Office Building: A Brief Historical Overview

Abstract

In exploring office architectural design and its impact on user activity, examples of the history of the workplace from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman palaces and administrative centers until the office of present time will be presented. Office architecture has undergone many interconnected phases and have withstood both discontinuities and inconsistencies. Influences from the past can be found in contemporary office design. Prevailing political and social conditions as well as the development of technology may explain changes in the form and use of space. Human movement has been taken into consideration during most of the office layout design stages, mostly to the extent of minimizing physical activity to the benefit of productivity. Concepts for workplace design are still changing and the office space is becoming a layout set to induce interaction and face-to-face knowledge and information exchange.