Weatheroom.

A lot of people in big cities work in high rise buildings. A lot of these people will not be able to see a window from their desk, but even if they can, the fact that any windows are often tinted and sealed can lead to a lack of awareness regarding the weather outside. This ignorance is compounded when you consider that the air conditioning will also be hiding the true temperature. When people working in these buildings have to go outside, maybe for lunch or to run an errand, there is a real danger that they will wrongly assess the exterior weather conditions and leave the building ill-prepared. They might, for example, go out wearing a thick coat in 25 deg. sunshine, or a mere T-shirt in icy winds. Considering that time = money for a lot of people who work in such offices, wasting 15 minutes returning to your desk is not an attractive option. A much better idea would be to put the minute or two spent waiting for the lift to better use by providing a small ‘what’s the weather like?’ room.

These rooms would be positioned next to the elevators on each floor. Sensors on the outside of the building would feed into a computer, which in turn would control the weather in the room, keeping it identical to the weather outside Wind, rain, temperature and humidity would all be represented accurately. The ceiling of the room could even incorporate a plasma screen television showing live pictures of the sky above the building. A simple airlock may be required to avoid pollution of the weather at busy times.