How Cubicles and the Open-Plan Office Came to Be

Archidex - International Architecture and Interior Design and Building
Open Plan Office

Cubicles and Wall-free offices did not work as well as their utopian creators had hoped.

Remember open-plan offices before we all worked from home? They were often criticised for being noisy and distracting, but now many people miss the social interaction and collaboration they provided.

Architects and designers who wanted to improve the world created open-plan offices and cubicles. They thought that if you wanted to break down the social walls that separate people, you had to break down the real ones too. (Musser, n.d.) 

At the beginning of the 20th century, modernist architects like Frank Lloyd Wright thought walls and rooms were fascist. They thought that the space and flexibility of an open plan would free homeowners and office workers from being stuck in boxes. But companies took up their idea less because they wanted to be democratic and more. After all, they wanted to fit in as many workers as possible. In the first half of the 20th century, a typical open-plan office had long rows of desks where clerks worked in a white-collar assembly line.

Affordable Lighting Banner Ad

Cubicles were a way for interior designers to bring some life back. In the 1950s, a German design group called Quickborner broke up the rows of desks into groups that looked more natural and had walls between them for privacy. This was called the Bürolandschaft, or “office landscape.” In 1964, Herman Miller, an American furniture company, came out with the Action Office system. It had improvements like larger surfaces and different desk heights. In 1968, Herman Miller started selling its system as separate pieces. Unfortunately, this meant that companies could pick and choose the space-saving parts of these designs and leave out the more personal ones.

As companies started to move all of their employees, not just clerks, into open-plan offices, Robert Propst, a designer for Herman Miller, said that what he had started was “monolithic insanity” and that he didn’t like it. Even now, many companies are going back to rows of desks that used to be called “cubicle rows,” but are now called “pods” to make them sound more futuristic. Propst’s comment highlights the negative effects of open-plan offices on employee productivity and well-being. The shift back to cubicles or pods suggests that companies are recognising the importance of providing employees with private workspaces to increase their job satisfaction and efficiency.


ICID 2023: 17 International Conference on Interior Design

August 24 – 25, 2023, in Sydney, Australia

aerial view of sydney
Photo by Patrick McLachlan on Pexels.com

Sources

Musser, G. (n.d.). The Origin of Cubicles and the Open-Plan Office. Scientific American. Retrieved March 11, 2023, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-origin-of-cubicles-an/


Kristal, M., Schafer III, G., Williams, B. (2012). The Great American House: Tradition for the Way We Live Now. United States: Rizzoli. https://amzn.to/3FhcIVv

Ramstedt, F. (2020). The Interior Design Handbook. United Kingdom: Penguin Books Limited. https://amzn.to/3JaONIE

Shaping the American Interior: Structures, Contexts and Practices. (2018). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. https://amzn.to/3T9p9bH

Tanner, T. (2013). Early American Country Interiors. United States: Gibbs Smith, Publisher. https://amzn.to/3FeN5oy

Advertisements

Furniture books – Amazon

* This website may contain affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission when you click on links at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon and Sovrn affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Advertisements

More on Furniture Design

  • No. 22 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia

    No. 22 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia

    No. 22 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia. Many would argue that this is more of a sculpture than a chair. READ MORERead More →


    Read More

  • George Nelson (1907 – 1986) American voice on design

    George Nelson (1907 – 1986) American voice on design

    George Nelson (1907 – 1986) was an American industrial designer. His Storagewall shelf system, which he made in 1945, changed the way offices worked. The Marshmallow sofa from the 1950s is one of his best-known pieces.Read More →


    Read More

  • Gustav Stickley (1858 – 1942) American furniture designer

    Gustav Stickley (1858 – 1942)  American furniture designer

    His German name, Stoeckel, was anglicised to Stickley by his émigré parents. In Pennsylvania, he worked in his uncle’s chair manufacturing with his brothers. Stickley brothers Gustav, Charles, Albert, Leopold, and John George all worked in the furniture industry.Read More →


    Read More

  • Billy Wilder Chaise Lounge by Charles and Ray Eames

    Billy Wilder Chaise Lounge by Charles and Ray Eames

    The Wilder Chaise 1968 Lounge is a masterpiece of design created by Charles and Ray Eames, featuring a nylon-coated cast aluminium frame and base with a leather-covered polyurethane foam upholstered seating section. It is functional and adds elegance to any living space.Read More →


    Read More

  • Richard Schultz (1930 – 2021) American sculptor and furniture designer

    Richard Schultz (1930 – 2021) American sculptor and furniture designer

    In 1951, he became a member of Knoll’s design development group. Initially, he collaborated on the wire Diamond sitting collection with Harry Bertoia. Schultz designed the Petal table in 1960, steel-wire lounge chairs in 1961, and outdoor Leisure Collection seating and tables in 1966 for Knoll. He designed a 1981 collection of outdoor furniture while…


    Read More

  • Russel Wright (1904 – 1976) American Industrial Designer

    Russel Wright (1904 – 1976) American Industrial Designer

    Wright’s design philosophy was based on the idea that the table was the heart of the home. He developed everything from tableware to larger furniture, architecture to landscaping, all of which promote comfortable, informal living.Read More →


    Read More

  • Extension Table a perfect design for small spaces

    Extension Table a perfect design for small spaces

    An extension table is a table whose length can be increased by inserting a leaf or leaves. The Pulman Extension Table is made of durable solid wood and can be used in various settings.Read More →


