Open offices aren't going anywhere soon. But an experimental sensor network and app from NBBJ might make them more tolerable.
The offenses of open offices are numerous and well-documented: noise, frigid air (and its cousin, blazing heat), and productivity- and creativity-killing distractions, to name a few. The reality of rising rents and limited space means that open-plan workspaces won't go away completely. But the architecture firm NBBJ has a solution to make them more tolerable: an experimental sensor network and smartphone app named Goldilocks that lets workers find space in their office that's not too hot, not too loud, and otherwise just right.