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fresh take<br />
group<br />
huddle<br />
Need time to think at the office? One British<br />
company is inspiring creative chatter with a<br />
womb-like tent<br />
BY paige magarrey BY tk<br />
according to google, nearly 90 per cent of smart<br />
phone users spend their free time staring at a<br />
screen. While zoning out online may be relaxing, it<br />
can also cause stress, anxiety and insomnia. It<br />
further takes over human interaction with alarming<br />
ease (who hasn’t come across a bunch of people<br />
sitting together yet conversing on their personal<br />
devices?). Freyja Sewell addresses that digital<br />
reality with Sensory Concentration Space, an environment<br />
similar to a tent, entered through a narrow<br />
slit and intended as a place for groups to unplug<br />
and converse.<br />
Last year, the British designer was approached<br />
by a multinational company seeking a novel way<br />
to help its employees think creatively in small<br />
gatherings, without inhibition. Sewell has been<br />
building felt-made pods for solitary escapes since<br />
2011, so she responded to the commission with a<br />
version that holds five to six users at once.<br />
To create a distraction-free interior, she<br />
engineered an exterior framework and kept any<br />
technical details hidden from view, leaving a cozy<br />
space of relaxing blankness. A small pocket holds<br />
an iPad to program a palette of LEDs and ambient<br />
music. The all-over felt surface feels as inviting as<br />
a blanket, with small woollen discs to douse with<br />
essential oils for added olfactory benefits.<br />
Sewell is sanguine about how the SCS can<br />
affect employees’ states of consciousness when<br />
they’re huddled inside: “I am hoping it will lead<br />
people to heightened awareness,” she says wistfully.<br />
“The idea is to allow it to help them reconnect<br />
with the authentic.” She is now exploring other<br />
environments, including a centre for children with<br />
special needs, that could benefit from group<br />
cocooning. freyjasewell. co. uk<br />
↑↑ Suspended from above, the microcosmic felt- lined<br />
space comfortably fits groups of five to six.<br />
↑ The cozy interior helps employees unplug their devices<br />
and think creatively.<br />
46 SEPT <strong>2014</strong> azuremagazine.com
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