For much of the 20th century, the phone booth was a steadfast and essential installation of modern life, from bustling cities to tumbleweed-strewn desert gas stations. Tippi Hedren was attacked in one in “The Birds,” Clark Kent frequently changed to Superman in one and Bill & Ted used one to time-travel on their excellent adventure. In “The Matrix,” a phone booth was a portal — an exit device from the digital realm.

But to lay eyes upon a phone booth now is to glimpse a relic of a seemingly ancient civilization.

As mobile phone use exploded and the pay phone was increasingly linked to crime, the booth began to disappear. At the same time, workplaces saw the rise of the open floor plan. We all saw (and heard) a proliferation of mobile phones, and with it, the irritating, distracting sound of a one-sided conversation from your cubicle mate.

The comeback of the telephone booth: The “Bosse Telephone Cube” from Dauphin creates privacy for that confidential phone call or conversation

Open-plan, transparent office landscapes are a persistent trend. The disadvantages are a high level of noise and limited space. Employees suffer from difficulties with concentration and a lack of privacy when it comes to discussing personal matters, for example. With its successful “human space Cube”, Bosse Design offers attractive, practical room-within-a-room solutions for focused working in an open-plan office in order to deal with this problem. Self-contained, the Cube provides a space for peace and quiet, concentration, communication and recreation and helps to create a pleasant working atmosphere in open-plan office landscapes.

As a further development to the Cube, in 2016 Dauphin is unveiling the perfect place of retreat to make a confidential phone call in an open-plan office: the “Bosse Telephone Cube”. With a base area of 1.14 m x 1.14 m (slightly larger than the conventional version found on streets), the telephone booth, which has gone out of fashion, is now experiencing a comeback in the open-plan office.

Regardless of the particular building, this practical telephone cube can be installed as a room-within-a-room solution in open-plan office landscapes. It can be positioned in a different location quickly and easily if necessary, and it can therefore be used very flexibly. A specifically developed ventilation system guarantees a sufficient supply of fresh air. The use of double glazing and acoustic components guarantees optimum sound absorption and insulation figures: Employees can make phone calls in peace without disturbing their colleagues when they do so. Visual highlights can be created thanks to the acoustic panel which can be individually printed on the inside and the outside. There are therefore no limits on the freedom of design.

The “Bosse Telephone Cube” is simply connected to the existing main power. The integrated technical panel ensures that all of the required communications ports such as USB or LAN are available and that mobile phone and tablet batteries are always sufficiently charged. The aspect of sustainability has not been forgotten either: All technical functions such as LED lighting (Nimbus/A++) and ventilation are controlled via a presence detector and respond automatically as soon as the cube starts to be used. This ensures a very low level of energy consumption. Be on the lookout for the telephone booth  making a successful comeback.