The Future of Our Office

Ever thought you could burn calories while closing a deal at work? Or get to a meeting without even leaving your desk? The office of the future plans to change our working spaces dramatically. Designers of today focus on solving problems like obesity and cleaning up the environment.

A recent article from CNN discusses a Dutch designer, Michiel van der Kley, and his idea of the office of the future. Kley’s design, Globus, is a pod that opens up into a mobile workstation and is described as looking more like a piece of art than a workstation. Imagine being able to move your office from one place to another whenever the need arose.

One office on the cutting edge of futuristic office design is the Robert L. Preger Intelligent Workplace. The Workplace was built by The Center for Building and Diagnostics (CBPD) in an effort to create a living-laboratory style workplace while they research office design. In order to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Intelligent Workplace uses solar thermal energy and recaptured heat from generators.

The Workplace has daylight sensors activated so that energy is not used at night when it is not needed. Workers at the Intelligent Workplace are also given a good deal of control over their own stations. They decide how cool or warm they want it and can alter the lighting as well.

The office of the future will not only be good for the environment, but will also be good for the worker’s health. With obesity on the rise, designers scramble to find ways to help solve the problem in the work place. Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic came up with the idea of employees actually burning calories while working.

Dr. Levine’s treadmill desk allows you to walk off that heavy lunch while you work. Offices around the country have already had a chance to use the desk as a trial. And it looks as though more offices will be implementing the treadmill desks into their work places.

What do you think of the design ideas for a more futuristic office?

Would you like to see some of these designs in your own work place?

By Bluebear
10.24.08

Sounds a little futuristic but if it helps us stay healthy it has to be a good thing
By jerseygirl1
10.24.08

I'd love to be able to exercise while I work, but I'm not sure if I could really focus on work then. I think I would be too distracted!
By yoginikeri
10.24.08

While I love to exercise, I think it's a terrible idea. It will only give people an excuse to be in the office more often! Whatever happened to people going for hikes and being active for the sake of enjoying life?
By tmzane
10.24.08

Being an Office Manager who has assisted in designing two office spaces, this is a great idea but I doubt that many companies would actually approve a budget for it. In today's economy, these kind of expenditures are unheard of. On the personal side, I agree with the comments made before me. We need to find a way to get out and smell the roses and make time for ourselves in the way we want. Corporations are not dedicated to their employees as they once were and vice versa. There really is a life out there.....you just have to go and get it which means get the heck out of the office!!
By ajmorrison
10.28.08

Sitting at a desk all day is the worst thing for anyone. I'd love the ability to walk on a treadmill or sit on a stability ball during the day. I never have time for the gym so being able to "multi-task" would be a great help.
By nanners520
10.29.08

I saw a news story on TV about tredmill desks. The company that implemented them said that the average amount of weight lost in 6 months among the 30 or so employees who tried them was 30 pounds!!!! This is such a great success that instead of telling people when they get hired that they will gain 10 pounds, they can tell them there is a chance they'll loose 10 pounds! I think that promoting good health is so important-especially in our society where so many people become overweight.
By jbirdstorey
11.03.08

I like the idea of the open, lighted work spaces that can be moved when needed. However, the treatmill desk would take away from focusing on the issues at hand. Exercising should be done on your own time, not on your boss' clock.
By Karmelslim428
11.05.08

I find it amazing how technology is shaping our future; not to minimize intelligence. I like the idea of work and exercise.
By amykinzer
11.17.08

While I would love the idea of exercising while at work, I would much rather be alloted time each day to work out. I like to run outside or go to the gym. I don't want my entire life to be spent in the office.
By WysMom
11.22.08

While i do agree with yoginikeri that excerise is better when done outdoors and for enjoyment, being someone who's stuck at a desk all day really makes me like the idea of treadmill desks. I've got a 4 month old at home, am still carrying around baby wieght and barely get any time to myself other than on my drive to work. If I could get a bit of a work out while at work I think I'd feel SOO much better.

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