Two social trends informed this project. First, the growth in homeworking - more than 30% of the UK workforce will work from home by the year 2006, according to the Henley Centre for Forecasting. Second, the above-average levels of unemployment among Britain’s 6.2 million disabled people, many of whom would like to participate in the UK’s information technology economy but are prevented from doing so by lack of appropriate tools and support.

Working from home is often the only chance for people with disabilities to work at all, because the home can incorporate the care and rest facilities they need. But, equally, poor furniture and layout can be a barrier to becoming an effective teleworker. Can new furniture design help to overcome some of the barriers to teleworkers being effective, without resorting to hospital-style aids and appliances that stigmatise their users?

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