What if social interaction became ambient infrastructure—subtly embedded in how we move, sit, and work together in co-working space?

Student: Tongbin Qi

Exploring and Encouraging Social Possibilities in Coworking Spaces Through a Speculative Lens

In the context of increasing hybrid and remote work, co-working spaces have emerged as essential infrastructures for flexible labor. However, despite their potential to foster community, many co-working spaces remain functionally efficient yet socially inert. This project explores how social interactions can be meaningfully encouraged within co-working environments, not through direct enforcement, but by embedding subtle, ambient cues into the spatial and interactional fabric of the workplace.

Through a speculative lens, the project combines research, co-creation workshops, and critical prototyping to envision possible futures of social connection in shared workspaces. Drawing on the concept of sociality as infrastructure, the research questions how design can shift social interactions from optional extras to integrated affordances within the everyday coworking experience. The outcome includes a series of playful yet reflective artifacts that serve both as design proposals and discursive artifacts, inviting reflection on the future of work, connection, and the role of space in shaping social behavior.