Segment is a conceptual workspace designed to make group work efficient while still giving each user a fair amount of personal space. If you have ever worked on a group project you know that having your space is as essential as not having five tangled chargers cluttering up the desk. The minimal form of the agile workspace masks the detailed research conducted by Hoare that takes into account the users’ needs, mindset, and work ethic based on their personality type in a group.

Hoare chose the CMF that can create a welcoming and accomodating environment without compromising on the aesthetics or functionality. The dividers create four work zones on the 2-meter wide desk and each zone comes with their own set of wireless charging points and cable management ports. “The partitions also bring another benefit with them alongside privacy; the upholstered finish introduces an element of acoustic dampening, reducing the noise levels in the room allowing the user to achieve a higher level of focus,” says Hoare on his thought process behind choosing the divider and its material. To keep the desk free of wires, there are channels on the underside of the surface that provide routing for the cables from the wireless tabletop chargers.

Created specifically for students pursuing higher education, it is ideal for any individual and also provides them with their own zone with unobtrusive dividers when working with multiple people so that they can continue to focus. Using ethnographic research methods, focus groups, direct interviews, and task-analysis were carried on to determine how Segment can provide a collaborative space while also taking the environment and user behavior into account. The desk works for introverts and extroverts while solving common issues like bag storage, noise, enough power sockets, and more that make it suited to a flexible modern lifestyle.

Designer: James Hoare