Dec 8, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: The Weirdest Proposal Yet for the ‘Office of the Future’

Jan Kempenaers
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Dutch firm RAAAF has built an installation in Amsterdam called "The End of Sitting."
Jan Kempenaers
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RAAAF - The End of Sitting-Photo Jan Kempenaers-Y7X0167(2)
In response to the deluge of reports on the health risks caused by long periods of sitting, the Dutch government asked designers to start thinking about new models for the office of the future.

Jan Kempenaers
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RAAAF - The End of Sitting-Photo Jan Kempenaers-Y7X0078(2)
RAAAF's response is this It's a glacier-like series of boulders and surfaces that would replace traditional office furniture.
Jan Kempenaers
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RAAAF - The End of Sitting-Photo Jan Kempenaers-Y7X0114(2)
"The End of Sitting" encourages workers to roam around and try out a variety of standing and leaning poses.

Frederica Rijkenberg
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The designers are especially interested in supported standing, which can engage the muscles without tiring out the employee’s legs and lower back quite so much as standing desks.
Jan Kempenaers
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RAAAF - The End of Sitting-Photo Jan Kempenaers-Y7X0132(2)
Rotating groups of workers—like philosophers, writers, psychology students, designers, and artists, to name a few examples—are working from the space and offering feedback.

Jan Kempenaers
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RAAAF - The End of Sitting-Photo Jan Kempenaers-Y7X0015(2)
Researchers from the University of Groningen in The Netherlands are documenting the results and will be publishing the findings next spring.

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