If you look up "office " on Wikipedia, you'll find reference to nine distinct types of office space.
These are, apparently, the open office; the team space; the cubicle; the private office; the shared office; the team room; the study booth; the work lounge; and the rather oddly named "touch down" - a standing space utilising a lectern style computer station, typical of an information point in a modern museum or library.
The common denominator with all of them is this: they're all defined in some way by their possession or lack of partitions.
In the past, segmenting an office involved making a trade-off between acoustic separation; genuine privacy; and the availability of natural light.
However with the advent of modern glazed partitions, which are strong enough to stand as walls and cost effective enough to afford, it's possible to provide true segmentation for the different types of office without losing the light every employee needs for health, safety and a pleasant work environment.
The nine degrees of office space alluded to above are, to an extent, corporate hokum.
The study booth, for example, is physiologically indistinguishable from the private office.
Both are enclosed spaces suitable for one person doing a specific set of concentration-heavy tasks.
There is, though, a germ of design truth in distinguishing the study booth from the private office; or the team room from the shared office.
That truth is to be found in the idea that the purpose of a room dictates its fixtures and fittings.
Which means, of course, that it also dictates the nature of its glazed partitions.
A private office is well suited to glazed partitions, which can be used very effectively to deaden the noise of the outside office.
In so doing the partitioning for the private office creates an environment in which the single worker, normally a manager of some kind, is able to do work requiring a high level of concentration.
It also provides a degree of confidentiality, which is essential for management - where company policy is hashed out and in whose offices disciplinary action may be taken.
A study booth may also be suited to glazed partitions, in that the glass is capable of providing a quiet atmosphere but still letting in the light required for effective and prolonged study.
However, it need not be as large or as comprehensively furnished as the private office - and so the type and size of glazing it requires may be significantly different.
Light is the core benefit of glazed partitions.
All office segmentation, after all, is done for reasons of improving productivity and providing a more congenial environment in which to work.
Glass is the most effective material for deadening sound without losing light - and of course as it can have insulating properties too, it has a beneficial effect on the overall energy use of a building.
In actual terms, glazed partitions are only really installed in two ways - either to completely enclose a space, or to partially segment it.
It's the use to which that segmentation is put that defines the nine office types alluded to above.
These are, apparently, the open office; the team space; the cubicle; the private office; the shared office; the team room; the study booth; the work lounge; and the rather oddly named "touch down" - a standing space utilising a lectern style computer station, typical of an information point in a modern museum or library.
The common denominator with all of them is this: they're all defined in some way by their possession or lack of partitions.
In the past, segmenting an office involved making a trade-off between acoustic separation; genuine privacy; and the availability of natural light.
However with the advent of modern glazed partitions, which are strong enough to stand as walls and cost effective enough to afford, it's possible to provide true segmentation for the different types of office without losing the light every employee needs for health, safety and a pleasant work environment.
The nine degrees of office space alluded to above are, to an extent, corporate hokum.
The study booth, for example, is physiologically indistinguishable from the private office.
Both are enclosed spaces suitable for one person doing a specific set of concentration-heavy tasks.
There is, though, a germ of design truth in distinguishing the study booth from the private office; or the team room from the shared office.
That truth is to be found in the idea that the purpose of a room dictates its fixtures and fittings.
Which means, of course, that it also dictates the nature of its glazed partitions.
A private office is well suited to glazed partitions, which can be used very effectively to deaden the noise of the outside office.
In so doing the partitioning for the private office creates an environment in which the single worker, normally a manager of some kind, is able to do work requiring a high level of concentration.
It also provides a degree of confidentiality, which is essential for management - where company policy is hashed out and in whose offices disciplinary action may be taken.
A study booth may also be suited to glazed partitions, in that the glass is capable of providing a quiet atmosphere but still letting in the light required for effective and prolonged study.
However, it need not be as large or as comprehensively furnished as the private office - and so the type and size of glazing it requires may be significantly different.
Light is the core benefit of glazed partitions.
All office segmentation, after all, is done for reasons of improving productivity and providing a more congenial environment in which to work.
Glass is the most effective material for deadening sound without losing light - and of course as it can have insulating properties too, it has a beneficial effect on the overall energy use of a building.
In actual terms, glazed partitions are only really installed in two ways - either to completely enclose a space, or to partially segment it.
It's the use to which that segmentation is put that defines the nine office types alluded to above.
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