isolation

Intelligences

From the Space Station to the Sofa: Scales of Isolation at Work

Posted by  • 0 Comments

JO AIKEN University College London/ETHNO-ISS (NASA) ANGELA RAMER HKS Architects [s2If is_user_logged_in()]DOWNLOAD PDF [/s2If] [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)] [/s2If] Since March 2020, many employees around the world have been forced to work from home due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have experience in working in isolation and confinement. This paper focuses on a comparison of astronauts on the ISS and Earth-bound architects and interior designers restricted to working from home (i.e. their sofas) due to the pandemic. Isolation at work emerges as a complex phenomenon characterized by the measured and perceived distances between physical, social, and temporal spaces. By examining the scale-making activities of NASA and HKS, analogs provide a possible means for studying and predicting the complex dimensions of isolation. The work ecosystem is a useful tool in conceptualizing and operationalizing the employee experience to design the future of work and...

Intelligences

Postcards from Isolation: Digital Artefacts from the Lockdown Time

Posted by  • 0 Comments

ANNA WOJNAROWSKA Google [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)] [/s2If] [s2If !is_user_logged_in()] Join EPIC to access video: → Learn about Membership → Browse Video Library [/s2If] [s2If current_user_is(subscriber)] Join EPIC to access video: → Learn about Membership → Browse Video Library [/s2If] PechaKucha Presentation—‘Postcards from Isolation’ is a collection of collaborative & interactive experiences that represent the shifts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The origins of the project lie in a reflection on the deeper social, cultural and economical impact of being in isolation. Drawing on ethnographic accounts (Malinowski, Mead), we studied how the context of being isolated these days corresponds to the uniqueness of geographical islands - spaces that enforce a different connection to land and its resources; and ones that lead to unique cultural patterns. Drawing on that metaphor, we explored to what extent we, as individuals, may be evolving into symbolic islands of our own, driven...