Moving cyberspace firms in real space with verve.

Internet companies, whether start-ups or divisions of larger concerns, may operate in cyberspace but at some point, they will require physical space. As the number of dot.coms proliferate, in New York's Silicon Alley and elsewhere, they are looking to Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA) for help in creating office space that combines versatility with verve.

These new companies share certain characteristics, according to Associate Principal John Vande Plasse. They are staffed with (mostly) young, entrepreneurial people, focused but casual in dress and attitude, willing to work long and irregular hours in simple but stimulating settings that provide some amenities (like a place to crash or at least decompress). The companies are also marked by rapid growth, and by the pressure to quickly locate capital, create brand recognition and build a client base.

The need for speed has prompted SHCA to come up with an approach that is uniquely suited to a dot.com timetable. Because "five months is I 00 years in Internet time," notes Vande Plasse, the architects have devised a one-day intensive Design Workshop. The approach suits the needs of clients such as Advanstar, an integrated b-to-b media company providing on-line and off-line information resources and marketing solutions to 19 different industry sectors. SHCA is designing space for Advanstar's dot.com subsidiary. "It was a brainstorming session in the best sense of the word," says Evelyn Montalvo, Advanstar's Facilities Manager.

"The architects were shied at processing our ideas and translating them into design possibilities. We were very excited at the end of the day and felt a huge sense of accomplishment."

"The fact that were so open and easy to get along with was bonus," she added.