The Organization and Architecture of Innovation

This book describes in a clear way the importance of the working environment besides the organizational structure as a major influence on the effiency of an organization aiming to innovate. I focusses on the effectivity of the organization.What I missed were the factors flexibility (agility) and m²-efficency (lean), two factors that are crucial in this post-crisis economy.

Allen/Henn geben in diesem Buch einen kurzen Überblick über Grundlagen der Kommunikation und Innovationsentstehung unter spezieller Beachtung der räumlichen Bedingungen. Aufbauend auf die Gegenüberstellung der Grundbedürfnisse "Konzentration" und "Kommunikation" stellen sie Verbindungen zur hierarchischen Führungsorganisation, Raumgestaltung, Teamzusammensetzung und verwandter Themen dar, und zeigen anhand realisierter Beispiele, wie Architektur zu einer verbesserten Kommunikation und somit Innovation führen kann.Das Buch kann v.a. Nicht-Architekten sehr gut einen Einblick auf die Herangehensweise eröffnen, und auch dem Praktiker gute Ansätze liefern. Der didaktische Aufbau ist meiner Meinung nach sehr gut gelungen.

Excellent Book related to the Theory & also pragmatical approach in regards to the Architecture & the Innovation.I have applied this methodology to a Project of R&D in Aeronautical Business Company, and the results have been extremly relevant.I would highliy recommend this book to the Architects who are dealing with Industrial & Open Spaces Building for Large, Medium Companies, which have Innovation in their Strategy, and Vision.

This is a well crafted book with good citations. I first heard of Allen's work while working at Corning Inc in the mid-80s. Corning used his concepts in the design of the Decker Building. It was ahead of his time. I see "place" as one of the six pillars of motivation. It is too often overlooked in designing organizations. This is a seminal contribution to organization design.

Excellent introduction to understanding the impact of physical space on collaboration and innovation. The book could have offered broader case studies involving conventional office space, not just the landmark buildings of BMW, Steelcase and Skoda, but it creates a credible basis for searching for support for mere mortals.

There are many views on what makes an organization innovative, but probably the most overlooked is the impact of the architecture or configuration of their office space. This book provides an excellent treatment of how physical organization can help drive innovation. I enjoyed it!