“If a building doesn’t encourage [collaboration], you’ll lose a lot of innovation and the magic that’s sparked by serendipity.” - Steve Jobs

It’s nearly been a year since Kingspan Insulated Panels launched their new social media platform, KINetic, with the idea of facilitating innovation and magic throughout the architectural world. We all know social media platforms have come and gone. However, KINetic is ramping up as more and more design professionals are discovering a variety of conversations and ideas sparked by this brand new virtual office water cooler.

When Steve Jobs was designing the new Pixar campus back in 1999, he knew that he needed a layout that would foster new levels of collaboration. Either it be between computer scientists, animators and a host of other team members, who would normally work more independently than together. So with this in mind he leaned on the premise of an experiment known as Westgate West, a project created to see how friends were made based on the location of one another’s apartment.

By creating an open space layout it forced employees from all different departments to constantly be in contact with one another. This allowed Pixar to become a more collaborative and interactive environment. The hope was to spark new ideas and generate problem solving by integrating a whole new perspective throughout the different departments. Twenty-six Academy Award wins later and you could say his idea was a success.

They are now forcing team members to see each other frequently and interact in hopes to spark something amazing. This is the advantages of collaboration and interaction in design that KINetic brings in the form of an online medium.

Learning is Fun

As stated previously, it’s fun to collaborate with other departments because you get a better understanding of the project as a whole by understanding the sum of all the parts. You can also greatly benefit from your collaboration and interaction within your own field. The advantage of KINetic is it allows you to meet up with industry professionals from around the world in all phases of architecture and design. Each individual brings his or her own unique job experience to the table. This makes it easy to either learn how to solve a problem or maybe even receive a tip to perfect an old method that you currently implement.

With KINetic, sharing ideas are a simple way to get to that “ah ha moment.” By forming a “cluster” you can create a public, or private if needed, discussion on a project or idea. Then you can invite other knowledgeable professionals, or if public anyone can drop in and help out, to jump into the topic and find a solution. It’s the social think tank you need for a job well done.

What You Know to Who You Know

Another great advantage to collaborating and interacting in design on KINetic is the ability to network with other professionals, which may lead to additional work opportunities. Lend your expertise to a “cluster” and let your knowledge be known, as it is today’s social business card. If you can prove to be helpful to others online through KINetic, you may find yourself requested to collaborate on future projects in “the real world” as well. With the help of a few well-posted clusters, making connections online may soon turn into brand new business opportunity.

Now we all know collaboration is not always an easy process, as each party must give for the good of the group. Egos must be put aside so that new ideas can flourish. However once done, your eyes will be open to a whole new world of opportunities. Discover the innovation and magic that Steve Jobs was referencing as you join the virtual building that was founded on collaboration with the innovative KINetic network.