Finnish City Installs Micro Offices In Its Forests For True ‘Remote Working’
Image via The City of Lahti
The city of Lahti, Finland, is taking advantage of its lakefront location to introduce remote working like we’ve never known it: literally remote, out in the open air of the forest, surrounded by nature.
Working with a group of students from LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts, creative agency TBWA\Helsinki and local design company Upwood, the city has developed and installed an “office” of desks in in forests and parks.
Some of them are located in the far-flung reaches of the wilderness, but others remain in parks closer to civilization. One is located a 45-minute walk away from the nearest parking lot, but promises a stunning view of Lake Vesijärvi.
Each mini workstation comes with a desk surface with just enough room for a laptop and notebook. There’s also a built-in support stand for phones, a hole to act as a cupholder for the oh-so-crucial caffeine kick, and a notch for a bag hanger.
These don’t come at any cost to their users or the environment: they’re free to use, on a first-come-first-served basis. The installation process wasn’t harmful to their host trees, either, as they were simply strapped on and can be removed if needed.
The downside is that there’s no internet connectivity and mobile phone coverage isn’t guaranteed, depending on where the workstation is. Plus, there’s no power. And you have to either stand or bring your own chair.
But these factors, although limiting, could be helpful to ensure that people don’t stay for too long and that others will have a chance to use the facilities too.
Image via The City of Lahti
Umberto Onza, lead designer of this project from TBWA\Helsinki, tells Fast Company that the design team wanted to create something that would draw people back out of their homes and into nature once more.
“In the Nordics and in Finland, people are always keen to be in the forest and close to nature. We thought this was a nice way to encourage people to go back out.”
Onza also shares that the workstations are expected to be able to hold on until heavy snowfalls this winter, but can be reinstalled in spring. And that’s what the city is planning to do.
He says that there has been high demand from around the city for more desks like these to be installed, and there have also been requests from other Finnish towns and a museum in Sweden.
His suggestion is to get the local craftspeople, like Upwood for Lahti, involved in their making process. This will reduce the impact on the environment.
Image via The City of Lahti
This year, Lahti was chosen to be the European Green Capital , which is a program designed by the European Commission to focus on sustainability in urban places. The city’s parks are vital assets to it, so hosting these workstations highlights them even further and gives people even more reason to visit and enjoy them.
More information and a list of locations of these desks can be found here.
Boost your well-being by taking remote work to the woods 🌲 @GreenLahti2021 combines remote work and nature in a convenient way by setting up wooden remote workstations in the city's nature sites free for everyone to use. #TBWAHelsinki #ViitaWorkstation pic.twitter.com/DmMdUgTyRt
— TBWA\Helsinki (@TBWAHelsinki) September 10, 2021
[via Fast Company, images via The City of Lahti]
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