Presentation 8 - History of Interior Design

Evolution of Office Typology L8 | History of Office Design

IR 2613: HISTORY OF INTERIOR DESIGN

Tutor: Amal Shah | Sem 3 | Monsoon 2020 Faculty of Design, CEPT University

Typology of Offices - The first office (1700 and 1800s)

In the 18th century that dedicated office buildings began to be created.

With the British Empire expanding and engaging in an increasing level of trade with other parts of the empire (and world), the first office building was built in 1726 in London and became known as The Old Admiralty Office. It served to handle the paperwork generated by the Royal Navy and included meeting spaces and the Admiralty Board Room.

This was followed in 1729 by the construction of East India House on Leadenhall Street in London, which acted as the HQ for East India Trading Company and its legions of workers.

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Typology of Offices - The first office (1700 and 1800s)

Author Charles Lamb who worked as a clerk at the East India Company has given us an idea of what office life was like there through his diaries – and it bears some remarkable similarities to office life today.

Long hours – “On Friday I was at office from 10 in the morning to 11 at night – last night til 9.”

Employers would grant perks like holidays and bonuses, only to take them away when times got hard. Employees would play practical jokes and pretend to work when actually reading the newspaper – there was a definite sense of camaraderie and friendships were made. However, he also wrote, “You don’t know how wearisome it is to breathe the air of four pent walls without relief day after day.”

He leaves us a lot of evidence of work-related stress, tales of depressed co-workers, drudgery – even suicide. It was time for change.

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Typology of Offices - Taylorism (1904)

The Larkin Administrative Building contained 1,800 workers, processing 5,000 orders per day working in a central open space at the centre of the building.

The American engineer Frederick Taylor is credited as being one of the first people to ever design an office space to improve industrial productiveness. He thronged workers along in open settings while managers looked on the workers from their cabins which looked like factory floor.

Aim: To achieve maximum job fragmentation to minimize skill requirements and job learning time.

To give space for focus work to maximize productivity, efficiency.

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Streamlined OfďŹ ces (1930)

Johnson Wax Building with over 250 sales workers in a single great room, isolated from both outside industrial smoke and noise.

The streamlined ofďŹ ce was developed in tandem with the Modernist buildings. A more modern, rich and warm space for workers was achieved using radiant, streamlined materials to compensate for the lack of interaction with the outside world. The OfďŹ ce was a work of Taylorist design, improved and updated by the invention of new materials.

Aim: To increase interaction with the outside world.

Led to workers spending more of their time, both recreational and working, inside the building as a direct result of its layout and function.

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Open Plan Offices (1950)

The widespread use of advanced air-conditioning and fluorescent lighting in the high-rise buildings had very little need for natural light or ventilation through windows.

With these technological developments, the 1950s saw the corporate office become completely autonomous from the outside world, as well as allowing for wider, more open plan

Aim: To increase productivity by giving the employee freedom of choice.

Optimization of space since the layout no longer revolved around the proximity to openings, windows.

floors where workers could be placed virtually anywhere.

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Bürolandschaft (1950s)

Bürolandschaft translates literally to “office landscape,” and may be seen to be the first major mould-breaking office space reinvention since Taylorism nearly 50 years before. Office Landscape consisted of free and open plans of furniture scattered in large, loosely and unstructurally-divided spaces with different environments. These varied environments were divided less rigidly, with creative use of partitions and plants the natures of them often dictated by the type, and function of workers inhabiting them.

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Action Office (1960)

Action Office I

Action Office II

Bürolandschaft inspired Herman Miller to create a product based on the new European workplace philosophy. Action was the first modular business furniture system, with low dividers and flexible work surfaces. This led to the idea of “cubicles” in the office space. The influx of women in the workplace after WWII also led to changing office dynamics.

Aim: To allow staff a degree of privacy, as well as the option to personalise their work environment without affecting their colleagues’ environments

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Structuralist Office (1970)

Centraal Beheer Insurance Building. It had small platforms which were occupied by 8-10 people, who were encouraged to personalise them.

