Towards a Seat Search System for Hot-Desking

It has never been easier to precisely understand the environmental aspects of buildings, in terms of both simulation and post-occupancy measurements. However, fulfilling every user’s demand with building climate control is not easy for every office operator, especially for owners of existing buildings. In such cases, visualising the environment and letting users search and choose their seat can be a solution. To achieve this goal, we first conducted user research and environmental sensing. We found that every user’s preference is different, and that the stability of the environment may affect users’ evaluation of the space. Based on the results, we discussed the user input and visualisation method, both of which are key elements for a search user interface (UI). It is important to balance the psychological validity and ease of use for an environment search UI. Based on the discussion, we propose that the search UI should have an input for acceptable environmental indicator-range for seat search, while at the same time, visualising areas with an unstable environment with hatching.