|
|
Article: Designwire.
- Article from:
- Interior Design
- Article date:
- May 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
by Mark McMenamin and Meghan Edwards
When the Desk Met Its Match
Mark McMenamin, Meghan Edwards
In the beginning, there were desks. And offices masquerading as assembly lines. Then, in 1968, with the world already in the throes of social upheaval, a new concept forever revolutionized the workplace: the open-plan panel system. First put into service by corporations such as Intel as a hip hybrid of private and public space, these systems were later lampooned in the funnies and B comedies as an agent of micromanagement. But as the cubicle hits the big 4-0, longevity gets the last laugh.
While acknowledging forerunners, notably Haworth's ...