Introduction
In "Cubed," author Nikil Saval takes readers on a fascinating journey through the evolution of the modern office. This book explores how our workplaces have transformed from cramped, dimly lit rooms to sprawling skyscrapers and, eventually, to the cubicle-filled spaces we know today. Saval's work offers a unique perspective on how societal changes, technological advancements, and shifting management philosophies have shaped the physical spaces where millions of people spend their working lives.
The Rise of the Clerk and the Birth of the Office
The story of the modern office begins with the Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th century. As businesses grew and became more complex, a new class of workers emerged: the clerks. These administrative professionals were responsible for managing the increasing amount of paperwork generated by expanding enterprises.
Initially, clerks worked in small, crowded spaces called counting houses. These early offices were far from the spacious, well-lit environments we're familiar with today. In fact, they were often dark, cramped rooms where multiple people worked in close quarters. For example, in New York, it wasn't uncommon to find ten people, including six clerks, working in a space no larger than 25 square feet – about the size of a modern bathroom!
As the number of clerks grew, so did the need for dedicated office spaces. By 1855, clerks had become the third-largest group of workers in New York City. This growth led to a significant change in the workplace landscape: the separation of manual and non-manual workers.
Businesses began to physically separate their administrative staff from their factory workers. This separation took two forms:
- Office workers were often housed in separate buildings, typically located in downtown areas.
- When both types of workers were under the same roof, they were given separate entrances and workspaces.
Another interesting aspect of this early office era was the close relationship between clerks and their bosses. Working in such close proximity often led to strong bonds, with clerks becoming trusted confidants and "right-hand men" to their employers.
The Office Expands: Efficiency and the Science of Work
As we move into the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the office landscape underwent dramatic changes. Technological advancements like the railroad, telephone, and telegraph allowed businesses to expand their reach and operations. This growth created a demand for more workers and, consequently, larger office spaces.
Imagine a clerk from 1860 suddenly transported to 1920. The changes would be staggering. Gone were the intimate, quiet offices of the past. In their place, vast rooms filled with hundreds of workers typing away on typewriters, while men with stopwatches timed their every move.
This transformation was driven by several factors:
Technological advancements: The world became "smaller" as communication and transportation improved, allowing businesses to operate on a much larger scale.
Increased demand for workers: As businesses grew, they needed more employees to handle various tasks, from typing to running errands.
Rapid expansion of office space: To accommodate the growing workforce, businesses quickly expanded their office spaces, often without much thought to efficient design.
The rapid growth of offices led to confusion and inefficiency. It was unclear who was responsible for what tasks, and when they should be completed. This chaos gave rise to a new field of study: scientific management.
Enter Frederick Taylor, an American engineer who developed a system that would come to be known as Taylorism. This approach to work organization focused on breaking tasks down into smaller, specialized components. Each worker was assigned specific tasks and expected to complete them as quickly as possible.
Taylorism became synonymous with efficiency and mass production, not just in factories but in offices as well. It led to the development of new management ideas and the growth of administrative branches within businesses.
The Rise of the Skyscraper: Stacking Offices and Offering Amenities
As businesses continued to grow and administrative branches expanded, a new architectural solution emerged: the skyscraper. These tall buildings allowed companies to stack multiple offices on top of one another, maximizing the use of limited urban space.
The skyscraper became a symbol of aspiration and success, particularly in cities like Chicago and New York. Between 1871 and 1923, New York alone saw the construction of approximately 74 million square feet of office space.
While the exteriors of these buildings were often grand and impressive, the offices inside were typically quite mundane. To compensate for this and to make office workers feel special and distinct from factory workers, many skyscrapers offered a wide range of amenities. These could include:
- Libraries
- Dentists
- Barbershops
- Restaurants
- Gyms
The inclusion of these amenities served a dual purpose. First, it made office workers feel valued and part of a privileged class. Second, it helped to create a sense of community and loyalty to the company.
The need to distinguish office workers from factory workers became particularly important as labor movements gained traction and began to criticize big businesses and capitalism in general. In Chicago, for example, the acquisition of office space by businesses drove up rents, making life more difficult for working-class people.
Tensions between labor and capital came to a head in 1886 when a bomb exploded in a Chicago skyscraper, an event connected to a labor union gathering. This incident led business leaders to view the working class as an obstacle to their goals of expanding offices and enterprises.
By offering amenities and creating a distinct work environment, businesses hoped to foster a sense of loyalty and class consciousness among office workers, separating them from the increasingly militant factory workers.
The Post-War Office: The Birth of the Organic Office Landscape
World War II brought destruction to many European cities, but it also created an opportunity for new ideas about office design to emerge. In post-war Germany, where many cities had been reduced to rubble, architects and designers had a clean slate to work with.
One of the most innovative concepts to come out of this period was the Bürolandschaft, or "office landscape." This human-centered approach to office design was developed by German brothers Wolfgang and Eberhard Schnelle, who founded a space-planning firm called Quickborner.
