Dutch design firm RAAAF has built an installation in Amsterdam called "The End of Sitting." ©Jan Kempenaers

A couple years ago, after research about the health risks of prolonged sitting came to light, a wave of standing desks hit the market. Big companies like Ikea and Steelcase have rolled out standing desk designs; others are even attached to treadmills or recumbent bikes. While these certainly get workers up and off their derrieres, once an employee selects one of these models (and presumably goes through the company’s facilities manager to get it installed) she’s married to that particular product and posture.

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

“What if we had an environment without chairs and tables, and we don’t think in these archetypes, but in terms of activities?” asks Ronald Rietveld, a partner at the Dutch studio RAAAF. So When the Chief Government Architect of the Netherlands put out a call for local designers to think about new versions of shared office spaces, RAAAF turned in blueprints for “The End of Sitting,” a glacier-like series of boulders and surfaces that would replace traditional office furniture. “I think he didn’t expect the plans we came up with,” Rietveld says. “We are really focusing on a longer-term vision.”....Continue Reading

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