Window Blinds

Space Design
1

Hey y’all,

I hate to post about such a mundane facilities challenge, but it’s a complicated market and I’m curious if anyone has come up with some innovative solutions.

You think that natural light would always be a good thing, but we get a pretty intense glare off a neighboring building and there are times of the day where certain areas are basically unbearably bright and hot. Every desk gets this at some point of the day.

Our members are clamoring for blinds (landlord won’t provide any), but given our number of windows, a traditional blinds system would cost about 8-10k.

Has anyone tackled this problem in a fun or clever way?

Thanks!
Oren

2

If it’s glare, try window film. You can them simultaneously integrate graphics as signage to the outside public.

···

On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 11:14 AM, [email protected] [email protected] wrote:

Hey y’all,

I hate to post about such a mundane facilities challenge, but it’s a complicated market and I’m curious if anyone has come up with some innovative solutions.

You think that natural light would always be a good thing, but we get a pretty intense glare off a neighboring building and there are times of the day where certain areas are basically unbearably bright and hot. Every desk gets this at some point of the day.

Our members are clamoring for blinds (landlord won’t provide any), but given our number of windows, a traditional blinds system would cost about 8-10k.

Has anyone tackled this problem in a fun or clever way?

Thanks!
Oren

–

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JEROME CHANG

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | ph: (213) 550-2235

NORTH: Hollywood (Opening May 2016!)
6600 Sunset Blvd. (@Vine)

NORTHEAST: Pasadena (Opening 2016 Q2!)
600 E. Colorado Blvd. (@Los Robles)

3

+1 for window film, either a frosting or light tint make a BIG difference.

-Alex

···

On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 2:17 PM, Jerome Chang [email protected] wrote:

If it’s glare, try window film. You can them simultaneously integrate graphics as signage to the outside public.

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The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.

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Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

Where will you be on April 21st?

JEROME CHANG

CENTRAL: Mid-Wilshire
5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | ph: (323) 330-9505

EAST: Downtown
529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | ph: (213) 550-2235

NORTH: Hollywood (Opening May 2016!)
6600 Sunset Blvd. (@Vine)

NORTHEAST: Pasadena (Opening 2016 Q2!)
600 E. Colorado Blvd. (@Los Robles)

On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 11:14 AM, [email protected] [email protected] wrote:

Hey y’all,

I hate to post about such a mundane facilities challenge, but it’s a complicated market and I’m curious if anyone has come up with some innovative solutions.

You think that natural light would always be a good thing, but we get a pretty intense glare off a neighboring building and there are times of the day where certain areas are basically unbearably bright and hot. Every desk gets this at some point of the day.

Our members are clamoring for blinds (landlord won’t provide any), but given our number of windows, a traditional blinds system would cost about 8-10k.

Has anyone tackled this problem in a fun or clever way?

Thanks!
Oren

–

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You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “Coworking” group.

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4

We went with window stickers too. We have panes so the central logo is for the space and it is surrounded by logos or whatever of the coworkers who wanted to do that.

It gives nifty effects if you use a cutout, with the image walking across the room as the sun moves. One of the former coworkers used an image on a bicycle so his moved through the space as the day went on. .Wings would also be good I think.

There is also glas frosting paint for a temporary solution, we sometimes do this in the back space in the summer because it’s a seasonal problem. Get the coworkers to make stencils and throw a party, it’s fun.

And a tip from a military brat: you can paint in watercolors over the windows for the same problem, depends on how bad it is. I remember my mom painted the background in light blue, then drew with a black marker on the windows and we painted it in. Depends on how artistic your coworkers are and how much mess you can take. :slight_smile:

5

I’m so glad you asked about this topic, Oren. This has been a major issue for us and I didn’t think to ask.

For all the respondents: natural light is one of the biggest factors in how happy/unhappy our members are with the space. While it’s great to get rid of the glare, I’d hate to do that at the expense of natural light during the times when glare isn’t a problem. Are there tints that don’t really give meaningful sacrifice in terms of natural light while still blocking the glare?