Some designers began to reject the modernist model, and looked to patterns of human associations and cultural forms.

Architect Herman Hertzberger developed a structuralist design that was influenced by the anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss.

Herzberger designed Centraal Beheer insurance company project, Holland in 1974 which was a kind of ‘workers village

Aim: To make employees, ‘have the feeling of being part of a working community without being lost in the crowd’. The underlying fundamental elements promoted staff wellbeing, communication and collaboration.

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The Cubicle Farm (1980)

The overtly super-economical mindset, combined with the fast-paced nature of the decade, resulted in a rapid increase of middle

management

staff.

These

workers

needed

to

be

accommodated with their own space – but as flexibly, and economically sound as possible.Hence, the sea of cubicles was

It increased the profitability but overlooked the well-being of the workers.

There was no interaction encouraged between workers.

born.

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The Casual Office (1990)

With advances in technology, concepts encouraging mobility in work, hot desking were introduced.

The casual office has actually been a trend since the mid-1980s, pioneered by creative industry firms born out of the advent and rapid coming to prominence of the information age.

From the now monolithic Silicon Valley companies like Apple, Intel, Microsoft and Tesla; through to the Dot Com giants like Yahoo!, Google and eBay; all of these companies have embraced more casual office styles.

Aim: To encourage highly-personalised workspaces suited to long hours spent programming, analysing data, building links or designing graphics.

To make work flexible which can be done in varied work settings.

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The Modern Office (2000s)

The idea of Casual office, flexibility, encouraging sociability became increasingly popular in modern times. This desire for collaborative, yet adaptive workspace has permeated modern offices significantly through the introduction of “third spaces,” or “in-between spaces” work areas with no rigid purpose; but the ability to adapt to multiple styles of working.

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Biophilic Design in Workspace (2000s)

Robert Prost first introduced the concept of office landscape.

Biophilia is now largely integrated for employee wellbeing.

The concept of biophilia highlights an innate connection between humans and nature, which more recently has been recognised as a key consideration when designing and developing workspaces. The idea of incorporating nature into the built environment through biophilic design is less often seen as a luxury in the modern workplace, but rather as a sound economic investment into employees’ health, well-being and performance.

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Co-working Spaces (2010s)

Coworking is a style of work that involves a shared working environment, often an ofďŹ ce, and independent activity. Unlike in a typical ofďŹ ce environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization. It is also the social gathering of a group of people who share values, and are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with people who value working in the same place.

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Activity Based Working

Varied Work environments encouraging flexibility, mobility in work and giving employees the freedom of choice to increase productivity.

The main concept of ABW is to create a space that facilitates exibility to undertake workplace activities in a variety of settings whichever is the best suit for the task at hand. Since this work pattern is all about mobility in work, technological systems play a major role. Different types of work require different tailored needs from the physical environment. The ofďŹ ces under this typology follow unassigned seating which creates cross-communication and builds work relationships across departments.

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Types of Workspaces Workspace for Focus work

Work setting to encourage interaction

Collaborative Spaces

Executive Spaces- Cabins

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Types of Meeting Spaces in OfďŹ ces Formal Meeting spaces: Board Room(Conferencing), Meeting rooms, Seating booths

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Types of Meeting Spaces in OfďŹ ces InFormal Meeting spaces: Brainstorming areas, Collaborative desks, Seating Booths, Lounge, Discussion areas.

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Types of Amenities Socializing spaces- Break-out zones.These spaces are planned away from the work area to avoid acoustic disturbances and give employees a change in place.

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Types of Amenities Work lounges, Work Cafe, Multi Use spaces, Smart Walls. These are usually integrated within a work environment to give varied work settings. Although Work cafe is planned away from work area.

