A brief history on the modern office

​More than two thirds of people spend their lives working and around 30% are in offices of one sort or another. There is some evidence to support that the first offices originated in ancient Rome where official work was conducted, these spaces similarly existed in some form throughout the ages. 

The 18th century saw the rise of dedicated office buildings being built. The Old Admiralty Office in London was the first office building – Built in 1726, it was primarily used to handle paperwork from the Royal Navy, the space included meeting areas and a Board Room – Which is still in use today!
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​Closely followed in 1729, by the construction of East India House on Leadenhall Street in London. Its purpose was to serve as the headquarters of East India Trading Company and its massive workforce. The processing of the ever-increasing amounts of paperwork saw rise to new office being built in London.

The Old Admiralty Office in London - Photo courtesy of Elna smith

​Open plan spaces
in the early 20th century popularity for open plan offices grew. These highly efficient layouts had endless rows of desks which were circled by management as to monitor productivity. This approach failed to take into consideration human and social aspects and focused entirely on ensuring employers gained maximum productivity from their staff.
New technological developments allowed skyscrapers and other large commercial buildings to be built, the workplace altered to become a spacious space where there was a mix of private offices and open plan workstations, complete with typewriters, and in some cases a dedicated staff kitchen or canteen.

Burolandschaft
The adoption of a more social focussed layout encouraged more human interaction and engagement in the early 1960s.
Of German design, Burolandschaft means “office landscape”. This open plan encouraged collaboration and therefore a different managerial style. Teams sat beside each other and based on this progressive model, staff of different managerial levels began to sit and work together. Burolandschaft is often referenced when as some of the grounding principles of modern office design.

​Action Offices
While Burlolandschaft introduced collaboration it didn’t really take into account the need for privacy or the need for isolation. The Action office included a variety of alternate work settings for staff, increased freedom of movement and a greater degree of privacy when working.
The increase of female workers in an office space in the 1960s led to further updates in the office. This required more privacy and the introduction of modesty panels on desks. Check out our modesty panels and screens here. 

​The cubicle farm
As costs for materials decreased, one solution came about in the 1980s - Modular walls. Which combined with an increased focus on profitability at the expense of working conditions. This was one of the main contributing factors supporting the complete change in office design.
This period is widely noted for being one of the most depressive periods for the office worker.
The theoretical concept should have been the best of both worlds, a space of privacy yet also allowing communication and collaboration. But digression to the focus on efficiency and productivity at the expense of the human element gave rise to the feeling of being trapped within their surroundings.

​​Fast forward to the present...
Technology and design have ushered in a revolution in the modern workspace. The ability to work remotely, combined with businesses understanding that to keep staff, part of their role is provide a working environment that caters to the human element, making an office more comfortable and homely, taking inspiration from the home, using warm colours, intimate lighting, and soft seating (check out our soft seating here). Some workspaces push this further by trying to instill a sense of fun. With additions of gaming machines, leisure spaces, table tennis tables and pinball machines, even a professional barista.

As office design continues to develop, modern businesses continue to place an ever-increasing focus on the comfort and wellbeing of their staff as companies have become aware that the office is an important tool that can be used to attract and retain talented employees in an increasingly competitive market, as we spend most of our day in an office.