spaces

I've been thinking again about office spaces. I've been in my "new" office for just about a year now, and it looks very lived in. But, in the meantime, I've also moved into another temporary office in the Dean's suite. Someone remarked the other day that it looked too "sterile." There is quite a striking contrast between the two places.

My upstairs office is long and narrow, it reminds me of a shoebox. Along one wall are windows, but the view is not particulary attractive. It actually looks best, I think, at night when you can see the lights of the city below. One of my favorite things is to sit in my office at the end of the day with the lights out and look out. This only really works from about November to February when it is dark at 5 PM, but it is worth the winter to have that feeling of floating above the traffic and noise. Even though the office is large, I've pretty much huddled at one end. I have a desk along the wall with my computer and another desk parallel to that one. I sit between them, walled off from the office. I keep some toys on my desk for students to play with when they come in. Most don't, but a few will pick them up. My favorite is a set of magnets that you can stack up, balance, and arrange. I like to fiddle.

My downstairs office is squarish and has two Stickley cube chairs...and a footstool? Why the footstool I have no idea, it came with the office. The walls are white with some University artwork. I'm not quite sure what makes it seem more formal, but it does have less of an inviting feel. I haven't put too much effort into the place because I'm not sure how long I'll be staying there. That may be part of the reason for the sterility, since it is a temporary space it feels impersonal. If I stay there, I will need to make it more my own.