Interactivity and Spatiality. Design of Future IT-enhanced Work Places

In this paper I will discuss interactivity and spatiality, including the relationships between technology-in-use, design and everyday practices. The paper reports some initial experiences from a field study at a technology-intensive control room and of using work-oriented approaches for collaborative design. In several studies a group of multidisciplinary researchers has carried out experiments of collaborative design in full-scale as well as virtual environments. The aim was to invetigate how well these methods could support participatory design of work environments. Some important concerns I believe we need to face are how the characteristics of technology-enhanced environments may influence the development of new work practices when emergent technologies give entirely new possibilities for communication and co-ordination over extended distances. Hence, an urgent matter is to create a holistic view on design of future IT-enhanced work places that takes into account the users experiences and everyday practices. (Less)