The New Urban Office Space: A Typology for the Collective
Rahat Varma
Down the Memory Lane: The Origins of Office Space
It is believed that from times dating back to the ancient Roman Empire, there were spaces designed especially for official work. Yet, it was not until the 18th century that buildings, especially for this function, were fashioned. In the initial years when trade routes were expanding and global networks of commerce were being established, for the ease of business, London saw the birth of its first office building in 1726, under the British Empire. The first of this typology, a building where all paperwork would take place, where meetings could be held by the Royal Navy: The Old Admiralty Office, which is still in use. Many offices then followed to dot the world map, and this typology continued to flourish and adapt to suit the users’ needs.
The early 20th century saw the rise of the open floor plan, and the principles of Frank Talyor coloured the office space layout with ‘ Taylorism’. The ideology was to simply increase physical efficiency of space, and worked on enduring that the employers keep a close watch on the employees, so as to ensure higher productivity. This model simply missed out on creating social spaces within the building, as a result of which, it lacked human connect and attachment. Towards the mid of the century, the invention of steel frame structures and evolved elevators, allowed for the office format to expand vertically and made way for corrections in the typology. With the invent of skyscraper came the new hybrid format of the office, with a few corner private offices and largely an open floor plate, with designated small pockets for coffee and tea stations, and pantries. This ‘ fusion- format’ allowed for chance encounters and social spaces where the employers could spend their break times.
Between 1936 to 1939 came the most evolved and path- breaking office building of its times, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Johnson Wax Headquarters in Wisconsin. In an industrial park, this space mimicked the forest, an office space in an open- to- sky format under lofty mushroom columns: the filtering of light, addition of diffused light through the canopy, and the context of time within the sealed office space, all were a game- changer in the true sense of the word ‘ office’. The next prominent building of this typology was the German- influenced Burolandschaft office in the early 1960s, breaking away from the rigid grids. It exhibited a greater democracy by allowing the employees to sit in teams, and the regular internal partitions replaced with indoor greens. In parallel, came in the Action Office too, with more and more women employees joining men at desk jobs. As a response to this demographic change at the workplace, it allowed more privacy to one’s work environment. Individual desks and stations
The early 20th century saw the rise of the open floor plan, and the principles of Frank Talyor coloured the office space layout with ‘ Taylorism’. The ideology was to simply increase physical efficiency of space, and worked on enduring that the employers keep a close watch on the employees, so as to ensure higher productivity.
became larger, more enclosed with boards at threeedges, and this soon took the dystopian route of The Cubical Farm. 1980s, possibly the most depressive time for office space layouts, witnessed numerous buildings with such layouts, promoting long working hours and employees stuck in their cubicles behind their computers with little daylight. Followed by this dark phase and ushered in with the technology wave, the office space saw a much- needed update. The idea of the ‘ collaborative’ changed the workplace ideology to become more holistic and human- centred. The staff became more mobile, and working in agile spaces became the wave of 1990s and 2000s. The new normal was to see people work from cafes, co- working spaces and even home. The office was now blurring personal boundaries of comfort, to keep the employee satisfied. The idea of hotdesking was the trend for most tech- offices in this time period. By the early 2010s, the next major development in the layouts was the usage of digital screens, fluid furniture, breakout zones with games areas and pop colours. The office space, no longer felt formal. As the world continues to change post the COVID- 19 pandemic, we look at some exciting office space of young design collectives: the small- office individual- unit format.
The Modest Luxury Den:
Situated on the fourth floor of the commercial complex of the Metro Mall in Gurgaon Sector 56, this den office has been designed by Studio Materium. The floor hosts ready- to- lease fully- furnished workspaces. With the potential to attract a diverse community, from young start- ups to freelancers, the floor is designed with the colour palette of white, brown and black. Ceiling heights are kept low, and warm white light washes the exposed brick walls bringing out earthy tones of the space.
The furniture is all built in the Indian rosewood, in shades of oak yellow, with light dressing the workspaces to bring out the elegance of the space. The introduction of bright colours is only through the bright artworks that sit atop the walls and break away from the regular character.
The Minimalist Community Set- up:
A modest corner storefront in the local community market of Palam Vyaapar Kendra is this site office for Urban Academe Architects: a rare occurrence in contrast to the contemporary image of most architecture practices. Intended to hold the fort for these young architects and their ongoing projects in this region, this space is designed to invite people in and simply enjoy the process of the workflow. The selection of this store is extremely intelligent: next to the most renowned tea stall of the area, so as to gain a buzz in the local market and gather enquiries. The back wall hosts a series of renditions of their current work, and the central anchor to the workplace is a large white conference table. The entry threshold of the unit is a large glass panelled interface, with the central panels openable, which floods the whole office space with daylight, and clubbed with the tea stall, creating opportunity for engagement with visitors to the market.
A single hanging liner light, creates a uniform flush on the central conference table.
With a fairly simple palette of white, black and grey, the accent shade introduced in this case is a hue of blue. With the central floor level furnished with a white and grey weave that brings a personalized warmth to the space: this workplace truly celebrates the minimalist approach of designing spaces.
It is always exciting to see young firms break the mold and come up with unconventional design iterations to typologies that have been around for years. This alteration shows evolution and possibility to adapt as per the need of the hour. As Charles Eames, poetically puts it across, “recognizing the need is the primary condition for design.” Rahat Varma is an architect and a writer on architecture, urbanism and allied fields. With a keen research interest in urban sociology and local architecture, she lectures and takes studios at the Sushant School of Art and Architecture, Gurugram.