‘Trends’
November 22nd, 2011 in Trends No Comments
Social and mobile technologies are behind the exciting new workspace design phenomenon where more and more companies are operating with fewer desks. The author discusses how designing new spaces around tablets, smart phones and other mobile accessories is creating a more widely distributed workforce. He cites Cisco Systems in San Jose, California, as an example where office space has been smartly manipulated and reconfigured to suit newer work styles.
Called Connected Workplace, it replaces individual cubicles with open clusters of wheeled desks that belong to groups, not individuals. Employees keep their personal belongings in lockers. PCs are passé as everyone uses mobile technologies. Cisco’s vision is an example of a broader effort to reshape office technologies and environments. This project was initiated after an internal study found that cubicles were vacant two-thirds of the time while people roamed the campus or worked remotely.
Connected Workplace saves the corporation a ton of money in real estate and overhead costs. In the future, they expect to save on healthcare costs as well as employees who move around more are often healthier and happier.
Source: Tom Simonite Business Impact September/October 2011
October 6th, 2011 in Phrases and Crazes, Trends No Comments
A design element, “Front Porch” refers to the area just outside the entry to a private office. It is usually used as an informal gathering space for two or more people, and encourages informal dialogue and interaction between the office occupant and their visitors. It can be equipped with lounge furniture, a round bar height table with 2 stools or other furnishings. Often, if the workspace is a private office, a sliding barn door creates the feeling of the front porch and office being one open contiguous space.
October 6th, 2011 in Phrases and Crazes, Trends No Comments
Traditional business applications and platforms are too complicated and expensive. They need a data center, a complex software stack and a team of experts to run them. Cloud computing provides a convenient way of accessing computing services that is independent of the hardware you use or your physical location. It relieves the need to store information on your computer, mobile device or gadget as the information can now be quickly and easily accessed via the net. Cloud computing also negates the need to download or install dedicated software on your own compute. This frees up onboard memory and reduces energy costs. Cloud computing is relevant to IT as it’s a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. In short, data is mobile, transferable, instantly accessible and cost effective.
September 26th, 2011 in Furniture, On the Record, Technology, Trends No Comments
Steelcase creates high performance seating products that can improve the health and productivity of millions of office workers – if they are properly adjusted. The chairs are shipped with hang tags and have diagrams underneath the arm caps, which aid them in learning how to adjust the chair, but tags are quickly removed and diagrams are sometimes overlooked.
To further promote workplace well being, Steelcase is adding QR codes to the diagrams on the arms of its leading seating products. These QR codes will invite users to scan them and will lead to interactive videos, enabling users to see how their chair can be easily adjusted.
Visit Steelcase.com for more information
Learn more about QR Codes from Fast Company
Steelcase will begin shipping the Leap chair with QR codes this fall, with other seating to follow next year. (more…)
