RETHINKING THE WORK
AND LIVING SPACE
This research work is done with the City Science Lab at the MIT Media Lab.
The work and living environments are essential parts of most of our daily lives. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, these two environments have been integrating in unprecedented ways: most work that can be done from home is now being done at home. Most home living environments have not been designed around productivity and work, but rather around comfort and rest. These design ideas tackle the issue of creating environments that are optimized for productivity at home and in the office while maximizing efficient usage of space.
THE LIVING SPACE
One influencing factor of the environment is the lighting in the space. Typically, the lighting within a home ranges from 2000 to 3500 K on the Kelvin Color Temperature scale. Most spaces within a home have a lighting intensity of 200 lux.
In contrast, most office spaces have a default color temperature of 4000 K or more and an illumination of 500 lux. This contrast is due to most homes being designed around comfort rather than productivity. The work from home situation presents the task of integrating the home environment with the office environment.
2000K
7000K
Out of all the spaces within the home environment, the space that comes the closest to the office environment in terms of lighting is the kitchen, since it is designed around the task of cooking. The following design solutions take advantage of the kitchen's lighting to integrate the work environment into the kitchen space and create a more efficient use of space within the home
THE SLIDING COUNTER
This design transforms a minimal kitchen space into a full kitchen with extra counter space for cooking as well as for working. This design allows for a more efficient use of the space by "closing" the kitchen when it is not being used and creating more space for other activities to occur in the space around the kitchen.
THE CLOSING KITCHEN
This design hides away a kitchen into an unseen portion of the wall, opening up the space completely for socializing, sleeping, activities, office work, or anything else that needs to occur. This design is ideal for homes that are being used as income generating spaces such as daycares, meeting spaces, offices...by creating a professional and clean environment when the kitchen is not in use.
THE WORK COUNTER
This design contains a fixed counter space that can be used for cooking as well as working. To optimize the space for working, the design features a drop down shelf space as well as drop down partitions to allow flexibility between group work and individual focused work.
THE WORK SPACE
A concept that has gained traction lately in office spaces is the open plan office. While the idea of creating a more flexible and collaborative office space is beneficial for organizations, studies have shown that the open plan office detrimentally affects employees' ability to focus on their work in the office due to the distraction of seeing what others are doing and overhearing their conversations. The following design proposes a solution that allows for open plan offices that can use their space with flexibility as well as foster a productive environment where employees' can focus when necessary.
THE CABINET WORKSTATION
This design is centered on two cabinets with 4 retractable table tops hidden on one layer of the shelf. The cabinets convert to create private individual workstations, focused group workstations, as well as a collaborative workstation.
The design is optimized for the user's productivity, while prioritizing creating a comfortable working environment. The desk is designed at a height of 30", which is the ideal desk height for the average person. Further iterations include sound absorbing partitions that can open when the workstation is oriented in the focused individual work setting. These partitions would also include lighting that has adjustable color temperature and intensity.
The following plans demonstrate how the design can be implemented in an open plan office to create a productive focused environment, collaborative spaces, as well as open up the space for activities and socializing when necessary.
Individual to Group Work
Work to Activity Space