···

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 10:42:06 AM UTC+2, Jeannine van der Linden wrote:

We went with window stickers too. We have panes so the central logo is for the space and it is surrounded by logos or whatever of the coworkers who wanted to do that.

It gives nifty effects if you use a cutout, with the image walking across the room as the sun moves. One of the former coworkers used an image on a bicycle so his moved through the space as the day went on. .Wings would also be good I think.

There is also glas frosting paint for a temporary solution, we sometimes do this in the back space in the summer because it’s a seasonal problem. Get the coworkers to make stencils and throw a party, it’s fun.

And a tip from a military brat: you can paint in watercolors over the windows for the same problem, depends on how bad it is. I remember my mom painted the background in light blue, then drew with a black marker on the windows and we painted it in. Depends on how artistic your coworkers are and how much mess you can take. :slight_smile:

6

It’s worth testing.

In my experience, natural light is really two things:

  • the quality of the source of the light itself

  • the ability to see outside

That second one…I think that’s underrated. Skylights are great, for example, but they don’t really create the same sense as wall windows.

So I would be looking at tinting options that are subtle - the lowest end of the % grade - and putting up some test films to see how it feels. A lot of businesses use tinting for security and it ends up being so dark that it drastically impacts the feel for the people inside.

In most of the cases that I’ve seen, a good light film feels a little like putting on a pair of sunglasses. All of the color and fidelity is there, just less squinting. :slight_smile:

Remember that grey days are also affected by the tinting - another reason to keep it as low % as possible.

It will feel different, because it is different. So naturally, some people may resist it. Not because it isn’t better, or is qualitatively worse, but just because it’s different. Involving people in the testing process helps dramatically in easing that pain. And of course some peeps just like to complain :slight_smile:

But the net gain (easing glare/heat problems) is worth it. I’m excited that our new space has giant wrap-around Windows to the south and west, but they’d create misery without a subtle tint.

-Alex

···

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace [email protected] wrote:

I’m so glad you asked about this topic, Oren. This has been a major issue for us and I didn’t think to ask.

For all the respondents: natural light is one of the biggest factors in how happy/unhappy our members are with the space. While it’s great to get rid of the glare, I’d hate to do that at the expense of natural light during the times when glare isn’t a problem. Are there tints that don’t really give meaningful sacrifice in terms of natural light while still blocking the glare?

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 10:42:06 AM UTC+2, Jeannine van der Linden wrote:

We went with window stickers too. We have panes so the central logo is for the space and it is surrounded by logos or whatever of the coworkers who wanted to do that.

It gives nifty effects if you use a cutout, with the image walking across the room as the sun moves. One of the former coworkers used an image on a bicycle so his moved through the space as the day went on. .Wings would also be good I think.

There is also glas frosting paint for a temporary solution, we sometimes do this in the back space in the summer because it’s a seasonal problem. Get the coworkers to make stencils and throw a party, it’s fun.

And a tip from a military brat: you can paint in watercolors over the windows for the same problem, depends on how bad it is. I remember my mom painted the background in light blue, then drew with a black marker on the windows and we painted it in. Depends on how artistic your coworkers are and how much mess you can take. :slight_smile:

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The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.
Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com
Listen to the podcast: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/podcast

7

Thanks Jerome, Alex and Jeannine for your excellent suggestions!

Do you have any links to specific window film products or pictures of the solutions in your spaces?

I’m having trouble finding good film products online.

···

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 3:42:06 AM UTC-5, Jeannine van der Linden wrote:

We went with window stickers too. We have panes so the central logo is for the space and it is surrounded by logos or whatever of the coworkers who wanted to do that.

It gives nifty effects if you use a cutout, with the image walking across the room as the sun moves. One of the former coworkers used an image on a bicycle so his moved through the space as the day went on. .Wings would also be good I think.

