An Exploration of Office Design: Understanding the character of our workplaces

[摘要] The workplace environment is intrinsicallydynamic, yet architecturally it is treated assomething that is fixed. Functional layoutsspecific to the thinking of the time (zeitgeist)are built into the structure leaving littleopportunity for adaptation. Frank LloydWright's Johnson Wax building is one suchexample; built to function in the Tayloristparadigm with little scope for alteration.The contemporary workplace often lendsitself to the adaptive reuse of a range ofbuilding typologies or the construction ofnew structures with Green Star ratings.At the same time, a significant amount ofoffice buildings, constructed prior to thegreen building movement of the 1990's, arestill in use, despite the typically hermeticand unhealthy spaces they contain. Thepossibility of adapting an office building frompre-1990 building stock is investigated.Previous workplace layouts inhibitedconversation (since interaction in theworkplace was frowned upon), but todayworkplaces are designed with socialinteraction as its core. The largely unusedpotential of this aspect within corporateculture and the influence it might have onspatial organisations is investigated.Interior architecture, as mediator betweenoffice buildings' accommodation and theirdynamic programs, forms the premise ofthe study. The hypothesis that an interiorarchitectural intervention can make a positivetranslation from an unhealthy to a healthybuilding is tested by designing for theinterplay between the character of a spaceand its design elements.The design process is guided by the OpenBuilding methodology of fixed, semi-fixedand loose-fit. The intervention translates thismethodology into a responsive and contextconscious proposal with an emphasison the users and their sense of place.Finally, traditional architectural elementsare reinterpreted in terms of their ability toenable or disable interaction between usersaccording to the theory of social friction.Three types of interaction are considered:official meetings, casual meetings andchance encounters. Human interaction,central to the creation of a workplace asopposed to a work space, is a constanttheme throughout the study.

[发布机构] University of Pretoria