastics, management teamed up
with architect Julie Snow who
believes that a factory should be a place where people want to work.
So together they invented something new: a building where the cement
walls were replaced by giant glass windows that look out on a Wisconsin
State Nature preserve. Another glass wall separates office areas from
the plant floor, so employees on both sides can see each other working.
Everyone from engineers to workers on the plant floor have access
to day light and views of surrounding wildlife.
Note
from Livelyhood's Toolkit:
Architect Julie Snow has been honored with the Business Week / Architectural
Record Award for Workplace Design twice.
For information on the award and other architectural esources, visit
the American Institute of Architects Online at http://www.aiaonline.com/
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