We typically describe our space as a “laboratory,” “workshop,” or “machine for innovation.” Its flexible design allows us to reconfigure it, expand it, and even draw on multiple surfaces. The Kiva is our main ideation room. Its circular shape is crucial to its function, and its wraparound white board allows us to capture a graphic library of the day’s thinking.
Each of our disciplines has its own laboratory. The user-studies lab allows us to study, record, and monitor how people interact with hardware, software, systems, or environments. In the model shop, we create quick-and-dirty physical prototypes of concepts that we can rapidly put in front of users. Our electronics lab puts the concepts to the test when we begin to merge software and hardware.
We designed the walls in our office with the future in mind. Each panel can be removed and replaced with experiments in pervasive computing. Since we don’t know what we don’t know, we allow our physical space to grow with us as we develop new technologies.
To gain a better understanding of how people interact with complex products, we prototype user experiences. Team rooms keep a project team’s working documents in one place. Messy is good. One of the best ways to tell if a design firm is busy is to look around. Our space is full of projects that show cross-pollination among designers.
MAYA’s space has received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. It was constructed from recycled materials and rapidly renewable resources, many of which were produced within 500 miles, thus reducing the amount of fossil fuel needed to transport them. Energy efficiency results from our heating and air conditioning system that, at a reduced amount of energy, supplies more fresh air to the space than in a typical office building. Large windows provide daylight to perimeter areas, reducing the need for artificial lighting. Besides being cost and energy efficient, the fresh air and natural lighting contribute to a more pleasant work environment.
MAYA is located at Pittsburgh’s SouthSide Works, which combines residential, office, retail, and entertainment functions into a dense, walkable lifestyle center that’s ideal for our company. With many walking and biking trails, as well as public buses connecting SouthSide Works to the rest of Pittsburgh, there are a variety of transportation options. Also, company-designed programs such as MAYABike and MAYABus give our employees more resources to help them take full advantage of alternatives to driving. There are covered bicycle racks near the office and showering facilities within the MAYA space.