The embodiment of this introductory chapter is a brief comprehension of the emergence of the office concept through ages, and transformation into its contemporary entity. Research in pattern language as a design methodology emphasizes office and office building design with consideration on the physical and socio-psychological factors, such as community connections, work areas on wheels, environmental and spatial metaphors, and playfulness at work. The corporate world is gradually retreating from the uniformity of common areas, like multiple rows of closed offices, and moving towards a more creative workplace configuration that supports flexible, group-oriented, and remote working styles.
The explosion of information technology and the surge of knowledge work have brought in the conceivable blurring of boundaries of the public and the private spaces, and thereby pushing the action into home, transit, and leisure life. Today, an office has been transformed as an organizational space-an entity of corporate symbolism, denoting (i) spatial environment at which humans perform work, (ii) physical environment in and around an organization, and (iii) built environment (architecture, urban locale). Intended for students and professionals from ergonomics, architecture, interior design, as well as construction engineers, health care professionals, and office planners, the book brings a unified overview of the health, safety and environment issues associated with the design of office buildings. Emphasis has been given to the energy performance of buildings, and contemporary perspectives of building sustainability, such as green office building assessment schemes, and national and international building-related standards and codes.
It discusses the profiles of bioclimatic, indoor air quality, ventilation intervention, lighting and acoustic characteristics in office buildings. Strategic guidance of lighting systems and visual performance in workplaces are directed for better application of ergonomics and improvement in office indoor environment. With a focus on office ergonomics, the book brings the discussion on the fundamentals of work design, with emphasis on computer workstation users. Building and office work-related illnesses, namely sick building syndrome and ailments arising from the indoor environment, and the menace of musculoskeletal disorders are the alarming manifestations that critically affect employee satisfaction, morale and work outcomes. Drawing on Euclidian geometry that quantifies space as the distance between two or more points, a body of knowledge on office buildings, the concept of office and office space, and the interrelationships of spatial and behavioural attributes in office design are elucidated. Today, with changes in the world of work and the relentless surge in technology, offices have emerged as the repositories of organizational symbolism, denoted by the spatial design of offices, physical settings and the built environment (architecture, urban locale). This book brings together concepts from the building, environmental, behavioural and health sciences to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of office and workplace design.
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