Not Your Father's Cubicle - New York Museum of Modern Art exhibition of workspaces - Brief Article

What will the workspaces of the future look like? That's the focus of an exhibit at New York's Museum of Modern Art, running through April 22.

Workspheres examines how we work and the ways design can create environments and tools to make us more effective, or just more comfortable. Some of the items displayed in the show are already sold in stores, some are prototypes still in development, and some are just for fun.

The exhibit showcases such items as a chandelier made expressly for swinging on (for when you get the impulse); the Apple iMac; an SUV turned into a sophisticated workstation and mobile home; and an ordinary Bic pen.

Some of our other favorites:

* a bed embedded with computer screens, a keyboard, and a mouse

* a chair that changes color to match the sitter's clothing

* a collapsable workstation contained within a backpack

* a cocoon made of fabric and plastic that you can climb into for privacy anywhere

* a scarf that's a wearable communications device.

In an essay for the exhibit, Paola Antonelli, MOMA's curator of architecture and design, says, "Work has become transportable and ubiquitous, almost a state of mind. Like a bubble of pure concentration that one can turn on and off with or without the help of tangible tools, work is where you are."

You can see the exhibit online at www.moma.org/workspheres.

Sources Wired News and the Museum of Modern Art

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