y (SCL) was geographically split between Palo Alto, California and Portland, Oregon. The intent was to "maintain a single group and explore technologies to support collaborative work." The media space had to support not only cross-site work but also provide the necessary social connections between workers to allow them to "be together." At the time of the media space experiment, the SCL had a hierarchical management structure, but lab members "regularly attended staff meetings and most decisions were made by consensus." SCL's way of working was acknowledged as both professional and social. The group accepted the split as a challenge to integrate access Video Communications: The Whole Picture across distance to information, computing, and social interaction including "casual interrupting, gossiping and brain-storming." Media space put cameras and microphones in offices and common areas on both ends (Portland and Palo Alto). A fixed two-way 56 Kbps video link connected the sites. The link included video compression equipment, an audio teleconferencing system, and consumer-quality video cameras and monitors in the commons area of each site. Microphones were interspersed throughout each building. The link was dedicated and was, therefore, always active. The portable video equipment was sometimes moved from the commons into individual or private offices. Eventually the Design Methodology researchers expanded on the initial prototype by adding the ability to reconfigure the cameras, monitors, and microphones in each office using a crossbar switch. Participants could walk to a panel and push a button to change the audio and video arrangement to match their current need and activity. Just as often, participants would change the arrangement at random SO that anyone might be seeing and talking to anyone else on the other end. The goal was to approximate the casual encounter and move through a range of socially significant contacts in any given day. Users controlled their availability across the medium by controlling camera