The Square

The Square is a concept created by argodesign during the early days of COVID-19. With everyone relegated to their separate corners at home, our designers found themselves missing the ambient nature of the office, as well as the ability to creatively collaborate side by side.

The resulting concept is a window into a digital common space, an ambient digital feed where natural watercooler moments can happen even when you aren’t in the same physical location as your colleagues. The concept is focused on a work-from-home scenario, but it can also be applied to other uses such as family facetime or a game night with friends.

The Square is much more than a TV running a video connection. It utilizes photogrammetry and NeRF (Neural Radiance Fields) technology for an immersive viewing experience. Tiny cameras on each of the four sides of the frame create a 3D video composite. These cameras also track your viewing angle and adjust the POV of the video to match. The result is a convincing, authentic shared space that doesn’t just look like flat video; it feels like you’re peering through a window into another space.

Multiple view options augment the experience. Pod View mimics spontaneous conversation within a desk unit, gathering two, three, or even four team members in a virtualized desk Pod. Subtle alerts let you know when a colleague is joining the conversation. The blind opens and, voila, they’re an active participant from the comfort of their own personal space.

Grid View is a graphical matrix of all your possible connections, drawing inspiration from Hollywood Squares to create spatial unification. The result is ambient coworking with infinite squares, as well as the ability to tap into an individual square for 1:1 interaction. This is especially useful for structured meetings where you need more focused communication. There is also 1:1 → 1:4 Grid View, with the ability to see several teammates at once.
When you’re ready to shut down at the end of the day, pull down the integrated shade and the camera array is blocked and shuts down the system.