[2] Innovations like Pathways page 2

At a time when many buildings are ill-equipped to support the way people work today, Pathways working environments make it feasible for owners and developers to replace outdated infrastructures with one that distributes power, communications and access to technology everywhere; is exceptionally easy to reconfigure; and facilitates teamworking anytime anyplace.

Pathways working environments are also movable, so they can be depreciated on an accelerated schedule as federal and state laws permit.

Imagine that you have just begun to work in a Pathways environment. The first thing you notice is that your work space is more spacious...even though its “footprint” is smaller. It feels inviting, welcoming, invigorating.

Work surfaces are large and accessible. Storage space is ample. There’s room for your files and your gym bag. Lighting is indirect, bright but without glare, easy on the eyes. The equipment you need—telephone, computer, modem, printer, scanner—is within reach but not in the way. Things like your keyboard holder and chair are easy to adjust.

Team and community spaces give you a similar sense. The things you and your teammates need are at hand—whiteboards, tackable walls, mobile tables, easels and files, speakerphones, audio/visual equipment, Inter- and Intranet access, filing cabinets.

You have the sense that whoever created this environment knew exactly how you and your cohorts work.


	Pre-1970s, working environments were inflexible. They consisted of immovable plaster walls and freestanding furniture. Adding people meant tearing down walls, building new ones, rewiring and buying new furniture.
	From the mid-70s to the late-90s, some walls and most freestanding furniture were replaced by systems furniture, which was more flexible and allowed managers to use space more efficiently.
	Today, Pathways working environments replace immovable walls, floors and ceilings with movable walls, floors and ceilings that integrate interior architecture, furniture, worktools and technology products can be reconfigured at the drop of a hat deliver power and communications connections everywhere provide information-deluged, technology-dependent workers the support they need to work effectively.