Modern working environments are the focal point at ORGATEC, International Trade Fair for Modern Office & Facility, being held from 23rd to 27th October 2012 in Cologne. Fully in keeping with this theme, the future_bizz corporate network at ORGATEC is presenting a special show focussed on the future of work. The motto of this event is "Future | Work | Space - 2030: New perspectives for tomorrow's working environment". It will be showing designs for space and workplace concepts, commissioned by future_bizz, which have been developed by the Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe as well as Hochschule Darmstadt Universities of Applied Science. "Work will change markedly in the next few decades. This transformation will also be strongly driven by technological advances. What effects this will have on workplace design or what space concepts will look like in the context of virtual worlds, will be only a few of the questions to emerge here. The "Designs of future working environments" project has set itself the aim of making these developments "understandable" and "conceivable", according to Dr. Friedhelm Böttcher von Böttcher Consulting, who is responsible for network management on behalf of the future_bizz members.

The basis for the project is provided by the studies produced by future_bizz in the run-up to the fair: "Scenario Future Living 2030", "Working environments 2030" and "Structures and processes of future working life", which form a comprehensive know-how basis through future images of working conditions, work tasks and requirements along with employee roles. In addition, the designs shown are based on fictional stories, which creatively describe the future everyday working routine of select employees. In these stories not only specific target groups are defined as precisely as possible, but fictional protagonists also created, whose characteristics are then representative of the employees of the future. In this connection, the aim here is also to provide a description of future roles and tasks for employees in companies, show typical work situations in relation to values, cultural aspects, everyday situations, needs, requirements and general conditions.

"How will we live in 2030 and how will we work?" The future_bizz study produces a comprehensible and credible scenario made up of possible work cycles and new professions developing from them. Bringing these professions and their protagonists to life is a challenging task: What does a "Knowledge Broker" or a "Fab Designer" do, what does their respective life environment look like, which tools will they have at their disposal in around twenty years? Our students will develop rooms and objects for this purpose and present them at ORGATEC and make the vision a visible, tangible and real experience" explains Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Nether (product design and ergonomics) from the Detmold School of Architecture and Interior Design (Detmolder Schule für Architektur und Innenarchitektur ) / Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe.

Prepared in cooperation with the project partners from the companies, the students are developing a large number of visualized designs in the form of prototypes, concept studies or other media-based forms of expression, which are being presented at ORGATEC as part of the special show.

future_bizz involves a multi-sector network of companies, which are jointly developing business ideas for future home, living and work environments. Currently, the network members Bayer MaterialScience, Durable, Hettich and REHAU along with project partners Tieto and Lista Office LO are working on the "Environmental worlds 2030" project. The aim of the project is to identify impulses for the development of innovative business ideas, e.g. for the equipping of future workplaces or for new services in this environment. In this context, innovative organizational and work instruments, furnishing facilities, recommendations on space design and space acoustics are being taken into account just as much as communication and cooperation instruments.

Source: Koelnmesse