Sarah O’Callaghan

During this discussion, we take a look at the effectiveness of open labs in sparking conversations and collaboration. New generation lab spaces aredesigned to reduce the amount of closed work spaces and allow researchers to engage in discussions outsideof traditional communal spaces such as hallways or the cafeteria. However, the reality of open labs increases thelevel of noise, counter-productive to the intent of the design. Therefore, how can we design a spacethat strikes the right balancebetween work and interaction?