
Rick Mattila should be able to expense his shoes.As Genzyme's(NASDAQ:GENZ) director of environmental affairs, he has worn his treads thin squiring eco-conscious governors, mayors, foreign dignitaries, and inquisitive journalists alike around the Genzyme Center in Cambridge,
Massachusetts.One of only 32 platinum LEED-certified buildings in the country(the highest environmental standard set by the U.S. Green Building Council), the biotech company's world headquarters has drawn in some 10,000 visitors with its supergreen design. But being ecologically correct is actually a fringe benefit, says Mattila. The company's real aim was to keep its 900 employees happy, healthy, and workin' wicked hard.
The tour begins at the bottom of the 12-story atrium, where visitors are blasted with the building's most striking feature:a deluge of natural light. The flood begins on the roof, where seven heliostats——basically large mirrors——track the sun and redirect it through a skylight and down onto prismatic louvers of multifaceted glass. The louvers diffuse the light and send it along polished-aluminum panels, through adjustable reflective vertical blinds, and cascading onto a glass chandelier that throws rainbows throughout the space; ultimately, the light is caught by a series of stainless steel——lined reflecting pools in the lobby. It's a far cry from Genzyme's previous headquarters a few blocks away, a series of long, narrow buildings originally occupied by a century-old woven-fire-hose maker. Still, although there's more actual space here——350,000 square feet——there's less personal space. Genzyme(which made$3.2 billion in sales last year, including $1 billion plus from a drug treatment for a genetic enzyme deficiency) opted to create more common areas, as a means of boosting the site's collaborative potential.

\"Most of the employees don't sit at their desks from 9 to 5,\" says Christof Jantzen, whose firm, Behnisch Architects, won a competition to design the building and studied the work patterns of Genzymites. \"The whole building was created around the idea of a highly communicative work environment.\"With that in mind, informal meeting areas are scattered throughout:\"business centers\" on each floor, where the printers, copiers, faxes, and coffee machines are located; a few cushioned chairs placed together on an area rug; interior garden areas populated with trees(with names such as Rose Apple and Strawberry Guava, the gardens sound like Snapple flavors). \"People of ten ask, How much did the building cost? How much are you saving on energy? How much are you saving on water?\" Mattila says. (For the record, $140 million, 41%, and 32%.) \"But if you can increase productivit y, that's where you're going to get your payback.\"A survey done 18 months after the building opened found that 72% of the employees felt \"more alert and productive\" since moving into the building.
It stands to reason that Genzyme's ecotastic office has become a full-scale model for other architects looking to go green. But it has also turned out to be something of a recruiting tool. On almost ever y tour Mattila gives, the same question arises:\"'Do you have any jobs here?'\"
(C) 2007 MANSUETO VENTURES LLC, AS FIRST PUBLISHED IN FAST COMPANY MAGAZINE.
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES.
LANGUAGE TIPS
ecological 生態(tài)學
atrium 正廳 , 門廊
scatter分散
prismatic 三棱形的
heliostat 日光反射器
louver 百葉窗
美國Genzyme生物技術公司環(huán)境事務部長RickMattila的鞋子恐怕又將不保了:富有生態(tài)經(jīng)濟意識的政府高官、市長、外國政要和好奇的記者們一眾人等時常來到位于馬薩諸塞州劍橋地區(qū)的Genzyme公司總部要求參觀。
Mattila是陪同他們參觀的不二人選,紛至沓來的觀光者足以讓他踏破鐵鞋。
作為全國32座通過LEED白金認證(為美國綠色建筑委員會設定的最高環(huán)境標準)的建筑之一,這家生物科技公司的全球總部憑借它的超綠色設計吸引了大約10,000名參觀者。
Mattila相信這個設計所帶來的生態(tài)學上的美觀合理其實只是收益的一小部分。這么做的真正目的,是讓它的員工們在如此科學美妙的設計下可以保持愉快、身心健康,而且更重要的是:以更熱情的狀態(tài)投入工作。
參觀路線始于十二層樓正廳的底層。一開始參觀者們就被眼前的一幕最吸引人的景象所打動:大片的自然光撲面而來,仿佛一道大瀑布。
這道\"瀑布\"的源頭是從屋頂傾瀉而下,制造這一奇觀的其實是安在屋頂?shù)钠邆€巨大的日光反射裝置(取自鏡子的基本原理)追蹤了太陽的蹤跡,重新改變了太陽光的方向后投注在由多棱玻璃構成的三棱百葉窗上。百葉窗將光線發(fā)散開來,透過表面光潔的鋁制天窗,借助可調節(jié)的反光垂直百葉窗的功效,落在一個大型玻璃枝狀吊燈上,使改變路線的太陽光線像彩虹一樣發(fā)散出去,充溢著整個空間。最終,這些光線被大廳中映射水池的一系列不銹鋼裝置吸收。
相比較于Genzyme先前總部的設計,現(xiàn)在的裝修設計不可同日而語。
以前的建筑是一系列古老而又空間狹小的正統(tǒng)設計,甚至還配備著一個足有一個世紀\"高齡\"的消防水龍頭。不可否認,單純從面積上來說那時候的大樓有更多的實際使用空間--350,000平方英尺,但個人空間卻少得可憐。
Genzyme在去年創(chuàng)造了良好的業(yè)績和不菲的財務表現(xiàn)之后,傾向于更加人性化的建筑設計。比如,用更多的公共區(qū)域來烘托和激發(fā)公司內部的合作氣氛等。
ChristofJantzen帶領的設計公司BehnischArchitects一舉摘取了Genzyme設計方案大賽的冠軍寶座并承攬了設計大任。
在研究了Genzyme生物科技公司的工作格局和性質以后,ChristofJantzen注意到:\"絕大部分員工并不在他們的辦公桌旁度過他們朝九晚五的工作時光。所以我們的設計理念是為這個公司創(chuàng)造一個極易溝通的工作環(huán)境。\"
這樣的設計理念,促生了公司里許多非正式的聚集處的形成,并散布在公司各處。比如每一層樓都設有所謂的商務中心,那里傳真機、復印機、咖啡機等一應俱全;幾把配有墊子的椅子在某一個角落里置放在一起,似乎虛位以待;內部小花園里邊品種形態(tài)各異、氣味芬芳的樹木花草也提供了聊天漫步的好去處。
\"人們經(jīng)常會問我:建造這座大樓花費了多少錢?這個設計又能節(jié)能多少?節(jié)水多少?\"Mattila已經(jīng)習慣了這些問題,事實上它們的答案分別是:1.4億美元、41%和32%。\"但是人們往往忽視了一個最重要的方面。如果你注意到生產(chǎn)效率的迅猛增長,你就可以立即聯(lián)想到那些花費將從何處收回。\"
公司新大樓投入使用一年半以后,對員工的一份調查結果表明:72%的員工發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在工作表現(xiàn)中起了變化,他們在遷入新大樓工作以后\"更加敏銳,工作起來更有成效\"。
不言而喻,Genzyme的生態(tài)經(jīng)濟辦公室已成為一個頗具規(guī)模的模式,當其他的建筑設計師想到如何與自然接近、如何環(huán)保美觀時,他們就有了一個可以看齊的方向。
不過這個建筑似乎還是一個大型的招聘廣告。
幾乎在Mattila引領人們參觀這座大樓的每一天,都有人興致勃勃地提出同一個問題:\"你這里還招人嗎?\"