Will we be working in self-driving cars? Meeting in virtual offices? At the Friendly Buildings 2019 conference, developers, architects, and technology experts outlined bold visions for how work environments and the operations of “smart buildings” are going to change.
Door that opens right in front of you. Elevator that arrives before you press the button. Coffee that's being prepared as soon as you enter the café. This is not sci-fi. This is a reality, developed by California company Proxy.
Have you ever wondered about where the cabins you use to avoid running the stairs to your office up and down came from? And that in just a few years the cities might look quite different because of the elevators?
We carry electronics in our pockets and on our body, so why not right under our skin? A chip embedded in your hand makes life easier. Critics however warn that firms can control and watch their employees with an implanted chip like dogs. Is this so hot that it should burn us?
They were a must of every office. Firms could not make it without them. Today, they are obsolete. Let’s think back about the threesome that defined a workplace 10 years ago. What are the key elements of today’s offices? And what will be the most important in 10 years?
“We may have smart technologies, but our office furniture is still stupid,” notes Zdeněk Brisuda, sales director of the Czech branch of furniture makers Wiesner-Hager in an interview for #MORETHANOFFICE.