Press Release
BREAKOUT! Transforms New York’s Open Spaces —Breaking out of the Office with Mobile Work— An Experiment in "Coworking" in Public Spaces
Will “coworking” be the wave of the future? Beginning on September 17, a team of experts including global workplace design consultancy DEGW takes the office to the sidewalks, streets and public spaces of New York City – and around the world – as part of the cutting-edge exhibition BREAKOUT! on how people work today, and in the future.
NEW YORK CITY, September 17, 2009 – Each weekday for four weeks starting in mid-September, the public spaces of New York City will be transformed into open-air offices where professionals of various stripes will collaborate on work projects under the watchful eye of a team of experts.
This unusual take on today’s evolving and expanding workplace is part of BREAKOUT!, a month-long festival and experiment on how creative, collaborative work is happening more than ever in our city
streets, plazas and cafés. Using “coworking” as a model – and providing portable versions of essential office tools in urban public spaces – BREAKOUT! will explore new and productive ways for people to work together outside of traditional office buildings.
Social science experiment
The BREAKOUT! team – made up of technologists, futurists, social scientists and strategic design consultants – will run this unique social-science experiment under a grant from the Architectural League of New York. Open to businesses, freelancers and
workers in general, each BREAKOUT! demonstration will accommodate anywhere from eight to 30 people engaging in a variety of work activities, from design projects to “speed networking” sessions. BREAKOUT! will introduce the concept of coworking – a new but pervasive global movement that encourages collaboration in informal work settings – to the public at large. The sessions themselves are part of both a community design process and academic research project where participants will be invited to plan future work meetings, test technology and tools, and contribute to the creation of products and shelters to support work in public spaces. The BREAKOUT! team will document and monitor the results of all these collaborative events.
BREAKOUT! is part of the exhibition and program called Situated Technologies: Toward the Sentient City, organized by the Architectural League of New York and curated by the artist/architect and researcher, Mark Shepard. The large-scale, cuttingedge exhibition and symposium series explores the evolving relationship between technology, urban architecture and changing societal
behavior.
As part of the program, the BREAKOUT! Festival comprises a series of events intended to demonstrate the mobility and flexibility that is now a part of daily work life for growing numbers of people. According to Georgia Borden, Associate Director of DEGW and a key member of the BREAKOUT! project team, “Today’s progressive corporations recognize the larger network of places where people work, and are being proactive about shifting their corporate cultures accordingly. Smart companies are capitalizing on this social and
economic phenomenon and using it to their advantage.”
Word about the events is spreading rapidly via social networks such as Twitter,blogs and other formats that reach an ever-expanding global coworking constituency.
Thinking outside the office box
There are many reasons that coworking is becoming more prevalent, says Borden. Utilization studies show that traditional office spaces sit empty and idle between 60% and 70% of the working day. Borden further explains that as the 21st century moves
closer to a knowledge-based economy, conventional office space becomes obsolete.
“The whole idea of the workplace is rapidly being transformed by ongoing technological development,” explains Borden. “We have to shift our own understanding of work styles and practices to accommodate the changing society we live in.” To Borden and the
BREAKOUT! creators, this means an “anywhere, anytime office” through the utilization of technology support in public spaces.
While predictions for a future “smart” city have been speculated upon for years, present access to affordable hardware and powerful software has made its existence feasible and imminent. New York City is joining progressive urban centers throughout the world by playing a pivotal role in defining and implementing the infrastructure for a sentient city. In a bold effort, The New York City Economic Development Corporation has teamed up with the Downtown Alliance to formally establish a public coworking site at 55 Broad Street. The opening of the facility is expected to follow BREAKOUT!,
sometime in late 2009, proving that in New York City, the workplace of the future is virtually here, there and – in the next few years – everywhere. ###
BREAKOUT! is presented as part of the exhibition Toward the Sentient City
and is made possible with support from the Architectural League of New York.
The BREAKOUT! Festival: Information and Schedule of Events
What it is:
A live demonstration, experiment, and happening about new work
trends. BREAKOUT! is part of the Situated Technologies exhibition for the New York Architectural League, and it includes an exhibition, a gallery talk, live demonstrations, virtual networking and public space experiments. BREAKOUT! also has an online presence – see
www.breakoutfestival.org.
When it happens:
Four weeks of live demos from September 17 through October 2009.
happens: Sessions take place in public spaces all around New York City. See www.breakoutfestival.org for detailed schedules and updates.
Exhibition Opening: The exhibition opens September 17th in The Urban Center at The Architectural League, 457 Madison Avenue (near 50th St.) in New York City, 6-9pm.
Gallery Talk: On September 25th, the BREAKOUT! Festival will be the subject of a panel discussion featuring leaders from DEGW, The Institute for the Future, and the Yale Information Society Project. The Urban Center at the Architectural League, 457 Madison Avenue (near 50th St.) in New York City, 6-9pm.
Other special events:
Urballoon (Tompkins Square Park) – September 18th, 4-7pm
One Web Day, Bloggers/Tweeters Press Tent (Washington Square Park) – September 22nd, 12-2pm
The Future of Mobile Work (60 Wall Street Atrium) –September 24th, 12-2p
Flash Mob Ethnography (location TBD) – September 28th, 10am – 2pm
Click here to read full article