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State Prize for Design: Award of Distinction for ARS ELECTRONICA FUTURELAB
The Future Office Table by Scott Ritter and the ARS ELECTRONICA FUTURELAB has been singled out for recognition by the Adolf Loos Prize’s international jury.
Linz (October 8, 2003) The Future Office Project developed by designer/architect Scott Ritter in cooperation with the ARS ELECTRONICA FUTURELAB represents a decisive step in the direction of facilitating collaboration with both on-site co-workers and those not physically present. This multi-phase project is advancing the creation of custom-designed objects and furniture that optimally integrate current state-of-the-art features for electronic data transfer and the digital organization of work.
We have at our disposal today a wide variety of electronic aids that can facilitate everyday office tasks; nevertheless, exchanging information or organizing work at conferences or meetings is still usually done with conventional media like handwritten notes, books, print media, old-fashioned flipcharts and equipment like overhead projectors. And the process of working together with geographically distant collaborators via teleconferencing, for instance, is still far less convenient than it could be.
The Future Office Table that has now been singled out for recognition substantially improves this situation. It is simultaneously an instrument for work and communication as well as a multifunctional, flexible setting for collaboration by a working group of up to six physically present individuals that also features video camera capabilities to integrate co-workers not on site.
The prototype has been outfitted with a personal workspace for each member of the group as well as a shared working area. Each of these workspaces consists of a built-in projection surface on which conference participants can organize and exchange documents. Joint document processing presents absolutely no problem since entry is done with a stylus directly on the projection surface. The capability of controlling the table’s functions via small portable devices—personal digital assistants (PDAs)—assures a user-friendly working environment.
The Future Office Project is currently on display at the ARS ELECTRONICA CENTER in Linz.
The ARS ELECTRONICA FUTURELAB is committed to an interdisciplinary approach to carrying out R&D projects that call for highly innovative thinking and excellence in design. The facility was set up in 1996 as the research and development laboratory of the ARS ELECTRONICA CENTER. Its fields of specialization are Virtual Reality, the creation of CAVE applications, and the development of interactive installations featuring any of a wide variety of physical interfaces.
With inquiries, contact:
Wolfgang A. Bednarzek
Pressesprecher / Press Officer
AEC Ars Electronica Center Linz
Hauptstraße 2, 4040 Linz, Austria
tel ++43.732.7272-38
fax ++43.732.7272-638
wolfgang.bednarzek@aec.at
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