09-11-2013
B-Sides: Event #5 | How to Stop Working in 2020
As part of a B-Sides summer charette, we recruited a few of our summer interns to participate in Metropolis magazine's "Future of Workplace" competition. The competition brief asked participants to imagine what our work-lives will be like in the year 2020. If you think about the exponential influx of science and technology over the past ten years, it is almost impossible to imagine how and what kind of future gadgets will shape our lives. Will we talk to each other as holograms? Will each of us exist exclusively in Google Glass or have computers implanted in our skin? Our collective imaginations ran wild before pausing to wonder -- does that mean we will work all the time? How will we stop working in 2020?
Instead of asking "How will we work in 2020?" as the brief suggests, our proposal begs the question, "How will we stop work in 2020?" This narrative embraces our ability to communicate effectively without geographical constraints, by suggesting a decentralized workspace that no longer relies on an all-inclusive physical office in which we work. In this scenario, employees will be able to begin their work day from home while helping their children out the door, and simultaneously checking correspondence via their home office. Employees will then have the ability to conference in to a meeting on the way to work from a local coffee shop or other nearby venue. The concept of the 9-5 workday will become obsolete, and both employers and employees will find more efficient and effective ways to manage their 24 hours. The question therefore becomes - how will this new system enable us to disconnect from our work, if even momentarily?
The 24-hour work day is illustrated in this proposal by a radial diagram that conveys the systemic nature of the way we will work in 2020. This diagram charts the timesheets of 5 intersecting characters. It not only illustrates when and what they are working on, but also when they need personal time – to buy groceries, exercise, or to simply take a break. The color coded system allows its users to find critical junctures throughout the day in order to best address professional and personal needs.
Considering the prominent 'work everywhere' approach, we were interested in how architecture can more effectively accomodate the necessity to stop working, and serve human needs as well as the bottom line. Illustrated above is a future conference room that will better facilitate virtual communication and collaborative interaction within an office.
Our fully flexible work-pod can function in any flagship office. The work-pod enables employees to focus on a variety of tasks, in addition to reducing the overall space used by any given company. The variable transparency of the pod provides a private workspace, but can also be adjusted to foster a collaborative, open environment. Depending on the nature of the work, the work-pod landscape sparks visual and spatial recognition, allowing for a better understanding of office priorities and workflow.
In 2020 we will have fully embraced the notion of a decentralized, intelligent workspace that allows employees to check in remotely. Local retail spaces equipped with intelligent workspaces that can be activated by each individual's unique key will enable employees to connect from a secure location if you are away from your desk or smart device.
Rather than focusing on one specific design or technological concept, our proposal seeks to address the narrative of the future office. We elected to show how we will work from a variety of locations including a home office, a conference room, a retail space, and a traditional office space. Each of these environments will be better equipped to handle the dynamic set of interactions that will comprise the workplace of the 2020 and beyond.
Designers: Osman Dadi, Christina Galati, June Kim, Andrew Maier, Brandon Massey, Annette Miller, Valeria Rivera
Instead of asking "How will we work in 2020?" as the brief suggests, our proposal begs the question, "How will we stop work in 2020?" This narrative embraces our ability to communicate effectively without geographical constraints, by suggesting a decentralized workspace that no longer relies on an all-inclusive physical office in which we work. In this scenario, employees will be able to begin their work day from home while helping their children out the door, and simultaneously checking correspondence via their home office. Employees will then have the ability to conference in to a meeting on the way to work from a local coffee shop or other nearby venue. The concept of the 9-5 workday will become obsolete, and both employers and employees will find more efficient and effective ways to manage their 24 hours. The question therefore becomes - how will this new system enable us to disconnect from our work, if even momentarily?
The 24-hour work day is illustrated in this proposal by a radial diagram that conveys the systemic nature of the way we will work in 2020. This diagram charts the timesheets of 5 intersecting characters. It not only illustrates when and what they are working on, but also when they need personal time – to buy groceries, exercise, or to simply take a break. The color coded system allows its users to find critical junctures throughout the day in order to best address professional and personal needs.
Considering the prominent 'work everywhere' approach, we were interested in how architecture can more effectively accomodate the necessity to stop working, and serve human needs as well as the bottom line. Illustrated above is a future conference room that will better facilitate virtual communication and collaborative interaction within an office.
Our fully flexible work-pod can function in any flagship office. The work-pod enables employees to focus on a variety of tasks, in addition to reducing the overall space used by any given company. The variable transparency of the pod provides a private workspace, but can also be adjusted to foster a collaborative, open environment. Depending on the nature of the work, the work-pod landscape sparks visual and spatial recognition, allowing for a better understanding of office priorities and workflow.
In 2020 we will have fully embraced the notion of a decentralized, intelligent workspace that allows employees to check in remotely. Local retail spaces equipped with intelligent workspaces that can be activated by each individual's unique key will enable employees to connect from a secure location if you are away from your desk or smart device.
Rather than focusing on one specific design or technological concept, our proposal seeks to address the narrative of the future office. We elected to show how we will work from a variety of locations including a home office, a conference room, a retail space, and a traditional office space. Each of these environments will be better equipped to handle the dynamic set of interactions that will comprise the workplace of the 2020 and beyond.
Designers: Osman Dadi, Christina Galati, June Kim, Andrew Maier, Brandon Massey, Annette Miller, Valeria Rivera