Dutch designer Emilie Tromp pointed me on her Gispen XS table, which is aimed at acilitating creative collaboration (this is also the subject of her Master's thesis at Industrial Design Engineering of Delft University of Technology).

Table for creative collaboration and informal meeting in offices. High table with integrated computer that supports a dynamic way of meeting. By reducing the width and depth of the table the interaction is less formal and hierarchic. The table supports the creation of shared understanding by focussing on human-human interaction instead of human-computer interaction.

Meant to support creative collaboration and informal meeting in offices. The scope was to improve the creation of shared understanding by creating an informal atmosphere (by reducing the depth and width of the table, since distances are related to the level of formality of the conversation) and stimulating a positive body language with the collaborators (by adding tactile interesting aspects to the table).

Why do I blog this? I like the idea of playing on specific features to raise the informality. Besides, I am curious about the articulation of "the creation of shared understanding" and "creating an informal atmosphere".