Trends in Office Design: The Open Office, 1923
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 3.08
Greg at Workalicious notes that back in the day they had "open office, team building, things have come so far, and yet not at all..!"
I think there are other features worth noting as well:
- the worker bees get the windows
- the ceiling is high to let light and air penetrate more deeply
- there is no suspended ceiling to capture dust, no hidden spaces
- there is no carpet to capture dust
- there are clerestory windows to allow second hand light into interior spaces
- they are packed in tight, using fewer resources per person.
Read more in TreeHugger on how old design ideas make sense again:
LEED Renovations: What's Old is New Again
Landmarks Not Landfill: Prism Glass
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Surely hard to heat high-ceilinged offices efficiently.
I've spent a lot of time working on dealing/trading floors and often they aren't that high!
Rgds
Damon
Without walls and cubicle walls, sufferers from ADHD will be driven to distraction. Nobody thinks of us.
No privacy for clients or workers.
High heating and cooling cost for high ceilinegs.
We need walls and ceilings and such to keep the noise under control. My coworkers and I share a semi-open environment and it's no fun when someone decides to have a loud conference in left ear while you try and work. Has anyone ever told you to watch a Powerpoint presentation at your desk? Were you issued headphones or speakers? Should the COO work on the factory floor next to the metal press? Working with your boss over your should is no fun either.
If it was a net zero energy building the space it requires would be really minor concern.
Well, that would certainly make surfing the internet more difficult.
This is the case in Japan currently in many offices. Unfortunately, smoking is still allowed, and a constant haze hangs over the workers heads.
@ I am so wise
I have ADHD, and I find the opposite is true. When I'm working where others can see me, I'm able to focus more and get more done. It's when I'm alone that I get off track for hours at a time. I work at home now, and I get more done with my wife and infant son home than when they go out.
It's hard to believe that TreeHugger would advocate housing office workers in factory floors again. We've come a long way since the Industrial Revolution, and there are good reasons for cubicle walls, including noise control and privacy. Dropped ceilings may collect dust, but they also house fixtures for adequate lighting, heating, and cooling. Praising "packed in tight"? My goodness. Let's make sure that all the managers and supervisors are men, too.