Cubicle
[1] Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that they may concentrate with fewer distractions.
Cubicles are composed of modular elements such as walls, work surfaces, overhead bins, drawers, and shelving, which can be configured depending on the user's needs.
Like the older carrel desk, a cubicle seeks to give a degree of privacy to the user while taking up minimal space in a large or medium-sized room.
[3][4] On this, Propst commented "One of the regrettable conditions of present day offices is the tendency to provide a formula kind of sameness for everyone.
[3][4] AO-1 featured desks and workspaces of varying height which allowed the worker a freedom of movement, and to assume the work position best suited for the task.
The result was based on Nelson's CPS (Comprehensive Panel System), and featured "pods" of four cubicles arranged in a swastika pattern, each with an L-shaped desk and overhead storage.
[3][4] Nelson's departure left Propst free to indulge in his concept of an office capable of constant change to suit the changing needs of the employee, without having to purchase new furnishings, and allowing the employee a degree of privacy, and the ability to personalize the work environment without impacting the environment of the workers nearby.
[3][4] Propst's concept was the "back-up", a two- or three-sided vertical division that defined territory and afforded privacy without hindering the ability to view or participate in surrounding activities.
In 1970, he sent a letter to Robert Blaich, Herman Miller's Vice-President for Corporate Design and Communication, in which he described the system's "dehumanizing effect as a working environment.".
[11] In 1994 designer Douglas Ball planned and built several iterations of the Clipper or CS-1, a "capsule" desk that resembled the streamlined front fuselage of a fighter plane.
Meant as a computer workstation, it had louvers and an integrated ventilation system, as well as a host of built-in features typical of the ergonomic desk.
[13] During the 2000s and 2010s, open plan offices arose again as a modern response to cubicles, inspired by tech companies in Silicon Valley.
Demand was so high and materials scarce the use of glass partitions as a protective screen was also widely used - essentially, once again dividing open plans into cubicles.
James argues that cubicles encourage diversity in the workplace, as opposed to open floor plans which he claims favors the socially privileged and creates an uncomfortable environment for others.
[21] Therefore, he claims open floor spaces systemically encourage ageism, racism, sexism, and ableism by focusing on young white men as the norm.
[23] In expensive cities like New York and London, open-floor plans became popular because traditional cubicle or office setups were too costly.
[25] It included both whimsical aspects, a modular approach and attention to usually-neglected ergonomic details like the change in light orientation as the day advances.
In 1991, Douglas Coupland has coined the phrase "veal-fattening pen", a deprecation of cubicles in his novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture.
