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Info   
Vicky    Zhou
       
Mark

Coworking Environments


Duration
Spring ‘19 (2 weeks)

Skills
Spatial Design, 3D Modeling and Prototyping

Overview
Everyday, our bodies tackle on multitasking to keep us functioning, engaged, and responsive. We switch gears between tasks that require varying and different levels of cognitive processing, and often gamble low stake activities with high-risk repercussions.

How can we become more aware and in control of how both our time and energy are spent, thus becoming more productive and efficient? How can we repurpose our environments to facilitate and enable this sort of thinking and workflow?




Background Research


Multitask (verb): “deal[ing] with more than one task at the same time.”

People choose to multitask because they believe that they are being more efficient by conducting several tasks at once, they are able to execute several tasks relatively well, and because of naturally being prone to being distracted.

However, studies and research have shown that multitasking throughout high-cognitive tasks (in other words, tasks that require a certain threshold of awareness and thought, such as writing an essay), have made us become more inefficient with time, make us more prone to creating errors, and cause us to waste more energy when switching between different mindsets.

Defining Multitasking


For the scope of my short term project, I defined the multitasking in regards to the workplace. The scope of that entails work and industry related activities that require high cognition and focus. Examples of such include sending out emails, making appointments, writing essays and proposals, reading novels, and so on. As a result to these set boundaries that I have defined, my solution will address and resolve the issues of multitasking and distraction in regards to productivity within the context of a workspace, in particular, communal workspaces in urban environments.


Proposed Space


Goal: This proposed environment will serve as a “training” amenity to help rewire one’s habits and flow of working.



Moodboards


Examples of existing environments that encompass more adaptable and flexible products and interactions. 



Stakeholder Maps and Journey Flows


Understanding the different aspects of a user who could utilize the space. Mapping out the where we currently are in the process of our relationships with our working spaces, what that means in regards to our health, productivity, and time, and why our environments have a great impact on our mental loads. 




Context of Space

The proposed space for which this environment will be housed in will be an urban communal working environment — akin to those like WeWork, and Galvanize.



Exploration: Mockups


Using the teacher’s lounge in the School of Design and our studio space, I wanted to gain a better sense of my spatial understanding of how it felt like being physically in this type of context. 




Onboarding Process

The onboarding process to utilize this space will be simple, and intuitive.
  1. Gather all tasks to be accomplished (whether it be for the day, or for whatever period of time you wish to stay in this working environment)
  2. Place one task per shelf space.
  3. Choose a task, and stark working your way to completion.
 



Experience

  • Thermochromic material will detect your presence, and will alter the luminosity of the space in correspondence to your presence.
  • The more you spend time at one particular station, the brighter and warmer the luminosity of that sector.
  • You become the source of energy and light.

This experience will be issued through positive reinforcement, as supported by research, will be conducive to better results. It will be rewarding on the basis that you are able to conduct tasks sequentially, rather tan concurrently.



Takeaway

Through this proposed environment, users will once again re-establish awareness and control of their work.

You are in charge of your work; your work is not in charge of you

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