[OSList] How big is a circle with 300 people?

Koos de Heer via OSList oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Mon Jun 8 09:07:21 PDT 2015


Hi Harold,

 

I always have at least six aisles in my circle. Also in the outer circle, so
people can easily go to the agenda wall and return to their seats afterward.
Every concentric circle breaks six times for two or three places each time
to create the aisles. And there has to be enough space (leg room) between
the rows so that it is easy for people to pass in front of each other and
nobody has to get up when a neighbor wants to go to the center. I make a
drawing for the venue so they know how to set it up. See the attachment for
a recent example. The text is in Dutch, but you will get the idea. Every
square is one meter.

 

Koos

 

Van: OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] Namens Harold
Shinsato via OSList
Verzonden: maandag 8 juni 2015 17:53
Aan: mmpannwitz at gmail.com; World wide Open Space Technology email list
Onderwerp: Re: [OSList] How big is a circle with 300 people?

 

Great conversation! Michael Herman posted a very interesting idea on the
Facebook which I hope to try out. He said his approach with multiple
concentric circles is to try to have the outer circle be the only "real"
complete circle, and the inner circles are more like broken groups of chairs
of 7. I have trouble visualizing it - but I sense it would help. At large
OST events with more one circle, the inner most circle in my experience is
the most engaged circle. Spectators go to the back. And it's hard to get to
the center from anywhere but the center circle. Michael H's idea may not
maximize the number of people you can put in the room, but it does attempt
to make the center more equally accessible.

What Michael M.P. speaks two subjects around the circle setup strikes a
chord in me. Firstly, for those setting up an OST, it is *very* important to
know the regulations and restrictions of the venue and the local laws for
chair setup. At my local University, there was an insurance issue about
someone tripping while moving chairs around so they don't let attendees move
their own chairs. Only the paid facilities personnel are allowed. I pushed
back a bit and they said they didn't mind if there was a little bit of chair
movement and adjustment, but not mass migrations. Which meant we couldn't
reuse the chairs in the main circle for breakouts in that space (which meant
renting more space for breakouts), and it required there be lots of space
around the agenda wall since we couldn't ask people to self-organize the
movement of chairs. Frustrating! I believe Open Space really works best with
a flexible chair set up. But whatever is - just is.

Michael M. P. also mentioned that a flawed circle can diminish the OST. This
is something I've also experienced. I do wonder about also allowing the
circle to breathe. If it's "too perfect", it can feel static and un-alive. I
think this element of "perfection" in the posters and the facilitation can
also be an issue. It should have an element of imperfection and transience.
The Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi comes to mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

    Cheers,
    Harold

On 6/8/15 1:54 AM, Michael M Pannwitz via OSList wrote:

Dear Anna, 

if you do this in Germany (as we did with the 2108  in  Würzburg) you 
need to deal with the fire department ... and every one of the 16 states 
has different rules. Usually, you are limited to 199 chairs that you can 
place any way you like in a room. If you have more, the exact floor plan 
with the circles and all needs to go through an administrative 
process... usually (always) the people in the venue know about this. If 
you have more than 199 chairs, the chairs need to be either bolted to 
the floor are hinged together, mostly in bunches of 5. 

In  Würzburg we got around all of this by getting 2108 pillows in I 
think 13 concentric circles... the were then also used by participants 
for breakout spaces, massage areas, napping spaces ... etc. 

For the geometry itself you got a large number of highly professional 
pointers alreadd, I just want to add 
Start with the inner circle and have it be a really perfect circle. 
S.H. (something happens OR selforganisation happens) when the circle is 
perfect. 
Do you remember the situation in the Moscow WOSonOS a few years ago when 
things were simply perceived as pretty awful by the facilitator (I think 
it might have been Raffi) and he asked one of the seniors of OST present 
(I am sure it was Birgitt Williams) what she suggests we should do. She 
got up and asked very one in the room to grab their chairs and make a 
perfect circle of what actually was a pretty messed up circle. 
Folks followed her suggestion, got up, created a perfect circle, sat 
down and then instantaneously mega 
S.H. 

hugs 
mmp 

PS: Go to this very long link to get more details on the Würzburg event 



http://openspace-landschaft.de/an_veran.asp?veranstaltungId=355
<http://openspace-landschaft.de/an_veran.asp?veranstaltungId=355&sprache=en&
von_seite=ue_veranstaltung.asp&ds=8&branche=&begleiterId=9&anzeigeOrtId=0>
&sprache=en&von_seite=ue_veranstaltung.asp&ds=8&branche=&begleiterId=9&anzei
geOrtId=0 


If you use the following link you get to the pretty fantastic photo story by
Erich Kolenaty where you can click on a pdf file which I am afraid is too
bulky to attach to this mail 



http://www.transformation.at/article46.htm 




08.06.2015 06:05, Koos de Heer via OSList wrote: 



Thanks Harrison. 

In my experience, two meters is fine to pass behind the rows on your 
way to the agenda wall, but it is not enough when you have 300 people 
in front of the agenda wall trying to figure out where they want to 
go. You don’t want people tripping over the empty chairs that are in 
the way. So directly in front of the agenda wall, I would allow for 
at least 6 meters (20 feet) if you have 300 participants. 

Good luck Anna Carolina! 

Koos 

*Van:*OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *Namens 
 *Harrison via OSList *Verzonden:* maandag 8 juni 2015 3:10 *Aan:* 
'Anna Caroline Türk'; 'World wide Open Space Technology email list' 
*Onderwerp:* Re: [OSList] How big is a circle with 300 people? 

I do love this! And Koos – your spread sheet is fabulous!! Frankly, 
I’ve found that the basic “rule of thumb” – take the rated room size 
and divide by 2  -- will get you started. (A room rated for 300 will 
work well for an Open Space of 150)... and from there on out you just 
have to go with the flow. Remembering: 1) Have as much space in the 
center as you can, so folks aren’t all crowed together. After all 
this is OPEN Space. And 2) Leave a meter or two (3-6 feet) between 
the last row and the Wall so that folks can easily post their issues. 
Congestion slows everything down. After that, anything will work. Or 
more to the point, the people will figure the way. And do have fun! 

Harrison 

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 *From:*OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On 
Behalf Of *Anna Caroline Türk via OSList *Sent:* Sunday, June 07, 
2015 5:18 PM *To:* OS List *Subject:* [OSList] How big is a circle 
with 300 people? 

Dear all, 

Please help me do the math: How is the radius of concentric circles 
with 300 participants? 

How many rows do you think it will be? 

Thank you! 

much Love 

Anna Caroline 

photo 



*Anna Caroline Türk* 

m:+49 176 2487 2254  <tel:+49%20176%202487%202254>
<tel:+49%20176%202487%202254> | 
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www.AnnaCarolineTuerk.com <http://www.AnnaCarolineTuerk.com>
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Harold Shinsato
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