ABSTRACT
Factories process things; offices process information. Information movement requires less attention to the arrangement among workstations. Open-plan with cubicles has become the typical office arrangement. Offices differ from factories in three main ways: the product, the physical environment, and the social environment. There are two kinds of areas to consider in office arrangements: individual areas and group areas. Detailed design guidelines are given for conference/meeting rooms. In offices, esthetics, color, and decor are important. The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association has standards for individual office furniture items, their ergonomic arrangement, and even their color. Office personnel and management expect carpets, color-coordinated furniture, artwork, and plants. Managers also want to emphasize their status by more space/person, windows, different colors and styles of furniture, and location within the building. Higher-ranking people had private offices around the bullpen perimeter. In 1958, a German team advocated a dramatically different concept, the landscape office.