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FFE (Furnishing, Fixtures and Equipments) in OfďŹ ce: Seating Elements

Miscellaneous

Dividing and Unifying Elements

FFE in OfďŹ ce Working Elements

Interaction Elements

Dividing or Unifying

Seating Miscellaneous

Working

Interaction 21

FFE (Furnishing, Fixtures and Equipments) in Office: Seating Elements

Miscellaneous

Dividing and Unifying Elements

1.

2.

3.

4.

FFE in Office Working Elements

Interaction Elements

Why FFE is Important In An Office?

5.

6.

7.

8.

Furniture Helps Make Offices Look Spacious They Help Promote Employee Collaboration They Help Promote Employee Wellness They Help Promote Improved Workplace Interactions They Help Develop Appreciation of Workplace Diversity They Help Improve Employee Productivity They Give Company Brand Credibility in The Market ….

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FFE - Seating Elements:

Casual Seating Waiting Collaborating/Interacting Recreation Break - out spaces Lounging Meeting Working

Casual - Interaction - Break out space - Meeting

Recreation - Break out

Interaction - Meeting Working

Waiting - Lounging 23

FFE - Working Elements:

Seat Table Storage Lighting Personalization Virtual set-ups Electronic Devices Electricity points 24

FFE - Interaction Elements:

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FFE - Dividing and Unifying Elements:

Transparent divisions

Storage unit as a divider and a unifying/common element

Vertical Partitions Cubicles Common spaces Common Storage Space Division Vertical Partitions between the working desks

Space Division units 26

FFE - Miscellaneous Elements:

Lighting Electrical amenities Smart screens/boards Interactive elements Social and Learning spaces Break-out zones Recreation areas Cafeterias and Pantry Biophilia 27

FFE - In Taylorist OfďŹ ces :

Seating

No other seating spaces except Working spaces

Working

Just a Desk and a Chair with storage under the table, no scope for Personalization and common lighting

Interaction

Maximum Interaction with the Open plan layout and no dedicated Interaction elements

Dividing/ Unifying

No Dividing or Unifying element. Individual FFE with common storage spaces at the back

Miscellaneous

Minimum Electronic gadgets, No Recreation/Break out spaces. Common Lighting for whole space 28

FFE - In Open Plan OfďŹ ces :

Seating

Minimum Common / Casual Seating spaces, Minimal language of Seating furniture

Working

From Traditional bulky desks to a minimal desk without storage and mundane to personalized layouts

Interaction

Maximum Interaction with the Open plan layout with some dedicated Interaction elements

Dividing/ Unifying

No Vertical Partitions and Dividing elements. Unifying elements in terms of common storage spaces

Miscellaneous

Minimum Lighting and Electronic devices, No Recreation/Break out spaces. Common Lighting for whole space 29

FFE - In Bürolandschaft Offices :

Seating

Random seating layouts with no fixed arrangements, Minimum casual/Break out seating and space

Working

The seat and chair can be totally personalised in terms of layout and orientation, Vertical dividers for privacy

Interaction

Moderate Interaction elements formed by layout arrangements. Common storage desks act as Interactions

Dividing/ Unifying

Vertical partitions arranged in a random way which forms the layouts as well as divided the spaces

Miscellaneous

The space is an open space with minimum partitions and hence common lighting and electricity amenities 30

FFE - In Action OfďŹ ces : Seating

Working and other seating spaces has a stark division. Casual seating and break-out areas available

Working

Working spaces include much more elements like Table, chair, storage shelves, lockers, etc.

Interaction

Minimum interaction elements with the vertical dividers and layout formation

Dividing/ Unifying

Vertical partitions attached with the working setup and their can be a common table as an unifying element

Miscellaneous Lighting and Electricity amenities individual with the working set-ups

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FFE - In Structuralist OfďŹ ces : Seating

Common and Casual seating provided with a dedicated space for the activities and not just a seating furniture

Working

Individual and collaborative working spaces with higher scope of personalization, each space has its own setup

Interaction

More visual connection than physical interaction.