The Bürolandschaft concept was a radical departure from the rigid, hierarchical layouts inspired by Taylorism. Instead, it focused on creating organic, flexible spaces that facilitated human interaction and workflow. The Schnelle brothers believed that office design should take into account factors such as:
- Communication patterns
- Paper flow
- Varying needs for privacy and interaction
To create these organic office landscapes, the Schnelles would carefully study how people worked and interacted within an office. They would then use this information to design spaces that supported natural work patterns and collaboration.
This innovative approach quickly gained popularity in Europe. Major firms were eager to implement the Bürolandschaft concept in their offices, seeing it as a way to improve productivity and employee satisfaction.
The idea soon spread beyond Germany. Architectural publications began reporting on this new German office design, and soon, organic office layouts were appearing in Sweden, England, and even the United States.
American companies, in particular, were eager to move away from the drab, uninspiring offices of the past. They saw the Bürolandschaft concept as a way to create more open, flexible workspaces that could adapt to changing business needs.
The Evolution of the Open Office: From Landscape to Cubicle
While the organic office landscape concept was innovative and well-intentioned, it wasn't without its problems. The most significant issue was noise. In a large, open office with dozens or even hundreds of workers typing, walking, and talking, the noise levels could become unbearable.
To address this problem, designers in the 1960s began experimenting with sound screens. These partitions were placed between desks to help reduce noise and provide a sense of privacy. However, the implementation of these screens was often inconsistent and hierarchical:
- Executives almost always had sound screens
- Supervisors sometimes had them
- Lower-level employees, such as secretaries, usually didn't have any screens at all
Unfortunately, the sound screens weren't particularly effective. While they might block some noise, high-pitched sounds and ringing phones could still be clearly heard throughout the office. As a result, the screens often ended up serving more as status symbols than practical noise-reduction tools.
During this period of experimentation, other attempts were made to improve office design. One notable example came from the Herman Miller Furniture Company, which hired art professor Robert Propst to help expand its office manufacturing business.
Propst believed that office work was primarily mental work, and that the physical environment played a crucial role in supporting this type of labor. He developed a concept called the Action Office, which was based on the idea that an office should promote health and movement.
Key features of the Action Office included:
- Workstations that allowed for both standing and sitting
- Movable display surfaces for organizing information
- Modular walls that could be shifted to provide privacy when needed
Propst's Action Office was an innovative attempt to create a more dynamic and healthy work environment. However, like many other progressive office design concepts, it faced a significant obstacle: cost.
Companies were interested in improving their office spaces, but they were even more interested in keeping expenses down. The carefully designed, flexible workspaces proposed by innovators like Propst were often too expensive for widespread adoption.
This tension between innovative design and cost-effectiveness ultimately led to the birth of the cubicle. The cubicle was essentially a stripped-down, more affordable version of the Action Office concept. It provided a degree of privacy and personal space without the high costs associated with more elaborate designs.
While the cubicle was far from the dynamic, health-promoting environment envisioned by Propst, it offered a cheap solution to the challenges of open-office noise and the need for some level of privacy. As a result, the cubicle quickly became the dominant feature in many American offices.
The Modern Office: A Product of History
As we look at the modern office, with its rows of cubicles or open-plan layouts, it's important to remember that this environment is the result of a long and complex history. The office as we know it today is the product of numerous factors, including:
Technological advancements: From the typewriter to the computer, technology has continually shaped how we work and the spaces we work in.
Economic pressures: The need for cost-effective solutions has often trumped more innovative or employee-friendly designs.
Management philosophies: Ideas about how to organize work and workers have had a profound impact on office layouts, from Taylorism to the Bürolandschaft concept.
Social changes: The separation of office workers from manual laborers, and the desire to create a distinct "white-collar" identity, have influenced office design and amenities.
Architectural innovations: The development of skyscrapers allowed for the vertical expansion of office space, fundamentally changing urban landscapes.
Health and wellness concerns: While not always successfully implemented, ideas about promoting employee health and well-being have played a role in office design throughout history.
Final Thoughts
Nikil Saval's "Cubed" offers a fascinating look at the evolution of the workplace, reminding us that the offices we inhabit today are the result of centuries of change and experimentation. From the cramped counting houses of the 19th century to the sprawling open-plan offices of the 21st, our work environments have been shaped by a complex interplay of economic, technological, and social forces.
As we continue to grapple with questions about the future of work, particularly in light of recent shifts towards remote and hybrid models, it's valuable to understand the historical context of our workplaces. The story of the office is, in many ways, the story of how we've organized our society and economy over the past two centuries.
By understanding this history, we can better appreciate the challenges and opportunities we face in designing the workplaces of the future. Whether we end up returning to cubicles, embracing fully remote work, or developing entirely new models, the lessons of the past will undoubtedly inform the offices of tomorrow.