Platform is a corporate workstation concept aimed at reconnecting the user with their workspace. By providing the user with natural materials, tactile surfaces and interactive planes, the emotional relationship developed is one that provides comfort and effective inspiration.
The principal function is to operate as an effective workstation, with the features of an integrated filing system and an option for the user to work on an angled work surface or a conventional horizontal surface. Platform is a project that believes in going beyond purely functionality and aesthetics to create an emotional relationship between the object and the user that will guarantee its longevity.
The major objectives of this project were to not only achieve basic functionality as a workstation and filing facility, but to satisfy needs above that in terms of creating an active relationship between the user and their workspace and to attempt to create some sort of connectivity between the home and the workplace for the user. To meet these objectives, Platform was infused with rich tactility and strong materiality. The use of moving parts promotes active user interaction with the product, allowing them to change their own space and making the furniture more intuitive to their personal needs. The use of high density wool felt invigorates the users’ sense of touch and creates a comfort that is present in no other contemporary corporate work furniture. Material choices include not only the highest quality felt, but also the charismatic injection of colour and light from the walnut veneer, luxurious stainless steel framework and the warm touch of furniture linoleum.
Ergonomists all agree that the perfect worksurface is on an angle of 15 Degrees. Platform has the opportunity to offer the user a choice of working on an angled worksurface or on the conventional horizontal primary surface. Maximising adjustability will set Platform apart from its competitors.
Platform integrates personal filing into the worksurface, a dramatic shift from the current trends in office filing such as cumbersome pedestal cabinets and often dangerous free-standing units. This system allows for current paperwork to be easily accessed while still relevant, then transferred into a larger company facility when no longer required. Custom made suspension files enhance the aesthetics of the hanging objects and provide a wholly contained storage device.
The integrated suspension filing system is contained under an interactive sculptural sliding surface. Constructed using hinges of high density felt to achieve a soft tactility, the surface articulates itself to slowly reveal the hidden files. This active interaction promotes a positive relationship between the user and their workspace, a key point in the research and design of Platform.
The feature of the miscellaneous item storage channel is the perfect modern solution to workspace clutter. It neatly contains the user’s stationary and small items or alternatively offers an extra area to place larger flat items, such as books or laptops, over the v-shape.
The final design manages to capture the intrinsic balance between privacy and collaboration, between the corporate aesthetic and human-centric design and most importantly between a functional workspace and an enjoyable working environment. The innovation lies within the surface articulation and the dramatic differentiation in terms of working planes and dynamic movement.
