The workplace of the Future
Published July 6, 2007 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Features
What will the offices of the future look like? James Goulding visited task systems’ London showroom to find out
On April 26, task systems hosted a Knowledge Counsel seminar on The Changing Workplace at its London showroom. The keynote speech was given by RIBA President Jack Pringle who famously predicted the impact that flat screen monitors would have on office design in his landmark study 20:20 Vision.
The introduction of small, light flat screen monitors that take up very little desk space and can be lifted off the desk altogether has had a dramatic effect on office design. Gone are the huge 1800 x 1800 corner desks needed to accommodate bulky CRT monitors and in their place are small rectangular desks or long benches that allow employers to squeeze many more people into the same floorspace.
This transformation has occurred in parallel with two other groundbreaking developments - the introduction of wireless computing and cordless communications. Together, these have transformed the rigid, hierarchical offices of yesterday into what Pringle characterised as the “flexible, mobile, communicative and always on offices” of today.
The freedom to move away from one’s desk without losing access to voice and data communications enables office workers to function in a variety of collaborative and informal settings, such as break-out and soft seating areas, cafes and restaurants.
These ancillary areas have become the clichés of contemporary office design to such an extent that during his talk Pringle commented that architects and designers were “getting a little stale and need[ed] something to pep us up”.
Quite what that something is Pringle was unable to say. However, he was fairly certain that it would not be technology-driven. “I wonder if technology has plateaued and if we have now entered a phase of better mousetraps,” he said. “With the exception of videostreaming and videoconferencing, it is hard to see where incremental gains of technology are hitting the workplace.”
He suggested that in the absence of a great technological innovation, office spaces are being moulded by two main trends: i) the apparently contradictory requirements of higher occupancy and more shared informal spaces - hence the title of his talk ‘They Want it All’; and ii) outward-looking corporate cultures, in which brand values are built into corporate offices.
He illustrated his observations by drawing on work Pringle Brandon Architects has done for Allen & Overy, in which the law firm’s culture had affected not just the interior décor, with its references to Allen & Overy’s global influence, but also office layouts.
Pringle said that despite highly successful trials, Allen & Overy chose to buck the trend for open plan and retain cellular accommodation for lawyers. He suggested that this was done for cultural reasons that had taken precedence over other considerations, such as effectiveness and space efficiency.
In particular, it was felt that cellular offices would appeal more to status-conscious graduates and lawyers working 15-18 hours a day who wanted privacy when discussing domestic arrangements.
Other areas of the office were open plan and there were the usual complement of informal, interactive and alternative work settings demonstrating the extent to which organisations today ‘Want It All’.
tasks systems revolutionary bench is tailormade for organisations that want it all
For more info please visit www.tasksystems.co.uk
