Giving employees control over their space helps them work better. The open office has been around for decades. In fact, the cubicle was designed in the 1960s by the American inventor Robert Propst, who was attempting to solve many of the privacy issues that arose from open offices back then. But Propst's design backfired as, by the 1990s, "the flimsy walls of the cubicle began to symbolize not independence and flexibility, as Propst had hoped, but transience, precariousness and the disposability of the American worker," according to Nikal Saval, who wrote a book on the history of the office space.

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Recent studies show that millennials thrive in work environments that take well-being seriously. So Facebook and Frank Gehry give them what they want in the social media company’s Silicon Valley HQ.

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In a world of visual stimulation, it is one of our jobs as design practitioners to sort through the noise and distill the most important message. Patterns are a huge asset in the environmental graphic design (EGD) work we do because they allow us to visually represent many things, from people and beliefs to history and tradition. Patterns are more than polka dots and stripes. They help make sense of all that information through recurring and regular arrangements, and by creating a sense of harmony.

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Companies investing in the strategic evolution of their workplaces are often focused on how it can make life better for their people. They recognize that providing a healthy, efficient and fun workplace will help their employees be productive and also help them recruit and retain talent over time. However, workplaces aren’t just spaces senior leadership help create and then walk away from – strategic, smart workplace design can also enrich the work experience for the CEOs and the C-Suite.

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Advances in technology, shifts in workplace culture and the rising cost of real estate have changed the way law firms design their offices. Technology has also made the need for law libraries, a former staple in law offices, obsolete. Furini said that the extra space has been used as a part of a larger shift for firms to become more client-focused.

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As advanced computing technology becomes ubiquitous, workplaces will focus on encouraging collaboration and the sharing of information, and the hope is technology will take an invisible supporting role in this process.

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There are few work environments as deeply disrupted by the Information Revolution as trading floors. These high-stress workplaces are often portrayed as hallmarks of chaos; the “open outcry” culture in which brokers shout and gesticulate orders across the floor are often the first example of trading floors that come to one’s mind. But, in fact, these floors are planned and articulated this way to achieve particular results, and remains true in environments that support trading beyond electronic processing.

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Workspace design has long accommodated sitting in one place, uncomfortably, for long periods of time. On top of research that suggests how being sedentary for eight hours a day might eventually kill you, being forced to do your job from a single spot while working on a laptop simply doesn’t make sense when the machine is, you know, portable.

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Watch the video of Minted's visually stunning office in San Francisco.

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Office design has evolved significantly from the Dickensian counting houses of the 19th century, informed in no small part by an ever-growing body of workplace research. Yet today’s offices tend to be generally uninspiring places. The soul-sucking atmosphere of the modern cubicle farm is a widely accepted phenomenon and the subject of parody in popular media the likes of "Dilbert" and Office Space. Our supposed savior, the open-plan layout, isn’t doing much better. Roughly 70 percent of today's offices have an open floor plan, and studies of experiences in such spaces reveal higher rates of illness and distraction that often exceed whatever benefits come from working shoulder to shoulder.

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Superior Interiors has designed a new office space for home and room rental company Airbnb located in London, England. When Airbnb came to us and requested that we design them a vibrant, creative and engaging space for their London office we took up the challenge gladly! It became apparent throughout the design process that Airbnb would be a fun client to work with and together we created a space that finished off their office perfectly!

Read about this project on officesnapshots.com

There is nothing worse than coming to work in a dull and boring office, not only does it kill your motivation, but people are known to be more productive if they actually feel comfortable in their surroundings. In this article we have found 20 absolutely amazing office designs for inspiration.

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Adaptability with an aesthetic of permanence were crucial factors when this energy company came back to DIRTT to create a new, larger office space. The firm had leveraged DIRTT’s flexibility, rapid installation and rich design when it initially installed four floors of headquarters office and conference space about three years ago.

Read about this project on freshdirt.net

Garrett Brands, one of Chicago’s most prominent retailers, required a larger floor plate to accommodate the growth of its Garrett Popcorn Brand. Garrett sought a flexible, interactive workspace that incorporates the brand’s traditional values but positions it for the future.  In expanding and re-imagining its corporate headquarters, Harley Ellis Devereaux (HED) worked closely with Garrett’s internal design team throughout the planning and design process to ensure that all corporate and branding needs were met.

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As a CIO, you want to create the most inviting office environment that you can, right? So perhaps you've arranged for fresh fruit, juices and other snacks in the kitchenette, along with stylish collaborative areas and maybe a Foosball table? That's all well and fine. But, in comparison to these 10 incredibly cool workspaces, it would be considered, well, just a start.

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Does it sometimes feel like the office walls are closing in on you?

Are your co-workers all up in your grill, invading your personal space with their loud phone calls and increasingly sharp elbows?

Don't call the psychiatrist just yet — your workspace may be shrinking, literally. Chicago companies that slashed their square footage along with their workforce during the Great Recession have been hiring again for five years. But their office space hasn't grown to match their expanded payrolls, data show.

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Perkins+Will uses flexible works spaces to define an open office environment and subsequently the culture of Gyro in Chicago.

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Crowdfunding firm Indiegogo has 130 employees in its San Francisco headquarters, and each has his or her own desk. Well, all but one. That lone exception isn’t a part-timer or an intern. It’s the CEO. It’s the latest wrinkle in office design intended to maximize creativity and communication inside a company.

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The goal of the newly designed Medibank building in Melbourne, Australia is to be the healthiest workplace in the world. The over 150,000-square-foot building was completed in 2014 by the architecture firm Hassell, which decorated the interior with bright colors, lots of staircases, an exercise court, and lots and lots of plants. 

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