Phone booth: the sustainable flexibility of space

Rethinking work, working for the future

The modern, dynamic and de-centralized approach of hybrid working calls for a process of relentless transformation and rethinking of spaces, mainly due to the ever-changing needs of people requiring increasingly adaptable, flexible and comfortable environments.

Recently at ‘Workplace3.0’, a side event at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, some of the most significant trends which are shaping the future of offices were unveiled.

These appear to be increasingly outlined on the creation of cooperative spaces, the adoption of a hotelification approach, the modularity of layouts, and the increasing popularity of phone booths. If most contemporary workspace design appears indeed to be moving steadily toward shared spaces, transforming common areas into veritable hubs of creativity, relationships, and the interplay of ideas, comfort and well-being increasingly assume strategic importance in naturally boosting employee efficiency and productivity.

In this light, the above-mentioned “hotelification” of work spaces is turning design toward new patterns, modeled after the very best hotels in order to upgrade the quality of the time employees spend at work. As for the need for rapid reconfiguration of spaces, movable walls, wheeled desks and modular partitions easily respond to the current requirements, with special attention to the ability of customization based on acoustic, thermal and lighting needs. However, this ‘open’ and hyper-connected philosophy also brings problems in terms of both operational privacy and concentration that have their best solution in acoustic rooms, soundproof, equipped and well-ventilated booths providing a sealed system for phone calls, videoconferencing, while cutting out the disturbance of background noise. All choices described so far, are well in line with the widespread tension toward a renewed “humanism of work”, in which the search for a ‘higher’ meaning of individuals, now seems to be closely tied to that safeguarding of our planet’s resources, intended as a higher common good. It is precisely in the wake of these now undeniable values, the centrality of people and environmental sustainability, that Etoile’s Phone booth project is entirely embraced, following two basic guidelines: the first one related to sound abatement and absorption performance; the other to simplicity of construction and separation of components. During the design process, the focus was centered on the ease of assembly and the possibilities for end-of-life use of the materials employed. As a matter of fact, this box is the outcome of an extended study which the company has been working on for some time, in order to create acoustic cabins offshoot of office partitions. Products that can rely on components and materials made from recycling or, at any rate, completely recyclable.

Therefore, extruded recycled aluminum, glass which is entirely recyclable, and wood for the solid elements, made from chipboard, sourced from controlled plantations (or from recycled material and thus eventually recyclable), PET derived from recycled bottles is used for gaskets and sound-absorbing panels. Also, there is a whole part of metallic hardware like screws, hooks and whatever is needed for connections, which are made of iron (also recyclable).

The green footprint of the project is also embodied in economizing production cycles and reducing the energy used to manufacture, hence in the optimization of processes and manufacturing timelines, ease of disassembly, and reduction of waste through the use of dry joins, avoiding the use of adhesives or material pairings, which would later limit their separation at the end of their lifespan.  So, although the design is aesthetically marked by forms and logics dictated by market trends, its development has been taken care of down to the smallest detail through compositional, technical dimensional and morphological evaluations, taking into the utmost consideration the respect for environment and nature.

We could try to explain this project in simple terms by referring to the modular logic of Lego ‘constructions’, in which many tiny bricks, accessories, and simple components give rise to a complex and articulated form. Likewise, Etoile’s Phone booth consists of a number of elements that can be combined both inside and outside the box, customizing its layout to the maximum.

As opposed to many products on the market, the sound-absorbing properties can also be varied by creating a more or less ‘deafening’ environment through quick hooks of the panels to the aluminum structures. As an alternative, acoustic curtains can be installed which, either open or closed, would adjust the level of privacy, transparency, and noise reduction. Likewise, desks or smaller tops to work standing or sitting on, LED lamps, blackboards, pen holders, and many other accessories can be installed. Or maybe add external structures like ‘canopies’, providing complexity and articulation within the cabin compositions, creating truly integrated systems of closed and open spaces, connected by roofs and patios.

“Form follows function, whether the latter is performative or related to the more innovative contents of sustainability, we must shape it, as well as we must shape certain design logics to these fundamental constraints”– says architect Paolo Pampanoni designer and project manager – “We sought all the options that would give the possibility to make each step easy. Easy for people who manufacture the different components, easy for those who are supposed to install the booth and for those who will have to dismantle it and perhaps re-configure it somewhere else. We are also working on the possibility for our Phone Booth, especially the smaller version, to be movable within workspaces through wheels or pallet trucks. I like to ‘tell’ sustainability by borrowing the English word itself, composed of the two terms sustain and ability. The first one refers to the pedal that pianists use to extend the note, to lengthen the sound coming out of the piano. So sustain is an important compositional lever, which points us back to the idea of products lasting a long life with interchangeable parts that can be replaced if broken.

Ability is literally intended with its meaning. In this case it stands for design and production skills to create solutions aligned with environmental logics.” –  Pampanoni closes – “In that, our work takes on the tone of a blatant rejection of the illogical and unsustainable throwaway model.”