Impact Noted in Real Estate and Facilities Management
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is exploring the impact of using the Internet to help the federal government enhance its asset management, boost productivity, and lower costs.

Project Earns 2001 Lab of the Year Award
AstraZeneca R&D Boston, the company's new research complex in Waltham, Mass., is designed to provide a creative atmosphere, which fosters collaboration between scientists working in multiple drug discovery disciplines.

Success Depends on Compatibility and Constant Communication
Conoco, the Texas oil giant, reduced its facilities management staff from 71 to 18 at its Houston headquarters by outsourcing property management, construction management, food service, and mail shipping and receiving. Those 18 people serve 3,000 employees working in 16 buildings, totaling 1.25 million sf on 62 acres.

This study investigates the relationship between spatial layout and informal communication among scientists. The idea for this study was generated by findings that informal, unscheduled interactions are critical to performance and productivity among scientific and technical professionals (Shilling and Bernard, 1964; Pelz and Andrews, 1966; Allen, 1977, 1997; Kraut, Egido and Galegher, 1990).