S K E T C H E S.

who: The highly stressed out 9-5er employee 
where: Open plan office. 
why: ....in an age where all our time is spent in front of screens, the office employee needs to develop / enhance their connection with nature BECAUSE their mental and physical state in their work environment is stressed, groggy and in need of a 'distraction' . Reconnecting them to the present and encourage mindfulness through nature in the work environment is the ideal space to do just that because if the routine of interacting with nature begins in the workplace it may later transferred into the home subconsciously, but also detoxifies the air in work, enhances cognitive ability, improves productive, and distresses the mind and body. 
what: Sketching with the concept of designing a new office divider that allows to introduce nature into the office environment. 

Z A H A      H A D I D      &    T A D A O     A N D O

.... since I wrote an essay in second year focusing on the works of Tadao Ando and Zaha Hadid, I developed a fascination and undying admiration for both of their architectural and design work. Both  I feel look to nature and have this greater understanding of designing an environment. Think of how one makes a house a home, for me these designers do just that in such words. Their work is part of what has inspired me to always in someway consider nature when designing.
Hadid certainly considers fluidity in her designs, Ando considers how natural light will enhance his design and designs his work in a way that encourages the user/viewer to experience nature in a different way, his use of light certainly highlights how nature can be highly spiritual when used appropriately.

Zaha Hadid, 'Chair 'Liquid Glacial',' 2015, David Gill Gallery

The Vortexx Chandelier :  highlights the spirit of fluidity. It appears as an endless ribbon of light. 

Sky Soho , Shanghai.

Church of Light, Tadao Ando

Church of Light, Tadao Ando

Koshino House, Tadao Ando 

J A C K M U R P H Y O F F I C E S.

Knowing that the working professional / 9-5er is my target market and that I'm designing specifically for the work environment, I thought it best to visit a prime example of a poor ( putting it nicely ) work environment. Jack Murphy Outdoor Ltd. This is my mum's workplace, and it really is an awful environment. Luckily, for my mum she has a window beside her desk, but for everyone else in the open plan space there is little to no natural light and the design is harsh as hell. There is nothing mentally stimulating about this space, and for people who are staring at computers all day long there is nothing in the environment to keep their minds clear and fresh to stay as productive and efficient as possible. 

From this point, I will be designing specifically for this type of office. The bog standard logistics, headquarters, call centre offices of the nation. Not every office in the world is designed like bloody Google or Ebay. Most places focus on the necessities, adding a fun playground to the office environment usually isn't on the employers priorities when planning a layout for an office. 

M E D I C A L N E W S A R T I C L E : O F F I C E W O R K E R S

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/293314.php 

The Dangers of Working in an Office.

An Article by James MacIntosh. 

Chained to your desk

As mentioned above, sitting for long periods of time every day is bad for your health. While sitting reduces the amount of time individuals can spend exercising, researchers have demonstrated that prolonged sitting time is associated with poor health outcomes regardless of the amount of physical activity performed.

Although sitting at a desk is a seemingly simple task, it is an easy one for people to do wrong. Workers often complain of sore wrists and pain in the back and neck, and this will frequently be due to the way they position their body while working.

If an individual is sitting or typing in an unhealthy way, it is likely that they will be putting strain on their body for most of their working day. That is a lot of strain for a body to take over the course of a week. Unsurprisingly, back pain is one of the most common reasons for employees missing work and is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) state that back pain can be caused by poor posture,

obesity and psychological stress among other factors, all of which can easily come into play in an office environment if work is tense and not allowing for employees to take leave from their desks.

Good posture at the desk is the first step to be taken in protecting your health when working in the office. This can be achieved with efficient office ergonomics. Making sure that all objects that will be needed are situated close by reduces excessive stretching.

When sitting in front of a computer, the body should be positioned centrally to the monitor and keyboard. You should sit up straight with feet rested flat on the floor. If this is not possible, a footrest should be used. Thighs should ideally be horizontal with the knees and level with the hips.

The forearms should also be level or tilted up slightly. When typing, wrists should be in a straight and natural position. Using a wrist rest can reduce stress on the wrists and help prevent specific awkward positioning.

