March 3, 2006
Design My Office
If you were ever good at Tetris and have Powerpoint on your computer, then this contest is for you. Last spring sometime I made a virtual reality scale model (12:1) of my grad student office, complete with partitions, in preparation for the arrival of new officemates. At the time the office was home to only 3 people, and I felt that modeling was needed to determine the optimal placement of desks so that we could fit in all 4 people when the new grad students arrived.
The contest is to resign the office so that the cubicles are treated more equitably using the Powerpoint file in the link above. I should point out that the main reason this is a non-trivial problem is that the office doesn't have four corner spaces, as can be seen in the image to the left. If there were four corners, each person could simply be given a corner to do with what they will. That said, here are some rules/clarifications when modifying the map:
- Try to keep Desk-B and Desk-D together. Desk-B cannot be used singly as a person's desk.
- The Bookshelf-A's are used both as bookshelves and dividers because they are so tall. Use that dual ability.
- Ideally, each person gets a filing cabinet, but if you have to put them in the hallway (or "anteroom") then do so. But remember: the bikes are sacrosanct.
- The cabinets are mounted high on the wall, and so a desk may be (and currently is) placed underneath them. But dividers and bookshelves cannot be placed under the cabinets.
- In the left hand bottom edge you should be able to make out a rectangular shape; this is the cork bulletin board. It, like the cabinets, is a highly prized item to cotain within an individual cubicle, but it can't be moved.
That's all! Feel free to swap in and out differently shaped desks (such as the extra items in the upper right hand corner), but stick to shapes that already exist (for the desks and bookshelves). Be sure to keep in mind traffic flow in and out of the office (the entry is the set of doors in the upper left).
Remember, this is primarily for fun, but if someone actually comes up with a valid solution, a prize of some sort will be awarded. Like the Millenium awards in mathematics or something . . . there is no award for the "best" design, just the first design that works.
Posted by tdupuy at March 3, 2006 12:57 AM