Interdisciplinary approach to defining outdoor places of knowledge work: quantified photo analysis

Introduction

Working outdoors is an emerging, sparsely studied phenomenon in knowledge work. Office tasks have traditionally been considered to belong to indoor environments. The worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 has increased and changed attitudes toward multilocational working. The aim of this method study is 2-fold: first to define for interdisciplinary context outdoor environments when they are used as places of outdoor knowledge work and second to quantify the thematic photo analysis to support interdisciplinary understanding of the places of outdoor knowledge work.

Methods

The review of literature has been one of the methods to support the interdisciplinary approach of this article. The photographs of outdoor knowledge workplaces and views from the workstations are studied through photo analysis customized from the existing press photograph analysis.

Results

First, we defined outdoor environments when used as places of outdoor knowledge work, as unconditioned outdoor or semi-outdoor places (opposite to closed indoor spaces with stable, conditioned indoor climate) providing favorable action possibilities as sources of comfort and mitigating unfavorable conditions, for example, by microclimatic solutions. Instead of defining all spaces as outdoor environments not fulfilling a stable indoor climate (conditioned) definition, adaptation to thermal and physical environments also brought semi-outdoor space into the definition. In this context, favorable latent action possibilities (affordance) in the built environment are often related to microclimate as a source of comfort. Second, we focussed on photo analysis. The proposed model is based on journalistic photo analysis PPSA and the pOKW model, which have been further developed in this study to pOKW2 model for analyzing mobile-based collected self-reported photographs by the occupants. In this pOKW2 model, the photographs would have time-location information enabling the combining of data from other datasets and thereby reducing the number of characteristics to be analyzed from the photograph. We proposed rating (in numeric form) to detect the favorable and unfavorable characteristics in the photographs most likely supporting or hindering conditions of outdoor knowledge work. This quantification would enable the use of machine vision analysis and would support handling large quantities of photographs and their combination with other datasets in interdisciplinary research.

Discussion

The quantification of the photo analysis (pOKW2) includes the readiness to combine the analysis results with other time-location-specific datasets in an interdisciplinary research collaboration to advance our understanding of latent action possibilities for outdoor knowledge work.

An architectural viewpoint to user-centred work environment research to support spatial understanding in a transdisciplinary context through ecosystem-based approach

Purpose

This paper aims to build on the presumption that defining the spatial solution of the activity-based office environment through user-centred interdisciplinary dialog would strengthen understanding of interdependencies between the environment and the worker. Secondly, this presumption also contributes to the idea that the shared and clarified concepts of a spatial solution through location-specific structuring, would support the research outcomes in being communicated to the design practice, and further improve the work environment design in the future. Thirdly, this supposition is that understanding, documenting and communicating of the interdependencies between the environment and the worker would contribute to increased interdisciplinary understanding, ultimately benefitting the end-user, the worker.

Design/methodology/approach

The driver of this conceptual paper is to encourage understanding across disciplinary boundaries and communication of work environment research results for implementation in design practice. The authors introduce an ecosystem-based approach to discuss the spatial solutions of activity-based office work environments. This approach is motivated by a need to understand the contradictory findings in former knowledge work environment research, such as ambiguities with shared concepts concerning interdisciplinary spatial discourse and shortcomings with user-centred methodologies in architectural design research. The transdisciplinarity forms the methodological framework of this paper, and it is reflected in relation to the design research approach Research by Design (RbD). RbD considers the professional designer’s viewpoint, which includes creative knowledge production, carrying out the operations of research in a real-life context with interdisciplinary interactions together with the worker’s user-experience.

Findings

The research outcome is the proposal of an activity-based office ecosystem-based approach, in which the physical environment is structured into two entities: architectural envelope and interior orchestration. In this twofold approach, both qualitative and quantitative contents are meant to be seen as part of the time-location-based framework of an office space. This integrative approach is intended to support the process of searching for understanding and unity of knowledge across disciplinary boundaries. The twofold structuring also has an essential role in supporting methodological choices and the communication of the research outcomes both between disciplines and to design practice. The twofold model also has a role in engaging users as participants and evidence providers in the design or research processes.

Originality/value

The location-specific ecosystem-based approach of the physical work environment compiles of a twofold entity architectural envelope and interior orchestration. This approach supports affordance-based thinking, understanding the ecosystem’s complexity and underpins spatial documentation. Furthermore, this location-specific ecosystem-based approach enables communication of the research outcomes to the design practice and participation actions with the users.