There are a number of common posture mistakes that can be made when sitting and can easily become part of a routine if not addressed:

• Slouching - this position places a lot of pressure on the lower back, damaging the ligaments, joints and soft tissue in this area and can lead to hunching
• Sitting cross-legged - this position tucks in the hip, making it difficult to sit up straight and leading to slouching. Sitting cross-legged can also lead to muscle imbalances in the hips that cause pain and stiffness
• Hunching forward - can lead to a tight chest and weak upper back, potentially leading to the development of a rounded upper back that is susceptible to pain and stiffness
• Poking the chin forward - sometimes a symptom of a hunched back or sitting too low as an attempt to compensate for excess downward pressure, this can lead to muscle weakness around the neck
• Phone cradling - employees that have to use a phone frequently may hold their phone handset between their ear and shoulder in order to leave their hands free to operate a computer or write. This can weaken the neck muscles and lead to muscle imbalances that cause headaches.

Office workers are advised to get up and move around whenever they can. The nature of many office jobs, however, usually results in long periods of sitting down. If you are going to be sitting down at a desk for any length of time, it is a good idea to get the basics right.

"The number one thing that gets people into trouble as far as a downgrade in their health is their posture," says Luis Feigenbaum, a director of sports physical therapy at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, in conversation with ABC News.

Computers: one-eyed monsters of the office

These days, most people sitting at a desk will have a computer sitting right in front of them. Although they make a lot of jobs easier, they also make keeping healthy in the office a lot harder.

As well as posture, using a computer can wear down other parts of the body that are directly using it, namely the eyes and the wrists.Firstly, where a computer and its related hardware are positioned can drastically influence posture. The height of a computer monitor will affect the height of an office chair - a monitor should be positioned directly in front of the user, about an arm's length away, with the top of the screen just below eye level.

To avoid eye strain, both the computer monitor and the office lighting need to be addressed. The screen should be adjusted so that its brightness and contrast levels suit the lighting conditions in the room, which should not be too bright.

Screen glare is a major cause of eyestrain and can be reduced by ensuring that monitors are not positioned opposite windows where possible. If situated close to a window, use shades and blinds to reduce the amount of light that falls on the monitor.

If the font size of text being read on a computer is too small it can lead to eyestrain as well as harming posture, as a worker may be inclined to hunch forward to read text more closely. Increasing font size or zooming in on a page that is being read protects employees from this risk.

Typing is a repetitive action that puts the hands and wrists under great pressure. If performed forcefully enough and for long enough periods of time, it can lead to disabling pain. In office workers, it can lead to repetitive strain injuries, whereby the tissue surrounding the joints becomes inflamed or stressfractures develop.

Wrist injuries through typing can be prevented or at least reduced by maintaining a good typing posture. As mentioned earlier, wrists should be kept in a relaxed, natural position. Foam or gel wrist supports can provide extra protection.

One of the key messages when it comes to using computers in the office is how important it is to take regular breaks. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommend that workers take a 10 minute break for every hour spent on a computer, allowing the body to recover and reducing the risk of strain.

These breaks can include working on other tasks that do not involve using a computer. They also represent an opportunity for employees to get out of the sitting position. Alternatively, if employees have the freedom to do so, breaks could involve seeking sustenance to refuel their bodies.

How to improve your fitness at work

Although the office can often be a comfortable place to work, it is important that workers do not allow unhealthy practices to become comfortable and routine. Remaining sedentary, using office equipment incorrectly and eating unhealthily can eventually lead to debilitating health problems that could stop individuals from working altogether.

Thankfully, office work also provides a number of options for keeping fit, and if these are incorporated into a working routine then there is no reason why working in an office should condemn employees to a life of ill health.

• Travel to work by walking or biking. Get off public transport a stop earlier than normal or park your car further away from the office
• Stand instead of sitting when working as much as possible. Find as many excuses to get out of your chair as possible
• Spend time during breaks to go for a brisk walk or do some stretching to keep the muscles loose and strong.

On the surface, working in an office appears to be a simple form of employment. While that may be true in comparison with some other jobs, it is important that office workers do not get complacent and sit idly as their health runs away from them.

Dr. Timothy Church, from the Preventive Medicine Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, told MNT that the biggest risk to the health of office workers is the sedentary lifestyle.

"The answer is getting active," he said. "Get up at least every 45 minutes and obtain at least 7,000 steps per day."

