The document discusses experience-driven design of ambiences for future pop-up workspaces. It conducted participatory sessions with knowledge workers to identify five experience categories - liberty, fellowship, determination, retreat, recovery. These describe different working modes and purposes. The study then designed concepts for technology-mediated ambiences using ambient technologies like lighting, sound, aromas to create tailored atmospheres matching each experience category. The vision is for workers to select suitable ambiences according to their task and preferences to increase satisfaction, wellbeing and productivity. The ambiences are designed to make knowledge work more flexible, active and supportive of changing work practices.

1. Experience-Driven Design of
Ambiences for Future Pop Up
Workspaces
Aino Ahtinen (aino.ahtinen@tut.fi),
Jenni Poutanen, Maiju Vuolle, Kaisa
Väänänen, Sanna Peltoniemi
Tampere University of Technology

2. Terminology
• UX = user experience = ”a person’s perceptions and
responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a
product, system or service” (ISO standard)
• EDD = experience driven design = to design for particular
experiences that are first explored
• Knowledge work = work that involves the creation,
distribution or application of knowledge
• Pop Up workspaces = workspace designs that are
temporary, modifiable by the user, and they support the
worker’s task, targets and working mode
• Workspace ambiences = atmospheres of the workspaces
that can be created by means of space design and ambient
technologies

3. Focus of the study
• Explore the opportunities of future Pop Up workspaces
– To support the challenging nature of knowledge work and
it’s different work tasks
• Routine vs. creative
• Individual vs. social
• Etc.
• Design technology-mediated ambiences that can
provide meaningful experiences for the workers
– To design concepts of multi-use, multipurpose workspaces
to support different work tasks in order to improve
workers’ job satisfaction, wellbeing and productivity

4. Vision
• The users (=workers) could select a suitable
ambience for their current work mode and
activity
• The variety of ambiences may support people in
getting pleasurable experiences in the workspace
and thus, increasing wellbeing and productivity
– Tailored vs. one size fits all
– Being in control vs. no possibilities to control
– Dynamic vs. static

5. Technology-mediated ambiences
• Ambience is defined here as:
– “A multisensory atmosphere and character of space, which is
created by the means of ambient technologies, real world
objects and spatial design to evoke particular user experiences”
• The technology components that can be utilized when
designing multisensory ambiences include, e.g.
– Screens to display visual materials (images, videos, colors,
shapes)
– Lighting
– Speakers for the auditory stimuli
– Vibration and intelligent materials for the sense of touch
– Aroma dispensers for the olfactory sense

6. Study methods
• The Experience-Driven Design (EDD) approach was employed to gain
insights of the desired experiences in Pop Up workspaces
• We first conducted three participatory group sessions to ideate experience
types for Pop Up workspaces
– Co-reation of experiences with the potential future users
– 14 knowledge workers from university
– Expectations, insights, hands-on experiment: ”constructing” a pop up space
– Result: five categories of meaningful experiences for future Pop Up
workspaces
• We then run a multidisciplinary concepting workshop in which we
designed concepts for technology-mediated ambiences
– 5 researchers included
– UX, architectural space design, knowledge management
– Result: early phase example solutions for the Pop up workspace ambiences

7. Findings

8. Five categories of experiences
• Five experience categories that we call mindsets
– Liberty
– Fellowship
– Determination
– Retreat
– Recovery
• Each mindset can be described with different
kinds of working modes, tasks, practices, targets
and purposes

9. The mindsets and experiences
Liberty Fellowship Determination Retreat Recovery
Creativity
Inspiration
Exploration
Innovation
Expression
Sensation
Freedom
Feeling
energized
Activation
Variation
Being part
Connectedness
Encounter
Being part
Collaboration
Closeness
Connectedness
Cosyness
Equality
Focus
Concentration
Conventionality
Formality
Peacefulness
Discreetness
Being part
Beauty
Independency
Peacefulness
Concentration
Safety
Selection
Feeling
connected
Recreation
Peace of mind
Wellbeing
Escape
Captivation
Safety
Activation
Nature
experience

10. Ambience for Liberty
• Rough, workshoplike,
activating, modifiable
• Freedom to be and do
• Painting the wall
• Bright lights, spacious
• Modify the space and furniture
• Virtual window to
cosmopolitan city street views,
and matching soundscape
• Smell of a refreshing breeze
• Work happens actively by
standing, walking and moving,
taking different viewpoints
• There can even be a rotating
floor and dynamic walls

11. Ambience for Retreat
• Surrounded by intelligent glass
walls, whose transparency can
be adjusted (for privacy,
availability and distant to
others)
• Permission to be offline
• Safety
• Cosy and peaceful ”nest”
• Lightness can be adjusted
• Personally meaningful
landscape or object visible on
the virtual window
• Soundscape based on user
preferences

12. Conclusions
• Ambient technologies, which can be embedded in the space, provide
novel possibilities for increasing the flexibility of the space
– Development of different ambiences for the future Pop Up workspaces to be
modifiable by the user
– Space to support the changing work practices and preferences of the
individual
• Our vision is that in the future, the workers could be able to modify the
workspace by selecting a suitable ambience according to their work task,
mode and preferences
• Will potentially increase workers’ job satisfaction, wellbeing and
productivity
• Our work continues by construction of ”mockups” of workspace
ambiences
– My personal research interest concentrates on how to make knowledge
workers physically more active during their workhours, and thus support their
creativity, sociability and wellbeing

13. Thanks!
And follow us on our blog:
https://popupknowledgework.wordpress.com/blog/