There is also glas frosting paint for a temporary solution, we sometimes do this in the back space in the summer because it’s a seasonal problem. Get the coworkers to make stencils and throw a party, it’s fun.

And a tip from a military brat: you can paint in watercolors over the windows for the same problem, depends on how bad it is. I remember my mom painted the background in light blue, then drew with a black marker on the windows and we painted it in. Depends on how artistic your coworkers are and how much mess you can take. :slight_smile:

8

Hi. I’m not sure what you’re really searching, but I pulled this up pretty quickly. Can you define “good”?

http://www.solargard.com/window-films

···

On Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 10:57 AM, [email protected] [email protected] wrote:

Thanks Jerome, Alex and Jeannine for your excellent suggestions!

Do you have any links to specific window film products or pictures of the solutions in your spaces?

I’m having trouble finding good film products online.

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 3:42:06 AM UTC-5, Jeannine van der Linden wrote:

We went with window stickers too. We have panes so the central logo is for the space and it is surrounded by logos or whatever of the coworkers who wanted to do that.

It gives nifty effects if you use a cutout, with the image walking across the room as the sun moves. One of the former coworkers used an image on a bicycle so his moved through the space as the day went on. .Wings would also be good I think.

There is also glas frosting paint for a temporary solution, we sometimes do this in the back space in the summer because it’s a seasonal problem. Get the coworkers to make stencils and throw a party, it’s fun.

And a tip from a military brat: you can paint in watercolors over the windows for the same problem, depends on how bad it is. I remember my mom painted the background in light blue, then drew with a black marker on the windows and we painted it in. Depends on how artistic your coworkers are and how much mess you can take. :slight_smile:

–

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JEROME CHANG

www.BLANKSPACES.com

9

Hey Jerome,

This is my first rodeo with window blinds so unfortunately I can’t define “good”, I ran a quick amazon and ebay search and wasn’t finding appealing options.

Now that I know I need to go directly to supplier, I’ll take a look at a few and see if I can find appealing solutions that dim light without obstructing the view, which as Alex suggests, is prized more than the light itself.

Thanks,
Oren

···

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 1:51:19 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

Hi. I’m not sure what you’re really searching, but I pulled this up pretty quickly. Can you define “good”?

http://www.solargard.com/window-films

JEROME CHANG

www.BLANKSPACES.com

On Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 10:57 AM, [email protected] [email protected] wrote:

Thanks Jerome, Alex and Jeannine for your excellent suggestions!

Do you have any links to specific window film products or pictures of the solutions in your spaces?

I’m having trouble finding good film products online.

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 3:42:06 AM UTC-5, Jeannine van der Linden wrote:

We went with window stickers too. We have panes so the central logo is for the space and it is surrounded by logos or whatever of the coworkers who wanted to do that.

It gives nifty effects if you use a cutout, with the image walking across the room as the sun moves. One of the former coworkers used an image on a bicycle so his moved through the space as the day went on. .Wings would also be good I think.

There is also glas frosting paint for a temporary solution, we sometimes do this in the back space in the summer because it’s a seasonal problem. Get the coworkers to make stencils and throw a party, it’s fun.

And a tip from a military brat: you can paint in watercolors over the windows for the same problem, depends on how bad it is. I remember my mom painted the background in light blue, then drew with a black marker on the windows and we painted it in. Depends on how artistic your coworkers are and how much mess you can take. :slight_smile:

–

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10

Ahh…Window film is more of a commercial product, so searching outside of Amazon/eBay should yield more choices. Search on Google at least to get brands and a pattern of product types, then you can buy via distributors, the manufacturers…or even yes, Amazon/eBay. The key will be getting an installer, which often will sell and install for you 2-in-1. They’re often dealers as a result.

There’s another option: the perforated adhesive you see on buses. You can add graphics that allow people to see an image from afar (like from across the street), but from close-up inside, they appear transparent-like.

