Europe has become a major theater in Lucent Technologies' (www.lucent.com) rollout of Project Atlas, a 1998 IDRC Best Practices Award winner in Workplace Strategies (see July 1999's Site Selection or siteselection.com).

Lucent's European implementation of Atlas now centers on two facilities in Holland and Germany that are being reworked. Those two will serve as twin launching pads for a broader revamping program, both elsewhere in Europe and throughout the company's international portfolio.

At Lucent's European headquarters in Hilversum, the Netherlands, for example, a cluster of traditional facilities is being upgraded into a flexible office showcase. On the other hand, at Lucent's campus in Nuremberg, Germany, one new facility is being built from scratch to link two traditional buildings that are being refitted.

Says Tony Marano, CRE vice president, "We plan to spread this approach to all our R&D facilities worldwide."

The Importance of Flexibility
As with Lucent, Cisco's experience suggests that more flexibility is needed in implementing workplace innovations within more traditional cultural environments.

Lucent, for example, carefully involved employees at both European locations in implementing Project Atlas. CRE officials presented staff members with project models, sounded them out for potentially disruptive aspects and modified layouts where appropriate. The result: a group of facilities that all staff found convivial.

"Whenever you change the work environment, you have to engage the entire community," says Mark Wanic, international real estate director. "One of the greatest staff concerns was loss of privacy."

That's understandable, given the existing structures in Hilversum, where the Atlas team is revamping four buildings in a 500,000-sq.-ft. (45,000-sq.-m.) complex and upgrading the entire headquarters site.

"We had our work cut out for us," says Wanic. "The existing building was all rigid infrastructure -- private offices with floor-to-ceiling walls of dry mortar and few movable partitions. We had to demolish everything to create a flexible work environment."

To meet minimum privacy needs, work enclosures in Hilversum are set off by stackable walls that stop 18 inches (46 cm.) from the ceiling, continuing in glass partitions that allow natural daylight to filter through the building.

Floors are carpeted, walls are acoustically fitted to reduce noise, and ergonomic furniture adjusts to individual needs.

Layouts Also Maximize Interaction
While the Hilversum facilities preserve some privacy, layouts maximize interactive exchanges and idea flows.

A "main street" corridor, for example, cuts across each floor and includes assembly areas allowing employees to congregate for impromptu interaction. Cafe "forums" designed to encourage spontaneous idea development are strategically located at the major circulation nodes that link the buildings.

Further facilitating divergent work needs are "huddle rooms" that accommodate focused, closed-door interchanges, while each floor at Hilversum also has a conference room for group brainstorming.

A 'Space Age Feel'
Paralleling the workplace innovation, the entire information infrastructure at the Hilversum campus is being upgraded to a high-speed 100 MBS network.

"Much of the space will have a Space Age feel, as well as cutting-edge technology and equipment," Marano explained.

The new look begins in the lobby. The reception area's product display allows visitors to browse through the product line. Business discussions or casual breaks can take place in a meeting room behind the reception desk or in a coffee bar to the side.

Says Wanic: "This is a more welcoming lobby, and puts business out front to relieve the need to give every client a tour of the facility."

Nuremberg Also Stresses Light, Space
A similar approach is being used in Nuremberg, where two traditional buildings are being renovated and linked by a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility that will set the tone for the ultramodern 5.5-million-sq.-ft. (50,000-sq.-m.) R&D campus.

Satisfying German concerns for lighting and open space, more glass partitions have been installed. Nuremberg floor-plates also allow for larger enclosures for four- or five-member teams.

Says Wanic: "It's a hybrid open plan. We're tailoring our layout to fit both the structural column layout of the building and the European work style." Site Selection European correspondent Michael Sullivan is based in Juan Les Pins, France. Phone, (33) 493-673-877; e-mail, 100664.2415@compuserve.com    SS