Technology is revolutionising the world of the office, opening the path to new design approaches focusing on ‘interaction design’.

Amongst these concepts, of particular interest is HTI Design (Human-technology interaction), which utilises the study of technology to provide functional design solutions, significant for people’s lives.

An approach to office design in which a fundamental aspect is the capability of combining technological assets with people’s human and operational dimensions.

A new approach to design

The future of workplaces should be directed towards conditions of innovation, wellness and performance. In this outlook, it is important to combine technology with people’s needs and behaviour, involving the ‘user’ in the entire office design process.

In fact, HTI design is moving towards ‘design for living’, also known as Life-based design.

This global approach to design involves a specific analytical attention to the human-technology interaction. This method is developed from people’s actions and needs, constructing a multi-disciplinary design project around them.

At the heart of life-based design

The ‘life-based’ approach focuses on individuals and their lives, analysing the complex system of actions, behaviour and rules revolving around them.

The core of the analysis is the form of life (FoL), in other words, combining actions that determine rules (RFA, rule-following actions) with the psychological, social and cultural attributes shown by individuals. The innovative step is the transformation from actions following rules to technology-supported actions (TSA).

Source: University of Jyväskylä – VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

This scheme can be concretely applied to the world of office design and furnishing.

It is important to concentrate on how individuals perceive and live their daily lives, the types of limitations and incentives that are concealed within their daily operations, and how technology can offer an element of support for their activities. This information is essential for designing offices providing benefits for people’s lives.

It is no longer sufficient to work solely on parameters such as aesthetics and the comfort provided by an office solution or system. When designing a workspace, it is fundamental to be aware of the impact that all the design components will have on employees. For example, this means considering the relational dynamics flowing between people, the outlook of office mobility, the need for relaxation, privacy and sharing, in addition to criteria of interconnection and the role of technology. Only in this way can planners, designers and architects help create increasingly inclusive, connected and dynamic furnishing designs.