OR

Shades that aren’t that opaque…$$ :frowning:

As for light vs. view, I’ve got to say I wouldn’t be be so conclusive on one way or another. From someone who has used skylights frequently, I would say the overall effect it has to illuminate and enhance the quality of the space, and therefore a great experience to the occupant…is sooooo compelling….to the point of my preferring skylights over windows. My ‘view’ - haha - is that the outside world can be distracting (buses, trucks, noise, etc.), when all I want is healthy daylight.

ie., [https://flic.kr/p/a8c773](https://flic.kr/p/a8c773)

…and if you’re in Dallas, that glare that penetrates horizontally thru a window wall is blinding.

Look at this view of my downtown space:

[https://flic.kr/p/i6NJe7](https://flic.kr/p/i6NJe7)

See how the white spot from the windows in the background is so strong and glaring?

And the diffused light from our light shaft w/ above skylight is so even?

And even our classroom:

[https://flic.kr/p/itkfQu](https://flic.kr/p/itkfQu)

The lighting is almost theatrical, with light from the skylights hitting the brick wall like down lights, and then the projector image still has enough ambient light blocked out that the image is very clear.

ok, down from my monologue - sorry folks. :-/

JEROME CHANG

www.BLANKSPACES.com

···

On Apr 5, 2016, at 1:21 PM, [email protected] [email protected] wrote:

Hey Jerome,

This is my first rodeo with window blinds so unfortunately I can’t define “good”, I ran a quick amazon and ebay search and wasn’t finding appealing options.

Now that I know I need to go directly to supplier, I’ll take a look at a few and see if I can find appealing solutions that dim light without obstructing the view, which as Alex suggests, is prized more than the light itself.

Thanks,
Oren

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 1:51:19 PM UTC-5, Jerome wrote:

Hi. I’m not sure what you’re really searching, but I pulled this up pretty quickly. Can you define “good”?

http://www.solargard.com/window-films

JEROME CHANG

www.BLANKSPACES.com

On Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 10:57 AM, [email protected] [email protected] wrote:

Thanks Jerome, Alex and Jeannine for your excellent suggestions!

Do you have any links to specific window film products or pictures of the solutions in your spaces?

I’m having trouble finding good film products online.

On Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 3:42:06 AM UTC-5, Jeannine van der Linden wrote:

We went with window stickers too. We have panes so the central logo is for the space and it is surrounded by logos or whatever of the coworkers who wanted to do that.

It gives nifty effects if you use a cutout, with the image walking across the room as the sun moves. One of the former coworkers used an image on a bicycle so his moved through the space as the day went on. .Wings would also be good I think.

There is also glas frosting paint for a temporary solution, we sometimes do this in the back space in the summer because it’s a seasonal problem. Get the coworkers to make stencils and throw a party, it’s fun.

And a tip from a military brat: you can paint in watercolors over the windows for the same problem, depends on how bad it is. I remember my mom painted the background in light blue, then drew with a black marker on the windows and we painted it in. Depends on how artistic your coworkers are and how much mess you can take. :slight_smile:

–

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11

What will the building standards allow? Many times, tenants are required to purchase a specific type of treatment for consistency. Make sure film is allowed first.

···

On Monday, April 4, 2016 at 1:14:22 PM UTC-5, [email protected] wrote:

Hey y’all,

I hate to post about such a mundane facilities challenge, but it’s a complicated market and I’m curious if anyone has come up with some innovative solutions.

You think that natural light would always be a good thing, but we get a pretty intense glare off a neighboring building and there are times of the day where certain areas are basically unbearably bright and hot. Every desk gets this at some point of the day.

Our members are clamoring for blinds (landlord won’t provide any), but given our number of windows, a traditional blinds system would cost about 8-10k.

Has anyone tackled this problem in a fun or clever way?

Thanks!
Oren