Regardless of whether one is talking about the “open office”, “work culture” or “work spirit”, or whether one is looking at modular, universal or individual office solutions, no revolution is presently in sight in the realm of work and related office systems. Granted, the evolution of the office continues – towards more communication and less routine. If the customer is only bold enough, a variety of product lines are ready to revamp the workplace.
We have already reported on the “Chassis” chair, based on technology from the automotive industry and designed by Stefan Diez for Wilkhahn. Bene continues to develop its signature style, Knoll is making the office more like a home and the home more like a lounge, Sedus is putting floral upholstery on desk trolleys for the occasional chat with a colleague, and countless manufacturers are showing countless chairs and desks that are almost indistinguishable in their adherence to the common standard of postmodern ergonomic futurism. This makes some manufactures stand out even more – namely those who are creating an office culture through the union of concept and design, yet without claiming to have reinvented the wheel.
Vitra, for example, has been working for some time on the development of a concept – named Net’n’Nest – that combines the dual aspects of communication and concentration, networking and privacy. It was impressive to observe the casual confidence with which Vitra has extended the expansive humanity of the collage principle to the realm of the open office (see our interview with Hanns-Peter Cohn, Vitra CEO), while simultaneously offering new, specific office solutions and furniture systems. The main aim is to increase the flexibility of furnishings, thereby expanding opportunities for communication. That sounds more strenuous than it is.
Both the “stand-or-sit” desk system with the evocative name Playns by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec and the executive desk ArchiMeda by Alberto Meda expand the previously horizontal organisation of the work space into vertical space. One can sit or stand, work alone or converse, plan, confer and banter with colleagues. Antonio Citterio prefers to seat the boss, forgoing the up and down of press-button controls; his executive workspace ACE is distinguished by elegance, high-quality materials and flexibility. The desk, in particular, has a prestigious appearance without succumbing to showiness or pretentiousness. Many people would hope for a boss who is as approachable and amiable as this executive office. Another innovation is Arik Levy’s WorKit, a system based on a cube-shaped component which is both simple and convincing.
So here’s the Net, and there’s the Nest. This is seen not only at Vitra, where Werner Aisslinger has even designed a canopy swing for the office. Flexible workbenches are everywhere, juxtaposed with islands for rest and retreat, even if they are not always as consistently designed as the Vitra pieces. Harmonious proportions and details – be it the length or depth of a shared desk – determine whether the balance between communication and privacy in the open office works or not. Something may look chic and classy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is productive. And "nesting" has already produced some strange offshoots: rather than drifting off for a power nap, workers now have the option of climbing up a ladder stand, entering an isolation chamber or leaning back into the sheltering hood of the office chair’s ultra-extended backrest right at their desk. It seems as though everyone is applying Leibniz’ theory of monadology to the office worker, who bears the constant burden of the business world in a state of incessant communication.
A completely different world is encountered at Herman Miller. The newest sitting machine is called “Embody”, and the overwhelming flexibility of this apparatus – one hesitates to call it a chair – raises the question as to why there are still functionalist products like this, which are either developed without any real consideration for design, or which confine design to the role of function’s handmaid. This embodiment of ultimate flexibility and ergonomics in a task chair can only be described as an American office monster, whose ivory-coloured artificial spine could play a starring role in any David Cronenberg movie, and which will surely be equipped in the next edition with a “bioport” for entering information directly into the nervous system. “Embody” definitely moves too emphatically in the direction of XXL, anachronistically recalling American-made, gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs. Solid, functional, but no longer in sync with the times.
However, this year’s booby prize for 100% design-free engineering does not go to a piece of furniture. No, first prize goes to the articulated arm! Occupational health and ergonomics are indisputably important, but does this mean that every workplace must be overtaken by a mass of high-tech tentacles with several monitors attached to each? These herculean arm mounts look as though they could dangle an elephant in a bus. And what do we make of stand-up mobile desks, complete with PC, keyboard and LCD monitor, which at best look like something from the medical supplies sector? Or maybe you’d prefer, for the sake of fresh air, the smoker’s mini-pavilion with a high table?
Indeed, the present proliferation of office accessories is somewhat frightening. What used to arise as the “non-intentional design” of employees is now found in every other product line in the form of vases and colourful partitions, so that those released into the wild can defend their territory, at least symbolically. Hang a filing tray on the partition over here and put floral upholstery on the trolley over there – and we find ourselves back on the topic of communication. Maybe it would be better to simply book the spartan touch-down workstation once a week, so that we can spend the next day back out in the sunshine. There’s only one thing we’ll miss outdoors: the cable channel. That is definitely the most important element of the present-day office – as long as it’s not confused with the eponymous television network.
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Text: Thomas Wagner, Stylepark
