Architects often rely on verbal narratives of spatial needs to curate and design the spaces we see today. However, our needs and ways of living and working are rapidly changing, especially now. The pandemic has created paradigm shifts in professional setups, where there lies a need for flexible and multi-purpose spaces- A space once serving as a home now serves as a home office, and so on. There is also gravitation towards online tools for spatial visualization and the need to alter our existing working environments.
This investigation aims to identify how a participatory design tool can help users break down the elements of a workspace and create spaces for specific activities in an office. The tool includes a physical probe⸻ comprising movable modular furniture elements seen in the 21st century office and a mobile application. The mobile app gathers user inputs on the type of space they need and provides sample activity-based-working (ABW) configurations for the user to choose from for their ideal space. Some examples of these configurations include spaces for brainstorming an idea, creating, hosting an event/meeting etc. Users can plan their spaces in advance with this tool.
The research-creation combines the transforming capacity of spaces with flexibility and becomes a blueprint for end-users to become designers themselves. The physical probe facilitates personalization, model-making and scaling, and quick visualization while the mobile application serves as a user-manual and database for future community design practice.