This is not just a vision. We are witnessing the birth of a new, flexible business network and the collapse of the monolithic industrial structure that is petrified that is too tied down and unable to keep pace with the development of the modern economy. What would work be like in such a company? Theoreticians are pondering this question all over the world. A conceptual answer to this question was created by four scientists from Germany and Switzerland and will be presented during the Orgatec 2006 trade fair in Cologne, which is being held Oct. 24-28. The Work and Office 2030 exhibition was created by Prof. Ludger hovesstadt, Yasmine Mahmoudieh, andreas Neff and Stefan Shaw, Ph.D. The concept is based on four ideas: concentration, communication, interaction and creation. These key concepts will determine the future direction of work and provide a framework with which to organize any company.

The model created by these theoreticians, experts in the latest technologies and architects, consists of four rooms. The first of them, called the Area of Concentration, will be designed in a way that ensures that people working in it can concentrate as much as possible. The walls, floor and lighting will play an important role in that room. All the elements will stimulate concentration, improve moods and generate motivation. Experiments already conducted, which included introducing simulated sunlight to an office, have brought about excellent results - improved work efficiency. Concentration depends, to large extent, on the room's atmosphere. The office is to be a stage on which employees play out their roles.

The next section, the Area of Communication, will be designed for teamwork, while the Area of Interaction will help colleagues maintain informal contacts. It will include cafes and places for relaxation and watching TV, helping the staff to build relationships and exchange information. An office needs an interactive space. This space will have a cafeteria, a hotspot, a TV with business news from around the world and a small library. Experiments conducted so far have shown that the number of informal areas in offices has a direct impact on the overcall communication within a company. In all rooms, the future office will be equipped with the latest technologies to engender workplace productivity. technology is a facilitating tool, but does not play the main role. People and their ideas are the most important elements.

Ideas will be born in the Area of Creativity, which can be made to look like a beach, a fitness club or a boxing ring, depending on the temperament and taste of individual companies. In the Work 2030 model, this room contains sports equipment, games tables, and comfortable sofas. Background music and holograms of a forest or a sea will intensify the productivity of conversations in the Area of creativity.

Contemporary workers are expected to be fast, flexible and, above all, creative. Fast work is possible thanks to new technologies that have revolutionized communications over the last few years. Flexibility, the ability to accept constant changes in the work place and work concepts, is a need that is a result of the growing competition that forces companies to fight for clients. It is not only about meeting clients' tastes and needs, but also about creating and generating new ideas that will become products that will generate sales and so on.

Creativity is the third key to success. In order to ensure that a staff is at its most creative, employers go to great lengths to motivate employees, both inside and outside the office. One goal is to reduce stress levels that results from workplace insecurity generated by the competition and changes in nearly every aspect of work. Relaxation breaks are a regular part of work that for many less resilient people may help reduce the constant stress of many workplaces. Many experts say that in a modern company, people work according to their own rhythm so that they can "use what life offers."

"Achieving a balance in life" is the most important goal, according to research by Swedish experts from the Universum International center. Flexible work time helps compensate for work-related stress and gives workers a feeling of control over their lives.

Additionally, more and more companies, in order to boost their personnel's innovativeness and creativity, locate meeting rooms and workplaces in non-standard places. These locations are furnished in a way that do not bring a typical office to mind. In Frank PR offices in Camden Town in London, Director Andrew Bloch decided to cover the floor of the meeting room with sand and calls the place a beach. "The presence of sand helps people relax, giving them a sense of comfort and freedom. We have found that the meetings held on our beach are much more productive," says Bloch.

Edouard Francois, leader of the Green Architecture movement, had similar ideas in mind when he designed a Paris office for Enjoy Advertising Agency, which features furniture made from natural materials, and with a cactus growing out of every desk. This modern trend in office architecture is becoming increasingly popular. In one American office, the staff begin their work day sitting on the floor of a room free of furniture or computers, to exchange their thoughts. There, the most interesting ideas are born.

A contemporary office is increasingly less like a traditional office space. Thanks to new technologies, it is now possible to work in a park or a garden. The border between work and private life is becoming blurred. Experts say that work and private life will be even closer in the future. The workplace environment must be adjusted to the needs of people working in teams that need concentration, informal interaction and spaces that stimulate creativity.