    Read More

  • Lisa Krohn (b.1963) American Industrial Designer

    Lisa Krohn (b.1963) American Industrial Designer

    Lisa Krohn studied three-dimensional form with Rowena Reed Kostello, New York, between 1985 and 1986. From 1985 to 1985, she studied art history and visual arts at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. From 1988 to 1988, she was a student at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.Read More →


    Read More

  • Mission Furniture – Design Dictionary Term

    Mission Furniture – Design Dictionary Term

    The term mission furniture was first popularized by Joseph P. McHugh of New York, a furniture manufacturer and retailer. The word mission references the Spanish missions throughout colonial California. The style became increasingly popular following the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo.Read More →


    Read More

  • Tracy Fong (b.1975) American Furniture Designer

    Tracy Fong (b.1975) American Furniture Designer

    Tracy Fong is an American furniture designer who created a new version of an old Asian style by mixing traditional rattan with high-end woods, leathers, and geometric shapes. Her work is rooted in a meticulous artisan ethic and was shown at the 1991 New York International Contemporary Furniture Fair.Read More →


    Read More

  • Reuben Cary (1845 – 1933) American furniture designer

    Reuben Cary (1845 – 1933) American furniture designer

    Cary’s father moved to the Adirondacks area of New York State in the year 1845. In 1874, Brandreth asked Cary to make him 24 chairs with slatted backs, plain turned legs, and splint seats in a traditional style. Cary may have made some of the rustic furniture in the cottages at Brandreth Park.Read More →


    Read More

  • John Mascheroni (b.1932), American furniture designer

    John Mascheroni (b.1932), American furniture designer

    John Mascheroni has been designing furniture for his entire career, recognized for his design acuity and modernism. LEARN MORERead More →


    Read More

  • Francis H. Bacon (1856 – 1940) American Furniture Designer

    Francis H. Bacon (1856 – 1940) American Furniture Designer

    He was a designer for furniture maker Herter Brothers, commissioned by the company to furnish the New York William H. Vanderbilt House, 1881-83. LEARN MORERead More →


    Read More

  • Sam Maloof (1916 – 2009) American furniture designer

    Sam Maloof (1916 – 2009) American furniture designer

    The furniture designed by Sam Maloof can be found in every imaginable place in the United States, from boardrooms to bungalows, from the White House to the Smithsonian. READ MORERead More →


    Read More

  • One of America’s Most Historic Hotels – Mission Inn

    One of America’s Most Historic Hotels – Mission Inn

    Frank Miller built the Mission Inn for people passing through California in the 1800s. It’s a Spanish-colonial-style hotel, which has been remodelled many times over time, with plenty of onsite production – such as balconies, light fixtures, and door handles.Read More →


    Read More

  • George Nakashima (1905 – 1990) American woodworker and designer

    George Nakashima (1905 – 1990) American woodworker and designer

    In 1934, he worked in the Indian office of American architect Antonin Raymond. In 1937, in the Tokyo office, he studied Japanese carpentry techniques. In 1941, he set up his first workshop in Seattle. In 1942 in Idaho, Nakashima studied with an old Japanese carpenter until Antonin Raymond arranged his release. Read More →


    Read More

  • Emeco American Designer Furniture

    Emeco American Designer Furniture

    Wilton C. Dinges founded the Electric Machine and Equipment Company (Emeco) in 1944 with $300 in savings and a used lathe for machine work. He started bidding on government manufacturing contracts out of a loft in Baltimore, Maryland, beginning with experimental antennas and jet engine parts. Read More →


    Read More

  • Outdoor Seating & Table System for Moroso M’Afrique by Marc Thorpe

    Outdoor Seating & Table System for Moroso M’Afrique by Marc Thorpe

    Eight years into their collaborative relationship, New York-based designer Marc Thorpe is launching his latest piece for Moroso for their outdoor collection called Moroso M’Afrique. DayTrip comprises various components that are used as low tables and benches that pay homage to the Italian brand’s multi-cultural ethos. The design allows the user to create a composition for…


    Read More

  • Wharton Esherick (1887 – 1970) American Sculptor and Furniture Designer

    Wharton Esherick (1887 – 1970) American Sculptor and Furniture Designer

    As a result, his sculptural furniture and furnishings are his most well-known works. For his leadership in designing non-traditional designs and supporting and inspiring artists/craftspeople by example, Esherick was dubbed the “dean of American artisans” by his peers during his lifetime. Esherick’s impact can still be apparent in contemporary artisans’ work, especially in the Studio…


    Read More

  • Muffy VanderBear Portrait Chair

    Muffy VanderBear Portrait Chair

    Barbara Isenberg of New York inspected store inventories of soft toys in the mid-1970s and found them deficient. Isenberg wanted a teddy bear for her small kid that had the same quality, charm, and cozy textures as the ones she remembered from her youth. Read More →


    Read More

  • Edward Wormley (1907 – 1995) American furniture designer

    Edward Wormley (1907 – 1995) American furniture designer

    He worked as a designer for Dunbar Furniture of Indiana in New York from 1931 to 1941, improving the company’s variety of wood and upholstered furniture to appeal to a wide range of interests.Read More →


    Read More

More design articles

Advertisements

❤️ Receive our newsletter

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.