We have noted above the persistence of office layout types and of the concept of office furniture. This has caused some observers to suggest that many offices have changed little in appearance. We can however identify two major types of change which shape the modern workplaces.
Firstly, office workplaces, the design of which has been driven by technological and ergonomic criteria, have become smaller and simpler. The processing power of workplace technology has grown exponentially. Visual displays have become lighter, require less power, produce less heat and are less sensitive to the lighting of the local environment. Problems of physical connectivity have simplified. These factors have led to progressive reduction in the size, weight and mobility of workplace hardware. At the same time more data is stored electronically and paper volumes have reduced dramatically. The technology is less bulky and less dangerous and the furniture that supports it requires less surface area and less capacity for carrying and distributing cables. Workplace furniture is becoming domesticated as it is liberated from any specialist demands of the office.
However, the laws of space efficiency remain unaltered. For some organisations the changes above have allowed more staff to be accommodated in the same space. As the highest densities are achieved with open plan layouts which maximise contiguity and rectilinear planning the morphology of layout is often little changed from the factory model. We also need to recognise that for some types of office user the changes have been even more dramatic. When we ask what does the modern workplace look like? - one of the answers is more different from each other. The reason for this is the potential of the other mechanism for change.
Secondly, as work has become less routine and more of these functions are performed electronically, office workers need to be able to perform a wider range of assignments and to be able to work in a less structured environment. They are less tied to particular workplaces and need a working environment that supports a range of work activities - particularly those that support communication and creative teamworking. The balance between workspace and support space is changed with a higher proportion of the latter in the form of meeting and social space (and also shared private space). If workplaces are not only reduced in size but also in number (by sharing regimes in their different manifestations) then the potential to change this balance is very marked. We can see some considerable variety in how workspace and support space are arranged in space (eg clear zones of each as opposed to a patchwork of workspace and support). This has a bearing on office densities.
What levels of density should a modern office seek to achieve?
