What’s your opinion on open-plan offices?
AMY SHAO: For me, they’ve been places of
both enjoyment and suffering. I enjoy working
alongside companions, but the constant dis-
ruptions often lower my productivity. Another
option is to work in a café. Even though many
companies are creating hospitality-style office
environments, these have their downsides:
you need to lug your stuff around, and you still
might be interrupted.
Your solution is a series of moving huts...
Yes. I grew up in Taiwan in a neighbourhood
filled with street vendors. My project, Fluid,
is inspired by these peddlers, who carry their
own equipment and move about the city,
ready to set up shop wherever they like. The
idea is that workers redefine the open-plan
office; there’s no set grid.
What facilities are inside the huts? They’re
similar to single-seat cars, with the addition
of a desk and a rechargeable battery. There’s
space to store your belongings, a fabric win-
dow for privacy and a flexible seat. Users can
work from their own PC or laptop.
Where do you envisage Fluid being used?
I began the project by thinking about how to
improve my current working experience in an
A fresh approach to spatial
typologies, a theme that appeared
in her Royal College of Art
graduation project, showed AMY
SHAO’s ability to rethink existing
conditions – an ideal basis for her
inclusion in ‘The Challenge’.office, so I pictured the idea inside a building.
Now, though, I see Fluid adapting to many
situations – even to outdoor locations. I’m
interested in how the concept might affect
urban spaces. After working hours, people
would park their huts to charge in a power
bank – like leaving their vehicles in a parking
garage. This allows the ‘workplace’ to fulfil
other functions in the evenings.Why make the huts rechargeable? Having
a limited amount of continuous power forces
people to finish their individual tasks on time
and to spend the rest of the day working in
communal areas, meeting people.Do people own a personal hut, or is Fluid
free for all? Just as we have our own desk
within an office, each hut belongs to an
individual. Think of how you feel getting
into your own car. When people enter their
mobile huts, I want them to feel relaxed and
secure. There’s less anxiety within a personal
space. To illustrate, sitting for long periods is
an issue for office workers, but many people
feel too embarrassed to adopt an unusual
posture in public. With a partially covered
hut, however, you can sit cross-legged – or
any way you like – without worrying about
what your colleagues can see. – TI37