CONTEMPORARY OFFICES – ROLES, FORM AND WORKING SPACE
MACIEJ ZŁOWODZKI
Office work has accompanied the growth of European civilization since time immemorial. Nowadays, the term itself seems obsolete because the activity is best described as information creation, processing, distribution and commercialization. These are the predominant activities in highly developed countries, and some 25–40 percent of the workforce is involved in them. Economic and organizational transformation, as well as changes in equipment, necessitate the search for new spatial solutions. The increased significance of teamwork, temporary work, mobile work and the growing number of conferences, training courses and other forms of collaboration favour open and semi-open office space. Spatial standards have also improved following staff demands for better working conditions.
Poland still lags behind the leading countries regarding both the quantity and quality of office space. Particularly striking regarding planning is the fact that no lessons seem to have been learnt from the experiences of the more advanced countries and there is little awareness of the voracity and economic power of offices, which displace and reduce other functions, mainly housing, in the centres of large cities. This is especially apparent in Warsaw, which accounts for more than half of office space. regarding design, low spatial standards are noticeable. Unfortunately, research in the field of planning and office space design is generally undervalued.
MACIEJ ZŁOWODZKI
Office work has accompanied the growth of European civilization since time immemorial. Nowadays, the term itself seems obsolete because the activity is best described as information creation, processing, distribution and commercialization. These are the predominant activities in highly developed countries, and some 25–40 percent of the workforce is involved in them. Economic and organizational transformation, as well as changes in equipment, necessitate the search for new spatial solutions. The increased significance of teamwork, temporary work, mobile work and the growing number of conferences, training courses and other forms of collaboration favour open and semi-open office space. Spatial standards have also improved following staff demands for better working conditions.
Poland still lags behind the leading countries regarding both the quantity and quality of office space. Particularly striking regarding planning is the fact that no lessons seem to have been learnt from the experiences of the more advanced countries and there is little awareness of the voracity and economic power of offices, which displace and reduce other functions, mainly housing, in the centres of large cities. This is especially apparent in Warsaw, which accounts for more than half of office space. regarding design, low spatial standards are noticeable. Unfortunately, research in the field of planning and office space design is generally undervalued.