Tag Archives: hybrid work

Microsoft Mesh lets you hold virtual meetings around virtual bonfires

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The hype around the so-called Metaverse seems to have died down a bit. Even Facebook, which changed its name to Meta to emphasize its new mission, has been rather silent on that front, especially in light of AI being the hottest thing in tech these days. With the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, however, interest in mixed reality, as well as AR and VR, is once again on the rise. As such, now seems to be the best time for Microsoft to also make widely available its own virtual meeting platform, Microsoft Mesh, encouraging a new approach to hybrid work arrangements that will have attendees “sitting” around digital bonfires or posh virtual rooms, all for the sake of trying to make people feel more connected even when they’re all just sitting in their own homes.

Designer: Microsoft

In order to shake off the image of something only for games and entertainment, platform developers like Meta and Microsoft try to make mixed reality technologies something that’s actually useful for serious business as well. These usually involve providing virtual spaces for meetings, creating avatars that represent employees, and holding more interactive and livelier gatherings that would otherwise be a boring experience of watching people’s faces in a grid of boxes. In other words, they try to recreate the feelings and emotions of meeting in person when they physically can’t.

Microsoft Mesh is Redmond’s solution to this problem. Think of it like a VR Microsoft Teams and is, in fact, integrated into Microsoft’s collaboration platform. With just a few clicks, you can turn a flat, literally and figuratively, meeting into a 3D virtual experience, complete with bars, chairs, fires, and, of course, a screen inside a screen for showing presentations to your team. You’ll have to create your own personalized avatar, preferably something close to your real-world appearance, and you can decorate your spaces the way you want, including company logos, of course.

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Microsoft is leaning heavily on its no-code tools to make Mesh more enticing, in addition to having it tied to Microsoft Teams in the first place. Designing the area is a simple process of dragging and dropping assets as you would in a 3D game editor, thanks to a collaboration with Unity 3D. But if that is already too complex, Microsoft Co-Pilot offers an easier method that utilizes AI to translate your prompts into captivating virtual interiors, or at least the semblance of one. Whether it’s just a simple stand-up meeting that needs everyone to be on their toes, a brainstorming session that requires a bit more creativity, or a presentation that needs to keep people attentive, a virtual meeting space is probably going to help spice things up a bit.

Mesh comes at an interesting time when businesses are actually pushing for their workers to return to the office completely. For many companies, however, hybrid has become an unavoidable and permanent reality, with both the benefits and drawbacks it carries, particularly when it comes to the indirect interaction between humans. Microsoft Mesh is being positioned as the next best thing to support those social connections even when actual physical cues are absent. It’s now being made available for Windows PCs, but those who want a more immersive and convincing experience can enjoy it using their Meta Quest headset. That said, you’ll need a Microsoft subscription as well, so it’s not exactly something that everyone can experience.

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Multifunctional furniture collection offers simple ways to support your hybrid work life

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Many of us have probably become acutely aware of how little space we actually have inside our homes, at least not enough to accommodate other activities that go beyond sleeping, eating, and relaxing. Recent shifts in work arrangements have created the need for hybrid spaces, or areas that can function as a workplace as well as a living space. Aside from making room for specialized furniture, homeowners have found themselves trying to either utilize existing furniture for other functions, like a dining table that becomes your office desk outside of meal times or replace those with multifunctional designs. Multifunctional, however, doesn’t have to mean complicated, as demonstrated by this collection of simple furnishings that ingeniously hide their extra features in plain sight.

Designer: Alessandro Stabile

One of the most important requirements when working from home is having a separate desk just for work or school. As many found out in the past two or so years, that’s a luxury for those living in small homes with a limited number of rooms. Sure, you can use almost any table as a work desk, but that also muddles the separation of your work from other parts of your life. Wally solves this by disguising the desk as a wall shelf that folds to reveal a horizontal surface to work on. It does function as a shelf with a hidden space when the table is folded up, while the top shelf can be home to decorations or more visible objects like clocks and storage bins.

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This theme of easy-to-access hidden functionality is pervasive across the collection. “Mr. Hyde,” for example, looks like an ultra-minimalist wall-mounted wooden desk, at least until you pull that wooden enclosure to reveal hidden storage inside. Its complement, the In&Out shelf, has the same trick, except it uses a more conventional sliding tray to access the compartments.

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What makes this particular collection extra special is that they’re designed for simplicity and ease of integration with the rest of your living space. Their minimalist and modular designs allow the owner to decide where and how to use them. Sure, there are parts of the collection that do need to be securely mounted to walls, but some, like the modular Dese bookcase, offer a bit more flexibility.

There are even some that are so simple that you might wonder why there aren’t more of these designs around. Double, for example, is a side table that can either stand low on both legs horizontally or stand tall on one side, offering you a place to put your things on, regardless of your available floor space. Sometimes, the best solutions are the simplest ones, and this elegant minimalist collection proves how “simple” doesn’t need to be boring, either.

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Herman Miller announces the Passport Table, a height-adjusting versatile table that lets you work anywhere

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The pneumatic-controlled table is compact enough to fit your entire work setup, and can move around the office to let you be instantly productive wherever you go.

Herman Miller’s Passport Table complements the laptop-based work setup perfectly. Laptops were designed to be portable, allowing you to carry them everywhere. They’re untethered, giving you the freedom to work in a cabin, at a standing desk, a meeting room, or in the lobby. The Passport Table encourages that freedom by being the table that accompanies you and your laptop everywhere. It features a compact, lightweight design that wheels around with you, and comes in two sizes that fit both smaller and larger spaces. The smaller variant sports a 22 x 16” worksurface and height adjustability of 12 inches, while the larger version offers a 27 x 20” working area, and the ability to adjust its height by 18 inches. Additionally, the Passport will be made available in a wide range of colors with the ability to customize it by adding accessories like a flexible privacy partition, etc.

Designer: Herman Miller

“The future of work is a trending topic in our current climate,” says Ben Watson, President of Herman Miller. “But for Herman Miller, the convergence of work, life, and play has always been central to how we design our products. Passport is the next addition to our portfolio that seeks to bring forth solutions that are agile, efficient, and fit for a variety of environments.”

The Passport Table prioritizes flexibility over everything else. When used at home, Passport provides a highly efficient work surface with an adjustable height range that occupies minimal space, giving customers the option to upgrade their multi-use or small home offices. In the workplace, it gives you the flexibility to move around so you’re not restricted to the three walls of a cabin. You can wheel the Passport around with you (and your office chair) and work from an atrium or lobby, or wheel it to your colleague’s desk to brainstorm or work together. The height-adjusting feature also lets you switch to a standing desk format, allowing you to metaphorically and literally ‘be on your feet’!

The compact nature of the Passport Table makes it a perfect addition to any hybrid office space, allowing it to ‘maximize performance while minimizing footprint’. The table features a single-column base and lightweight construction, along with optional add-ons like a bag-hook on the central column, or a flexible privacy screen that magnetically snaps into place, giving you a more cozy, semi-private work environment.

Passport will be available in a wide range of finishes and colors, with pricing starting at $495 USD.

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