The landscape of the office, and the way people interact with their environment and each other in the workplace will change forever with the release of MG Taylor Corporation's Workpod™ unit. The release this week of the first production series caps an evolution of design that began in 1990. The pod is the latest addition to MG Taylor's line of furniture, designed and built by its subsidiary, Athenaeum International. The pod is an "out of the box" answer to the dilemma that companies face between closed office and open plan options for space planning. The pod allows companies to retain full flexibility in the programming and use of their space while providing various degrees of privacy or acoustic separation for whatever situation may arise. The pod also provides more workspace for its resident user in less square footage than either closed office or open plan partition schemes.

Some Terminology and Features of the Workpod System
	The Workpod system begins with seven modular section units. Each unit is suspended from its own external mast. The mast allows a variety of components to be snapped on, such as overhead storage and shelving units, workstations, tool caddies, and tables that rotate out into the center of the pod for use by small teams. A unique articulating translucent vane attaches to the top of the mast. The vane incorporates the pod's lighting system and also allows the pod's residents to make adjustments to direct that light and also adjust ventilation.
	Each section of the pod may be deployed independently or in combination with one or more other sections to form a variety of configurations. A common set-up is the circular one shown on this page, but other set-ups are possible and may be employed by several pod residents to help them facilitate their current work process--the pod may be moved and reconfigured by the residents without any technical assistance.

The upper three-fifths of each pod section can be left open or may feature a translucent skin for privacy. Usually several sections of the pod are left open to allow for interaction but if necessary the entire pod can be screened from neighboring activities. Visit our new pod at our Palo Alto KnOwhere store! And watch our website for more information.

update August 12, 2008 In the ten years since this article was written [link:1990s design work] the AI Team has advanced the art of the POD a great deal. There are now several PODs, of various kinds, in service in the U.S., Canada and Italy. While not yet seen in the majority of our environments, the workPOD™ concept is definitely catching on. This has taken nearly a 20 year development cycle. The workPOD is not furniture as furniture is commonly thought of. Nor is it construction as that is commonly thought of. This is architectural scale “furniture” and a prefabricated, movable, configurable “office.”We consider workPODs to be an integral aspect of the Armature concept [link: armature]. Matt’s Palo Alto POD workPOD Gallery History of Taylor POD Designs UVA MediaPOD Install click on graphics for graphics and narrative