COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This Interior Design studio was based around a competition sponsored by Metropolis magazine. Their proposal was the following:
"Rapid and dramatic developments are remaking how we work. The technology we utilize continues to evolve at a break-neck pace. The modern office is adjusting to the 'work everywhere' approach while ushering in a new generation of employees with different expectations and standards. Today, systems thinkers who explore all facets of sustainability, accessibility, material innovation and technology shape the design of everything. The workplace is smack in the middle of this massive rethink. Due to this current realization, how can we design 10 to 15 years out to better our design community?"
PROJECT SUMMARY:
What if the workplace could benefit workers along with revitalizing the surrounding community? Businesses continue to create new infrastructures, ignoring the vacant, dying spaces that scatter throughout cities. Increased vacant lots lead to crime, vandalism, litter, loss of security and struggling businesses in the area. Cleaning up the area and introducing Revive, letting the community take ownership of the unit, will introduce a unique space for both the workers and the community. With this integrated space bringing in all types of people, the local businesses will thrive while new businesses form, creating an economic revival. As the community becomes stable, Revive will be removed and reassembled in another vacant lot continuing its purpose of reviving dying urban spaces.
With technology rapidly increasing into the future, people are becoming less social, depending more on connecting via screens than connecting face-to-face. A study in NY Times stated, “…the average American’s social circle is smaller today than 20 years ago.” How can people, especially workers, bring back an appreciation for social interaction? In addition to increasing the desire for face-to-face relationships, the future will also bring a need for stronger engagement of workers. Studies show that 72% of workers today are unengaged (Teknion). Steelcase recently published an article explaining, “…at a time when business leaders are questioning how do you engage people and drive innovation, designing spaces as a destination where people want to be becomes more important than ever.” Creating a space away from the office, engaging workers with interactive touchscreen technology and people to collaborate with, stimulates their minds and heightens the potential for new ideas.
The Revive system responds to human needs through providing a sustainable, interactive environment with a variety of pods to suit all different types of work, whether individual or collaborative. Integrating the system into public spaces enables a visual and physical connection to the outside, which is known to heighten moods and inspire creativity. Business bottom lines are strengthened in both the worker and the community as a whole. The system benefits workers by providing a space for them to network amongst one another face-to-face, emphasizing direct relationships. Because of the engagement that Revive provides, workers become more productive, leading to growth in their companies. As more people migrate to the site, local businesses gain attention and communities that were once overlooked become successful. In this way, the Revive system begins an urban renewal in struggling locations.
GROUP: Lora Child (Interior Design)
