Exhibit: ‘The Outdoor Office’

More and more studies are demonstrating the positive effects of daylight on health, happiness, and productivity. New York–based designer Jonathan Olivares takes those findings to their logical conclusions by proposing a new typology: the outdoor office. Through an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, Olivares suggests that we should take advantage of the freedom that more-flexible office environments and increased connectivity offer. (Not to mention that outdoor workspaces in warmer climates would theoretically reduce costs and energy from lighting and a/c.) As this new workstyle would require a new kind of outdoor furniture not made for R&R, The Outdoor Office offers up images drawn from TV and existing offices, as well as Olivares’s own conceptual projects for inspiration. Through July 15. • artic.edu