I can see this detachment from the ordinary human level in contemporary offices: gleaming, spacious, aspiring to be stylish, but at the level of an individual workstation, lacking privacy needed to focus, and space allowed to be accommodated in a personal style (a couple of shelves around the desk, which used to be a norm, are now gone). Construction technology enables seamless transition between parts of different functions, but the emotional distance between "me" and "my workplace" grows.
I think workplaces might be the setting where the gap between attractive aesthetics and human belonging is widest. Herman Hertzberger (who tried to design offices with privacy and dignity) thought it was related to the labour market. When workers are competing for jobs, employers can shape the workplace on their own terms.
I can see this detachment from the ordinary human level in contemporary offices: gleaming, spacious, aspiring to be stylish, but at the level of an individual workstation, lacking privacy needed to focus, and space allowed to be accommodated in a personal style (a couple of shelves around the desk, which used to be a norm, are now gone). Construction technology enables seamless transition between parts of different functions, but the emotional distance between "me" and "my workplace" grows.
I think workplaces might be the setting where the gap between attractive aesthetics and human belonging is widest. Herman Hertzberger (who tried to design offices with privacy and dignity) thought it was related to the labour market. When workers are competing for jobs, employers can shape the workplace on their own terms.