B I O P H I L L I C D E S I G N

..... is an innovative way of designing places where 
we live, work and learn. 
We need nature in a deep and fundamental 
fashion, but we have and still often, designed our 
lives in ways that both degrade the environment 
and alienate us from nature which in turn in 
degrades our health both mentally and physically. 

T H A N K S F O R T H E B O O S T P E T E R.

HOW MIGHT I...

Starting to hate that phrase. 

Had a great workshop with Peter Sheehan Monday past. He made me really question my proposed "how might I" statements from the last presentation, and asked the question of why couldn't they all be one concept? Rather than trying to concept three different routes with three different prototypes which were essentially all the same anyway, mush them all together to create one idea? Secondly, he told me sometimes simple is brilliant. Simple means a well thought out design, and to never use the word just. Never undermine your own work in a presentation, which as it turns out I've a bad habit of doing according to him. He said my ability to present is good, but my visuals were not as strong as they could be. For me the best thing he said was that he gets the impression I'm highly passionate about this idea and what I'm doing and he believes I'm intelligent ( Thanks Peter). That comment alone gave the extra confidence boost I needed to keep pushing this nature idea further, to really showoff my research skills and abiloity to synthesize everything I've found out to design a product which encourages one to connect with nature in a non-demanding way. 

( staged my own succulent photo shoot after seeing a similar one on pinterest. Always nicer to use my own photography.... First one is mine, second one courtesy of pinterest. Need to buy more plants.)

What If We Designed with all 5 Senses? 

Designer Valerie Trent cites research that connects smell and memory. " People often recall aromas from childhood "

"Using all our senses to design will not just make us stretch our creativity to new standards, but it will give the end users stimulating feelings, memories, and experiences. Spaces that support all five senses are positioned to be more wholly successful places to happily and comfortably entertain, work, and experience life."

W H A T I S H A P P E N I N G?

Every bit of research I'm doing regards being outdoors and gardening in general is quite literally mimicking my own experiences of helping on my parent's allotment.

This concept is now turning into quite a personal one. With the research on horticultural therapy and the insane amount of benefits one can gain from engaging with nature and even just being outdoors is fantastic, for me means I can really enjoy this project and any of the possible design outcomes knowing that I started with the thought of wanting to be able to work with nature, and now all the research is allowing me to do bloody just that.

So far, in relation to the benefits of gardening and being surrounded by nature apart from the obvious of the physical benefits of gardening as it can be labour intensive depending on the type of garden or allotment you're maintaining, the mental benefits are amazing.

Now that I've presented my ' FURTHER RESEARCH ' presentation I've had time to ponder over these benefits and write about them a bit more.Starting with my own experiences, I found I became a lot calmer. It sounds odd, but all during the summer and early autumn months I found myself more at peace with my own health conditions and what the world has thrown at me over the last two years. Even the colours I was/am still attracted to were mimicking my mental state. What that means is that I was attracted to shades of green and blues, which in psychological terms mean my mind was at ease and reflected a state of inner peace.

When I was on the allotment and taking care of my section, even the house plants, I found myself entering what I can only describe as a state of bliss. Not a single thought would go through my head that wasn't positive, any stress I had and the anxiety I had been suffering with earlier in the year had certainly dwindled an extreme amount.
When I discussed this newfound mental state with my parents and their friends who also own and tend to allotments they was a majority agreement that the allotment and the act of interacting with nature certainly, for us, provided an escape from stress and everyday worries that has had a lasting effect on our psyches.

In fact, even Bord Bia back up this concept stating

"The psychological impact of gardening is that it is considered a serene occupation, an oasis of calm, a grounding experience. The combination of the fresh air and the physicality of the tasks helps oxygenate the bloodstream and energizes the physical body while simultaneously releasing endorphins involved with stress alleviation. Numerous scientific studies validate the calming effect of the garden by showing findings that reveal simply being in a garden lowers blood pressure."
 -Bord Bia


Such impacts on the physical and mental state from horticultural therapy has been studied since the 60's, YET, people still continue to disconnect themselves from nature, not having enough in the house or work environments to not even exercising outdoors when 21st century aliments could be banished through establishing a better connection with nature.  This point right here, is what I'm using to direct my project, and is WHY I'm trying to introduce nature into the modern work environment to alleviate the modern aliments of and improve the harsh office environments of 9-5ers.