Photograph

Herman Miller New Office Furniture System: Photographs of project model

01/01/1988

Model

Furniture paper models to scale, used as the “Cardboard Model” kit to facilitate users in testing the layout of their personal office space; three views of the model kit, a top openable box with various furniture pieces in it.

Photographer:

Artemis Anninou/C.E.S., Martinez, CA, U.S.A.

Source:

Characteristics:

4"x6", Color

Content of

Project

The Personal Workplace - New System of Office Furniture 1988 to 1990

Zeeland, MI, U.S.A.

Office Furniture, Designed , Two personal offices with furniture prototypes built by C.E.S.

Client:

Herman Miller, Inc. - Rob Harvey, Vice President

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Gary Black

Design and construction process:

Theree design principles guided the development of the project: 1) Layout of the personal work space by their users in order to meet their own personal needs; this process is achievable through the use of a computer program developed at C.E.S. which carries a worker through the design process. 2) Use of flexible manufacturing techniques, which allow individualisation of each piece of furniture, without increasing costs; the purpose of this feature is to eliminate the modularity that is part and parcel of current systems. 3) The basis of design is the real human needs and desires, not on the latest trend.

Project stages:

Generic rules for office layout process Use of full scale mock-ups Fabrication of full size furniture prototypes and office rooms by C.E.S. Design Development drawings done after fabrication

Herman Miller, the second largest manufacturer of office furniture in the United States, commissioned C.E.S. to develop the "personal workplace", a new system of furniture, which aimed at changing the nature of the American workplace completely. The emphasis was on ...

Contents

Photographs

References

Scientific Research

Participation of the Users in the Design Process - Testing and Applying Pattern Languages and Layout Rules

Areas of focus:

Design and Building Process

Guiding idea:

Participation of Users

Christopher Alexander believed that people have a right to determine and shape their environment. The genuine and wholehearted involvement of the users in the shaping of their buildings contributes positively to good architecture. It gives life, identity and personal qualities ...

Reports

Herman Miller Furniture Systems: The Personal Workplace - A System of Office Furniture Designed for Comfort: Vol 3. Layout Process for a Private Office 01/01/1988

Project, Project Report

Authors:

Christopher Alexander, Artemis Anninou, Gary Black, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

27-page document which introduces the layout process to be followed by the user while designing his office and specifying the attributes of the pieces of furniture he/she needs, as indicated in the following Table of Contents 1. Introduction; 2. Available ...