Sea of cubicles
Encyclopedia
Cubicle
Тhe cubicle, cubicle desk, office cubicle or cubicle workstation is a partially enclosed workspace, separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall...
s.
History
The exact origin of the term has been lost. However, modern experiments in open office design date to the 1950s when the Quickborner team (Germany) developed office landscapeOffice landscape
Office landscape was an early movement in open plan office space planning.- History :Large open office environments have existed for a long time. However, these frequently consisted of many identical rows of desks or long tables where clerks, typists, or engineers performed repetitive functions...
. It was quickly replaced by systems furniture
Systems furniture
Systems furniture is a generic term for bundles of panels, worksurfaces, shelves, and other items sold by a single manufacturer as a package for furnishing offices...
(a.k.a. cubicle
Cubicle
Тhe cubicle, cubicle desk, office cubicle or cubicle workstation is a partially enclosed workspace, separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually tall...
s). Robert Propst
Robert Propst
Robert Propst was the inventor of the Action Office that evolved into the cubicle office furniture system.Robert Propst was from Colorado and worked for Herman Miller in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was hired in 1958 by Herman Miller Inc...
of the Herman Miller
Herman Miller (office equipment)
Herman Miller, Inc., based in Zeeland, Michigan, is a major American manufacturer of office furniture and equipment, as well as furniture for the home. It is notable as one of the first companies to produce modern furniture and, under the guidance of Design Director George Nelson, is likely the...
company is usually credited (or disparaged) as the inventor of the modern systems furniture cubicle. However, in fairness to Propst, his original concepts were far removed from the sea of cubicles. In fact, early designs using systems furniture often reflected the irregular geometry and organic circulation patterns of office landscape.
In popular culture
The comic strip DilbertDilbert
Dilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...
by Scott Adams
Scott Adams
Scott Raymond Adams is the American creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation....
uses the term to satirize the prevalent cubicle culture of large corporations.