Collaborative and meeting spaces act as interaction elements

Dividing/ Unifying

The layout of the ofďŹ ce is both dividing and unifying where the individual pods act as dividing and unifying elements Individual Lighting and Electrical points with dedicated space for common areas

Miscellaneous

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FFE - In Cubicle Farm OfďŹ ces : Seating

Minimum common and casual seating elements with dedicated spaces like a Conference room, Pantry and meeting spaces

Working

Almost like a personal cube, the working setup consists of a table, chair and three-side partition for personal and individual space formations with scope of personalization Minimum interaction with colleagues with no overlaps between spaces. Common areas act as interaction elements and no dedicated element designed for Interaction No Vertical Partitions and Dividing elements. Unifying elements in terms of common storage spaces

Interaction Dividing/ Unifying

Miscellaneous Large working space with common lighting but individual electric connection points for each woking cubes

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FFE - In Modern Offices :

Seating

Maximum casual, common and breakout zones with different types and language of seating available with Recreation rooms, waiting areas and Interaction points spread in the office

Working

Open plan layouts with higher scope of interaction and higher scope of personalization with individual working setups. Each has its own space and setups Common seating areas act as Interaction spaces with collaborative seating formations, relaxing furniture and biophilic spots in the offices Moderate amount of Divisions with limited vertical partitions makes an individual space but still leaves scope for interaction.

Common storage units and desks act as Unifying elements Break-out zones, collaborative seating, biophilia, cafeterias are the additional spaces along with working spaces

Interaction Dividing/ Unifying Miscellaneous

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FFE - In Co - Working spaces :

Seating

Maximum casual, common and breakout zones with different types and language of seating available with Recreation rooms, waiting areas and Interaction points spread in the office

Working

No specific and individual working setups which minimizes the scope for personalization Different types of working elements in the offices.

Common seating areas act as Interaction spaces with collaborative seating formations, relaxing furniture and biophilic spots in the offices Minimum vertical partitions and divisions in the working spaces.

The whole setup act as an unifying element with shared and common layouts Break-out zones, collaborative seating, biophilia, cafeterias are the additional spaces along with working spaces

Interaction Dividing/ Unifying Miscellaneous

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History of Anthropometrics in an Office

Alphonse Bertillon, and founder of the Society of Anthropology of Paris, is credited as the father of anthropometrics based on his classification system known as the “anthropometric system” or “judicial anthropometry”.

Anthropometry is the science of obtaining systematic measurements of the human body. It is derived from the Greek word ‘Anthropos’ (meaning human), and ‘matron’ (meaning measure).

In particular, such anthropometric measurements have been used historically as a means to associate racial, cultural, and psychological attributes with physical properties.

Specifically, anthropomorphic measurements involve the size (e.g., height, weight, surface area, and volume), structure (e.g., sitting vs. standing height, shoulder and hip width, arm/leg length, and neck circumference), and composition (e.g., percentage of body fat, water content, and lean body mass) of humans.

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Anthropometrics in an OfďŹ ce

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Anthropometrics in an OfďŹ ce

Standards for space required by an individual while seating.

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Anthropometrics in an OfďŹ ce

*All dimensions as per mm(inch)

Standards for shared spaces, passage areas in the ofďŹ ce.

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Ergonomics in an OfďŹ ce ERGONOMICS is mainly concerned with working out measurements, in order to improve the design of products.

Ergonomics involves the study of people and their relationship with the environment around them. It often involves research into the way people interact with products and the environment.

For example: When designing a chair, one of the most important factors is comfort. This is linked closely to the seating height. Usually the seating height is calculated by measuring the most comfortable height for the person who is going to use the chair. If the chair is to be used by numerous people (such as in a Doctors waiting room), it is important to measure the comfortable seating height of a range of people and then work out the average height. The average seating height is then applied to the chair.

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Ergonomics in an OfďŹ ce

The ergonomic standards considering the postures, dimensions of workstation for ensuring employee wellbeing..

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