EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY

Vitacura Main Building Upgrade Project:
Acceptance Review

LSO-TRE-ESO-90200-0003/1

Prepared	O. Hainaut	2004-09-14
Reviewed	Comments from M.Billeres, L.Vanzi, G.Marconi	2004-09-15
Released	O.Hainaut	2004-09-16

Revision History

0.1	2004-09-14 ohainaut first draft
1.0	2004-09-15 ohainaut release

1.- INTRODUCTION

1.1- PURPOSE and SCOPE

The North wing of ESO Vitacura main building has been upgraded to the South wing standards. The user's requirements were presented in [2]. This document checks the compliance of the upgrade as delivered in Sep.2004 with these requirements and makes suggestions for full compliance.

1.2- DOCUMENT NUMBER

The present document has a La Silla - SciOp number; this reflects the fact that the preparer does not have access to a more suitable numbering scheme. This document has actually no relation with La Silla SciOps.

1.3- ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS

1.4- DOCUMENTS AND REFERENCES

[1] Comments on the Refurbished Office Mock-Up, Internal memo from O.Hainaut to AM.Paya, 2003-08-31.
[2] Vitacura Main Building Upgrade Project: Review of the Preliminary Design and Prototype. LSO-SOW-ESO-90000-1, Hainaut.

2.- USER'S REQUIREMENTS VERIFICATION

The user's requirements from [2] are listed below. The acceptance comments are in italic, recommendations in bold italic. Comments are as of Sept.14, 2004, while the construction work in the office area is completed, but while construction work in the building proceeds.

Per OFFICE:

2 people. Occupancy rules for a 3dr spot should be defined and applied (eg short term students, visitors of one of the main occupant).
Compliant. Actually, the standard offices could host a 3rd and 4th temporary occupant. Rules for their use are not yet available.
Floor covered with antistatic material. Carpet not desirable, unless perfectly maintained (i.e. daily vacuum, 6-12-month shampoo)
Compliant: the floors are covered with wood.
4 walls, sound proof
Compliant.
1 "visitor" chair (i.e. not necessarilly with wheels)
Compliant: 3 chairs available.
1 magnetic white board for creative discussions.
A white board is available. Not magnitic, but this is secondary.
Air-Conditioning, controlled in each office
Compliant.
Ceiling lightning, anti-glare, soft tone, manual control (not automatic)
Compliant.
Each window equipped with "venitian blinds" (i.e. orientable blades)
Compliant.
1 coat hanger
Compliant.

Per PERSON:

Desk, about 2.5m total length, standard width, L-shaped.
Compliant
10m of bookshelf space in the office (10m is an average: 5m for students, 10m for fellows, junior, 15m for senior staff)
Compliant; however, the top shelf is hard to reach for more compact astronomers; a stool should be provided
Desk must be equiped with a proper hole or hook for laptop safety cable.
Not compliant: the legs of the desk do not provide secure attachment for the safety cables. Rings or holes should be provided.
~3 desk drawers for office supplies
Compliant
a locker/lockable closet
Such closet is not available, but the drawers can be locked: accepted
1 standard desk chair (wheels, arm rest, adjustable)
Compliant
1 desk lamp, ideally hallogen-type.
Fluorescent tubes are installed. Usage will show if the direct glare is acceptable. The desk facing the windows has no illumination. Desk lamps should be provided upon request
1 trash bin
Compliant
1 phone
Compliant
4-6 power plugs, stabilised 220V, standard German "Schuko" plugs, 2 power plugs, non-stabilised 220V, standard German "Schuko" plugs.
3 schucko, 3 chilean, and 9 lock safety plugs are available. It is unclear if they are all stabilized. As some non-critical appliance might be connected, Indicate which plugs are stabilized if all are not.
2-3 network plugs with full bandwidth (currenly 100Mbps)
Compliant: 4 plugs are available.

Desirable, but not critical:

Hanging file cabinets.
Not available, although there is space if critically needed.
Modular furniture so that they can be re-arranged in case of special needs.
Partially modular. The quality of the furniture termination is source of concern: some of the shelves are not horizontal, and some doors have already felt down. It is hoped that fine tuning and preventive maintenance can overcome these problems.

Additional point raised during the requirement reviews:

Desk Size and Shape L-shape (as in the mockup) is desirable, but much more depth is required (about 60cm).
Compliant.
Desk position: The 2 main desks should be placed symmetrically, facing the window.
Compliant
Third Desk: The space foreseen in the mockup for a 3rd occupant is far too small.The 3rd space will be made slightly more spacious.
Compliant
Shelves and cupboard: The length of shelves is found excellent. However, the users majoritarilly prefer to have more open shelves and less closed cupboard. Design will be modified in that way : in terms of shelves, both walls will be symmetrical and have uncovered shelf to allow for visible binders such that 3 binder-sized shelves will be available. A more practical alternative to the closed doors of the shelving will be considered, in such way that it is not necessary to open each and every individual door to find a binder.
Implement solution is an excellent compromize. Compliant.
The depth and height of each shelf (both closed or open type) must be compatible with a standard ESO binder.
Compliant.
Walls: The inter-office walls are in concrete (or any other hard material).
Compliant.
Hallway walls: The users showed a strong opposition to glass as the material for the hallway walls. The concensus reached is that the hallway walls wil be in glass, but almost completely frosted, in such way that privacy is maintained. The design of these glasses will therefore be different than that of the South wing (where ~30% of the glass area is frosted for ~70% transparent), with a much larer frosted fraction.
Not compliant: the frosted fraction is about 30%. As some managerial discussions, or discussions requiring a high level of privacy (personal matter, evaluations, etc) are likely to take place in the offices, this does not provide a sufficient level of privacy. A solution should be provided (possibly in the form of meeting rooms).
Hallway: The internal surface of the offices must be preserved. Nevertheless, the (glass) walls might be moved in the office by ~30cm, i.e. the space of the current bookshelves. In that way, the hallway can be made broader, no effective space is lost in the offices, and the structural pilars of the hallway (which cannot be moved) are still in contact with the walls, and not lost in the middle of the hall.
Compliant.

3. SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATIONS

The large majority of requirements are met, the resulting offices seem very ergonomic and pleasant. A few minor comments and recommendations are issued:

Prepare, review, formalize and release rules for occupancy of the 3rd and 4th work spaces.
If all power plug are not stabilized, indicate which are and which are not.
Desk lamps should be made available for the window facing desks.
Stools should be available for those who need it to reach the upper shelves.
As the desk legs do not provide sufficient safety for the laptop cables, provide rings or hole to which the laptop cables can be securely hooked.
The frosted fraction of the hallway walls is about 30%. As some managerial discussions, or discussions requiring a high level of privacy (personal matter, evaluations, etc) are likely to take place in the offices, this does not provide a sufficient level of privacy. A solution should be provided (possibly in the form of meeting rooms).

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