Paul C. Petersohn

Division of Forces

Panels to reduce negative impacts on work but supports the mutual collaborative one.

The Assignment

What does biophilic design mean? How can be the products of Ahrend be developed further and provide a decisive added value for the working environment.

The Concept

A workspace that encourages new work models and allows to close it to have an own protected area. Based on the thoughts of Biophilic Design the panel shall be a mutual part of the Ahrend Balance.

The Problem

With the development of workspaces and work models, the main focus has been on the productivity, created by a more agile and cooperative way of working. No attention was paid to the advantages of private space. Due to the change, problematic factors such as noise, distraction, spread of illness and the loss of a personal space were promoted.

The Outcome

A panel to reduce the negative factors of open & agile work spaces to get privacy and protection whenever an emplyee needs it. At the same time, the achievements of new working models are maintained through a modular use.

New work ist the topic for a lot of companies, but as there are a lot of benfits the development from cubicle offices to agile work spaces isnt so successfull in some categories.
The concept of the panel was designed for keeping the benefits of the new work models and eliminating the problems wich come along with it.

Symbiosis
As in nature also in our daily work life we have got different symbiotic situations.
Those situations are especially about Mutualism, Neutralism, Commensalism, Amensalism and Parasitism.

Use Cases
A fruitful conversation about work (Mutualism)
Sneezing Neigbour (Amensalism)

Height adjustable tables became a standard in modern offices. Such a table improves the work through the possibility to stand. Current Panels which protects the employees from
distractions or diseases are often not attached to the tables surface especially not those from Ahrend.
The fact that the designed panel is fixed to the table by a rail and the position can be changed, extends the usability for every user.

The pattern of the panel is inspired by nature. In this nature you can observe a lot of different conditions which could be applied to the project. Based on the given facts, the interpolation method voronoi made it possible to replicate these facts, which occur in mathematics and nature.