The Conference/Classroom of the Future: An interdisciplinary approach

A vital step towards the vision of an ‘international office ’ is to create actual environments in which different design options and solution strategies can be evaluated in practice. This paper describes the Conference/Classroom of the Future (CCF) project which aims at setting up a learning and working environment that uses advanced information technology to support cooperative activities. The CCF project takes an integrated approach to address aspects ranging from interior design and information technology to software support and work organization. From a characterization of learning and working in the next century, we develop usage scenarios, and explain our design decisions concerning furniture, hardware, operating systems, and especially the necessary software infrastructure to support cooperation. Our initial ‘visions ’ are described as well as what we found was achievable under real-world financial and technological constraints. We also outline what software support is still missing for such an environment, and our plans to provide this support in the course of the project. We conclude with a realistic ‘shopping list ’ for people who have to manage similar projects