Workspheres: Design and Contemporary Work Styles - Hardcover

Antonelli, Paola (editor)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810962179 ISBN 13: 9780810962170

Publisher: Museum of Modern Art, 2001

Synopsis

In the past, work has shaped the way we live. In the near future, the way we live may shape the way we work. Workspheres creatively confronts the design demands of the ever-evolving contemporary work environment. Featuring design products, prototypes, and models, as well as previewing a groundbreaking exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, this exciting book introduces work concepts originated by internationally recognized designers who address the unique needs of specific work scenarios, including the nomadic office of a business traveler; the domestic office; the virtual office; and more traditional offices in settings configured for group interaction.

Essays and commentaries by an international group of design experts explore such themes as individuality within a corporation; the impact of digital technology on the organization of time and schedule; and the economic significance of flexible work configurations. Copiously illustrated, this sourcebook will be of wide popular interest.

About this title

About the Author

Paola Antonelli is curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Reviews

Based on an exhibition of the same name currently on view at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, this book examines the role of design in the imagined workplace of the future and features work by an international selection of design teams. Five brief essays precede more than 100 pages of enticements for acquisitive workers, from Prada sport jackets to collapsible keyboards. The editor occasionally indulges in frivolity, as with Laurence Sarrazin's puzzlingly impractical banana-shaped zip-up tool cases. The essays focus on the effects of electronic technology and the promise of telecommuting, but also included here are Larry Keely's able review of workplace predictions since the 17th century and Christopher Budd's look at the office from 1950 to the present, an excellent exploration of how the ethos of a particular workplace is expressed in its design. The volume's chief asset is its numerous color illustrations, which serve as a catalog of the best of contemporary office furnishings and products. Though Workspheres lacks the freshness and spirited idealism of the museum's earlier and more compelling Italy: The New Domestic Landscape (1972 o.p.), it is still recommended for all design collections. Paul Glassman, New York Sch. of Interior Design
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Museum of Modern Art
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810962179
• ISBN 13: 9780810962170
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 223