kofs@blog Office furniture design is part of the KOFS with the vast majority of our team having worked in the industry for over 20 years.
Accordingly, after having a recent piece on the history of office design, we decided to take a seat down and discuss the history of office furniture design and this article is the result – we hope you enjoy reading it.
It goes without saying that the plant has evolved fleetly over the once few decades with further alleviation taken from the home, as companies strive to make comfortable spaces so staff can be as productive and creative as possible. This has also led to an increased significance being placed on the creation of cooperative and quiet zones, as staff spends lower and lower time at their traditional office. These developments have had a serious impact on the furniture selected and have in our opinion led to a revolution in office furniture design.
More on that later but to start stop
trace the evolution of office furniture design starting with the first modern workplace – we use the term ‘ modern ’ approximately.
In the 18th century, as the notion of dedicated structures where the commercial activity took place took hold, the furniture used is far removed from what we use moment. The earliest offices were represented by rows of tables and chairs with management situated in adjacent private offices which were generally furnished to an advanced level. In the ultimate half of the century, fancy roll-top desks with innovative filing systems became popular, and the must-have for any discerning workplace.
With regard to office furniture design history, we must also reference Henry van de Velde’s dynamic curving Art Nouveau desk launched in 1899 which to this day is still considered an iconic design classic.
Still, as new technology surfaced similar to the typewriter and telephone and office design moved towards a rigid ‘ Taylorist ’ approach concentrated on maximizing effectiveness and affair, office furniture design in turn adapted. The furniture used in a Taylorist-inspired plant were long rows of veritably introductory divisions and chairpersons with staff afforded veritably little space and unfortunately, as little comfort as to be foursquare, workplace good wasn’t a major focus for employers of the time.
It wasn’t until the emergence of the hutment, designed to accommodate multiple companies in one structure, that office furniture design began to advance. As companies moved to these new structures, the fashionability of typists, receptionists, and admin personnel increased and always led to the rise of open-plan working. The office now became a mix of open plan and private offices with many now also including kitchens or canteens.
In relation to office furniture design, this development led to an important- increased demand for more attractive, functional office furniture for both private services and the open plan. Private services generally contained elegant desking results and space for callers to meet, generally accompanied by a view. In the open plan, staff was now swung a more spacious workstation to accommodate a telephone, typewriter, and space for paper lines. Comfort came further of concern and accordingly, the quality of the furnishings used improved with the launch of products like Marcel Breuer’s tubular-steel office developed in the 1930s.
The opening of the Johnson Wax Building in Racine in 1939 also heralded the looks of a new office conception which also led to companies opting for practical furniture that fitted the architecture of the building. still, it had been until the 1940s that contrivers really started to pay attention to the plant and office cabinetwork design. one among the settlers was George Nelson, a developer at Herman Miller, who recognized that there was an enormous implicit to make a marketplace dedicated to office furnishing. In fact, his ‘ home office Desk ’ launched in 1947 is still considered an iconic office furniture design classic, and therefore the first modern workstation.
Post-war, the plant continued to evolve with the arrival of Burolandschaft, a German conception that gestured the appearance of a more socially popular plant, reflected in the layout that encouraged lesser commerce and engagement between staff. The office accordingly came into a much more vibrant active space and cabinetwork was placed at the center of this transition, as brigades were grouped together in zones and faced each other further than ever ahead. Office cabinetwork design kept pace with these changes by introducing bespoke workstations similar to the Executive Office and Steel Frame ranges that eased lesser commerce and could be acclimated to different layouts.
Seating also began to play a lesser part as staff looked for comfortable results with acceptable timber support, and so products like the Rosewood Swivel Chair and of course, the now iconic Eames Lounge Chair( launched in 1957) were introduced. Other manufacturers similar to Knoll and Eero Saarinen introduced new desking and seating results. still, the office and office cabinetwork design was about to embark on its biggest change yet with the development by Robert Prost of the Action Office.
The Action Office conception was developed by Robert Prost and really centered around furnishing staff with space and sequestration to perform a range of tasks. The growth of Action Office led directly to the commencement of modular office furniture, as existing workstations came larger, more advanced, and lower exposed(a commodity we will touch on latterly). Office cabinetwork design at this point concentrated on workers’ physical and cerebral requirements by introducing cabinetwork that allowed for different working positions) – a commodity that continues to be the foundation of ultramodern office cabinetwork design.
Action office grew in popularity and was developed further, becoming mentioned as Action Office II, a modular system of office design that remained popular through to the late 1980s and is credited with the expansion of now despised and regularly scouted cubicle farms. Whilst Action Office II was pronounced a significant commercial success, its impact and heritage have been largely viewed as negative and backward. In fact, Robert Prost himself was said to be horrified at how his conception came to be used and is quoted as.
Lots are passed by crass people who can take the same kind of equipment and create hellholes. they create little bitty cubicles and stuff people in them. Barren, rat-hole places ”
A raft of devoted furniture manufacturers emerged and as competition boosted, colorful products were launched, and while specs and aesthetics may have differed, depressingly most were adapted to suit the accumulative, cubicle farm-style plant. Douglas Ball, a notable figure in furniture design, who worked at leading manufacturer Haworth, surfaced depressed after visiting an installation of his design and is quoted as
“ I visited to see the primary installation of the system, The panels were all seventy elevations altitudinous, so unless you were six- bottom- three you’ll look over the highest. it had been awful – bone
New Technology and Office Furniture Design Technique
As technology advances revolutionized the plant, with Fax machines getting commonplace and PCs replacing typewriters, the office geography needed to alter dramatically. Over time, workplaces came less rigid and as the partitions came down in an attempt to encourage collaboration, office cabinetwork design played a major part in radically changing how the plant not only looked but also how people worked.
Office cabinetwork design concentrated on creating products that weren’t only ergonomically conscious but also eased increased collaboration among staff. Long bench-style workstations with separations came the norm as workers formerly again began to be sat beside and face one another. Workstations and seating emphasized posture and used new features to ensure correct posture in the use of new desktop PC observers.
The fleck-com smash in the ’90s coincided with the appearance of more open, laid-back workplaces with the traditional neutral colors
deserting the plant, and bright, vibrant tones also associated with home interior design, came commonplace.
Themed-1990s also saw the launch of the ground-breaking Aeron chair from Herman Miller, which used featherlight, from molding fabrics for lumbar support. This period witnessed great advances in office furniture design with the introduction of examiner’s arms for PCs, settees, and soft furnishings in the plant( until also only seen in the private office) and importantly, the addition of devoted staff route areas where they could collaborate, relax or simply work from.
Moving into the new century, office furniture design was entering a golden period as advances like Wi-Fi and lightweight laptops allowed for radical changes to be introduced. Wi-Fi for illustration meant that string management solutions were no longer as important as they once had been for furniture designers, while thinner, featherlight technology meant that workers needed less space. Together these advances increased inflexibility and allowed workers to work from anywhere in the plant( and beyond), meaning that office furniture for other areas of the workplace became increasingly important.
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