WE ALL seem to spend more and more hours in the office, but if Sir Terence Conran has his way we may be literally sleeping under our desks in future.

In a radical proposal sent to John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, Sir Terence argues that the empty office space in Britain’s biggest town and cities could be transformed into residential apartments for young workers.

In a brochure titled Work/Live, a proposition, the designer says that providing customised flats for young workers below their office could reduce traffic congestion, increase the number of homes in inner cities, reduce wasted energy in buildings, enliven business districts at weekends, reduce the stress and cost of commuting and save money for businesses by using redundant office space.

Sir Terence told The Times that he thought of the idea because many of his own staff suffered terrible commutes to work.

In contrast with the live/work units proposed by many local councils, Sir Terence’s work/live apartments would be used primarily as a place of work rather than as a home. Workers would use computers to do work in their flat and use the main office space for meetings, the gym or to meet their friends.

“The idea of living above the shop has long been ingrained in British culture, so this is not a dramatically new idea,” Sir Terence said. He insisted that he was not proposing that workers should sleep under their desks. “They would be well-fitted out and comfortable apartments,” he said.

In the brochure, Conran & Partners said that the proposal would be aimed at about 10 per cent of the workforce, particularly young, single people working for financial, insurance, legal or media firms.

The company conceded that there would be many problems to overcome to make the concept viable, including the need for security and an evacuation strategy in the event of a fire.

Mr Livingstone told The Times: “This is a creative proposal, though I’m not sure how many people will really like the idea of making their home in what will primarily be an office environment.

“If developers and office owners are interested in taking this up and if they can find a market, then I look forward to the idea coming before me at the planning stage.”

However, young workers interviewed by The Times generally reacted with horror to Sir Terence’s proposal.

Claire Woffenden, 29, a journalist who lives in Balham, said: “It sounds like a great idea in principle, but who wants to live under their office? I would maybe consider renting in a company’s building, but imagine if you were ill and your boss came down to check.”

Sikander Mohiuddin, 30, who lives in Ealing and works at Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, in Blackfriars, said: “My initial reaction is that it sounds like a terrible idea — you’d never be able to get away from work.

“We already spend too much time tied to our desks — this would positively make things worse. It does have its pros, in the non-existent commute that you’d have everyday . . . but if that’s at the expense of spending even more time at work, then forget it.”

Marjorie Ngwenya, 25, who lives in Dorking, Surrey, and works for a financial services firm in Blackfriars, said: “I like my colleagues, but not enough to live with them. The suggestion makes my commute sound worthwhile.”

Martyn Perks, an internet consultant, said: “The idea of living and working in the same building is attractive for the lazy, but merging work and home together causes problems. Your work never leaves you. That’s why it is good to have some distance between them.

“Living in a city and travelling to and from work has other benefits. There is an excuse to see new things on the way that you never would if you fell out of bed into the office. As an ex-freelancer, working and living in the same space for many years drove me mad in the end.”

WORKING OUT

Many people commute to work, to sit for about seven hours in front of a computer for 45 weeks a year. This equates to about 1,785 hours of the available 8,760 hours a year — so we only occupy our office space for about 20 per cent of the available time, according to Conran & Partners.

HAVE YOUR SAY
E-mail your views to Sir Terence Conran at worklive@conran.com