In 1970, Alvin Toffler published the best-seller Future Shock. He cautioned us that not only would change come quickly in the foreseeable future, but the rate of change would begin to accelerate as technology took a greater foothold in our societies. Nowhere has this proven more correct than in the workplace. Not long ago, the open office was the future workplace, but – before it could replace the traditional office – the flexible workplace has become the new wave of the future. Technologies continue to evolve and have created a worldwide feedback loop, generating more advanced technologies and workspace components to accommodate our changing work practices.
New mobile, flexible workplace practices require project teams, often comprised of geographically dispersed members, to quickly assemble and disburse for specific or ongoing projects. The key to accommodating this practice is providing spaces and furniture that are highly flexible in size, location, and function; areas and furniture that can be combined without visible or physical boundaries to support local and disparate collaboration. The photos that follow represent several options for flexible workplace components. But be assured; there will be more innovative, flexible workplace options.
As I noted in my introductory blog for this series Technology, Mobility, Flexibility, and Beyond: “Where will it go from flexibility?” I believe that flexibility will continue to develop innovative, multipurpose furniture that can be moved and reconfigured as needed. This will lead to advancements in acoustical treatments for privacy and noise reduction.
Technology and furniture will become more integrated. Work surfaces will become computer screens, especially as holographic imaging hits the marketplace. Another example of integration can be seen in the recent release of furniture and accessories by IKEA. The products integrate charging for smartphones and tablets simply by laying the devices on designated areas' surfaces.
In addition, with a greater focus on health and fitness, workstations that enable standing or being connected to treadmills or similar exercise devices will become more commonplace. Such devices will be connected to charging stations to store power.
Finally, collaborative spaces will continue to develop and be integrated with technologies that will enhance meeting efforts in the flexible workplace. We have seen flexible meeting spaces that can be decreased or increased with movable partitions, and the surfaces of those partitions serve as whiteboards. Such characters in the future may be integrated with technology to capture images and printing as flexible monitors are developed that are lightweight and can be draped on walls. Using demountable walls may also blur the lines between formal and informal meeting areas, so collaborative spaces can be changed to suit the need instead of being designed for a single purpose. This may give rise to tables and chairs that can be converted to fit formal and informal themes.
These are just a few exciting changes that may happen in the future. In the next post, I will address privacy in the mobile office environment.
