SAWE - Situated activities in working environments

ICT work is no longer tied to a specific location. With the increasing use of laptops and other mobile devices, work is being done not only at the office and at home, but more and more in public spaces and in vehicles. The SAWE (Situated Activities in Working Environments) project was set up to explore work environments from a user-driven way. The objective was to develop new, customer-oriented business concepts that would meet the requirements of the changing nature of ICT work. 

 The result would support more productive and satisfying ways of working in different environments. Started in December 2006 and completed at the end of August 2009, the project targeted designers of work environments, builders, employers and those people responsible for the commissioning of construction work. 

The SAWE project was led by the Future Home Institute of the University of Art and Design Helsinki. The research and cooperation partners were the Human Capital Leadership unit of the Helsinki University of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The corporate cooperating partners were Workspace, Southeastern Finland Regional Tax Office, Tommila Architects, Forum Virium Helsinki, Piiroinen Furniture, NCC Property Development, Elisa, Jykes Kiinteistöt and ISS Proko. 

Ideas for designing Forum Virium Center

According to a study conducted during the project, ICT work is being done in three types of locations: at the office and its immediate surroundings, in private premises and in public places outside them. Work is also being done at the customers’ and different stakeholders’ premises, in public places located along the employees’ walking and transport routes, and in vehicles.

The premises of the third type will be included in designing the Forum Virium Center, which will be located in Central Pasila, and in the general development work of the new Central Pasila district itself. Qualitative user research and user-driven product design methods were used in the research work.  

Further information
Development Director Pekka Koponen, 
Tel. +358 40  5017114, 
pekka.koponen(at)forumvirium.fi