Project Brief

Tomorrow's Workplace

Choose a working environment and re-design it or an aspect of it that makes flexible working easier or reduces 

the energy consumption of working environments. Ideally, your solution will do both.

Process and presentation

You have four A3 presentation boards and a written summary not exceeding 250 words in which to describe your solution. In addition to presenting the finished solution, describe your process:

– what were your observations? Show how your analysis of these observations gave you insights into the design opportunity

– your insights might be research-based or intuitive, or a combination of both: relate the concept clearly to these insights

– make sure the judges know what specific issue or issues you have had to resolve in the process of designing your solution

– tell the story so that we understand the context for your solution and the benefits it delivers

Background

New design solutions are needed to address issues of environmental, social and economic sustainability in the workplace. Increased demands for flexible working and greater pressures on environmental performance are key challenges for the workplace of the future and present a unique opportunity for designers. Flexible working is increasingly in demand as workers balance more active and diverse personal and professional lives, as well as working until later in life.  In addition, the traditionally high energy consumption of working environments necessitates change for imperative environmental and economic reasons. Flexible working is aimed at moving employees away from the traditional office-based, nine-to-five, full-time job on a permanent contract. The previous ‘one size fits all’ approach is a thing of the past replaced by a variable proposition that can relate more to the employees, or the employer, or both. For an employee, flexible working may allow them to organise their employment to fit in better with other aspects of their life. For the employer, flexibility might enable them to organise resources in line with the needs of customers or with workplace capacity constraints. The benefits of flexibility include an improved work-life balance for the employees and maximised efficiency and resourcefulness for employers. The result is improved employee retention and improved services for customers, which in turn means increased competitiveness and greater profitability for businesses.

Significant developments in technology and communications in recent years have facilitated not just flexible working from home but, increasingly, working whilst on the move. A range of public environments such as airports, train stations, restaurants, cafes, hotel lobbies, parks and urban public spaces now constitute regular 

settings for many working people’s daily business activities. These places are used not only for lone working, but for meetings and collaborative workshops as they often offer mutual convenience for people with differing travel and time requirements.Thus as the demands for flexible working increase, areas and spaces that were 

previously designed for only infrequent or casual work use are not always suitable for business meetings as they often lack the appropriate seating, table space, spaces and plugs for technology and gadgets, papers, etc. Issues of ergonomics and the need for easy access to wireless connections are becoming increasingly important as well.