How cool would be an outdoor office?

An article by Himanshu Khanna    4 Comments

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How cool would be an outdoor office?

Since last few weeks, we at Sparklin, have been discussing on how should our future office be?

Early last week, Deepikah (design head at Sparklin) suggested an idea that halted the discussion for long. The halt was more of a disbelief to the practical implication of that idea. More so, because Delhi (Sparklin’s head office) boasts of extreme variation in climate all around the year. What did she suggest?

The strange office idea!

Deepikah suggested of having an outdoor office! She explained further that this office could do without brick walls and roofs. It could dump the air-conditioned cabins too. This space would ideally be inside (or near) a natural surrounding like a park or garden. It shall allow us to be as close to our natural self, as possible. Beautiful, isn’t it? But, is it practical?

Thankfully, at Sparklin, all ideas are good ideas!

A few (Google) clicks later, I stumbled upon this Pinterest page about ideas for offices. Further on, I got introduced to Jonathan Olivares - a graduate from Pratt Institute’s Industrial Design Program.

Interestingly, Jonathan has an exhibition at The Art Institute of Chicago till 15th July 2012 - The Outdoor Office. It explores the possibilites of outdoor workplaces for education and business environments.

Possibilites?

Taking inspiration from US television show Twin Peaks, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and more, the exhibition not only inspires but suggest practical applications as well. Recycled rubber flooring, UV-resistant shading, assembled tents etc. help us in visualizing the actual scenario.

“The Outdoor Office is a very utopian idea, a very Modernist idea — in the early sense — of doing something that will benefit society, benefit health and show how enjoyable life on earth is!”

Jonathan also suggests that working outdoors would drastically decrease a company’s carbon footprint. If you’re wondering how? To begin with, it’s easy to see a drop in the usage of air-conditioning and lighting equipments.

What’s in future?

On behalf of everyone at Sparklin, we would love to work out of a similar space any day. Taking inspiration from nature, soaking the weather around us, making best use of Honecore furniture, mobile technology coming in handy with cordless devices that can operate without recharge for long hours (advanced version of iPad), working life shall take a giant leap.

What are your thoughts about working from outdoor spaces? Looking forward to your comments and thoughts in the comment section below.