Nomadic Working

18 November 1999
Royal College of Art, London

This seminar examined one of the most powerful social trends of the age - the uncoupling of work from the workplace, creating a new generation of 'nomadic workers' who are developing more flexible and continuous patterns of work than ever before.

The design implications of this trend are significant in terms of rethinking the way offices are planned, supporting people working on the move, and enabling teams to collaborate, often from remote locations.

For much of the 20th century, available communication technologies, construction practices and business processes dictated a world of work confined to scientifically managed office buildings. But today the result of taking work out of the workplace is a redefinition of the relationships between work, home and public spaces.

The Nomadic Working seminar was sponsored by the Design Council. It analysed the contextual trends which influence briefing of new office interiors and presented expert design views on architecture and products for new ways of working, with contributions from DEGW, BDG McColl and IDEO. It also linked up via video with American workplace guru Franklin Becker of Cornell University.

The seminar, a collaboration with RCA Computer-Related Design, attracted an audience of around 170, including representatives from government and academia, manufacturers and service providers, designers and management consultants, RCA staff and students. The seminar concluded with a visit to the Royal College of Art's special 'Work For Our Future Selves' concept exhibition at Workplace 99, Olympia, which was curated by the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre.

You can download an edited transcript of the event (rtf, 148K)