ReCoCo (Story)
Back in 2018 I wrote these four speculative narratives that described future scenarios for the state of remote work in 2045.
This is the story of scenario 3 of 4
The daily experience
It’s a warm bustling day in Manila, and Riley is just waking up. She lives in an upscale live-work arrangement (9.5 star wellness rating), with multiple locations scattered around the world. Her Partnered Peer (PP) has sent her a message which is displayed on the smart wall. “FYI I’m saving you a spot down at breakfast, pancakes this morning! See you when you get here!”
Riley has been in Manila for three days, having arrived last Wednesday. She works as a researcher, investigating ways in which technology is affecting cultural practices, especially as it relates to the celebration of the deceased.
As a socialite, Riley is part of multiple collaboration networks. Each network throws their own little parties and events, with many hosting learning nights and weekly project share outs. In many ways, she struggles with keeping on top of her workload as she is simply too busy living life and learning from others! “Why should this be a bad thing?” she thinks, “It’s not like I’m going to go broke - my crypto investments are growing like crazy.” What Riley does not realize is that she will surely experience a breakdown, courtesy of social exhaustion.
Riley heads downstairs to meet Dalisay, her PP. She wasn’t lying - pancakes were on the menu, with a stack about 6 high waiting for her. The food provided in this co-lab space is inspired by local ingredients, and as such, each of the six pancakes features a unique ingredient such as ube. Dalisay is a developer, working on numerous projects at once. Riley is learning many skills from Dalisay, including time management tricks and ways to set-up her workplace to stay focused. That is why Riley signed up for the Peer-to-Peer program. It really utilises the coworking and coliving spaces as networks of knowledge that can be tapped by members.
Once breakfast is finished they decide to head to the Cabin Floor as they call it. This building is composed of 8 floors for coworkers (with multiple more for housing). On the ground floor is a type of amphitheatre where presentations and share-outs can happen, and on the third floor is an open concept living room inspired working environment. Each floor has been designed with different working styles and preferences in mind.
Having reached the sixth floor, they select from a screen their ideal cabin-shaped work booth. The main coworking space is populated with different sized ‘cabins’ that can be occupied for collaborative work and even individual sized booths should you need some peace and quiet. The cabins are wheeled and an interactive panel near the entrance of the room allows members to reserve and request specific rooms. The cabins can also be joined to create large work zones and because they are almost like autonomous rooms, they can reorganize themselves into an ideal arrangement, perhaps all circling the room imperceptibly so as to allow each cabin time in front of the windows. Choosing a cabin with enough seating for four, they have the option of really spreading out in the contained space.
When they both got their membership to the Co-Lab they received a fob that contains their ergonomic measurements and preferences. This fob also acts to reserve and pay for services such as printing, but if we are to focus on the furniture, the fob can be passed by a sensor that will inform the seating arrangement as to prefered height, angle, and hardness. The energy needed for the smart furniture to adapt is stored within an internal battery that is recharged by movement, such as shifting your weight or spinning the chair.
Both Dalisay and Riley get settled into their work routine. The cabin has integrated speakers that plays a curated playlist based off of both of their preferences, recognized from their fobs. As they get into the groove of things, another friend sends a message from the interactive reservation board, asking to join their cabin. With three in the booth, the music selection is altered from alternative rock to synth pop. A half hour pass in focused concentration, then the cabin alerts them through a soft ping and by lighting up their fobs that it is time for a break.
As a break the three friends head down to the auditorium to check out the latest art exhibit that just rolled in. It’s all about the smart dust scandal that happened about a decade ago. There, beneath a magnifying glass, actual motes are lying there motionless. An interactive panel next to it allows them to learn more about the incident. “Never a dull moment here,” thinks Riley, “always something to learn.”
