The Personal Workplace – New System of Office Furniture

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 genuine working comfort, and allowing each person to design their own workspace for themselves. For this purpose a pattern language for the individual office was developed, in parallel with a layout process for an individual office and for a department. The idea of a computer program which would provide an easy tool for the office users to layout their office spaces for themselves was intensly pursued. The proposed line of furniture included desks, tables, chairs, bookcases, shelves, worksurfaces, filing cabinets, conference tables, sofas, curtains, windows, curtains, lights with ornamental reflectors, pin boards, carpets, walls, ceilings, rolling tables, personal chairs, armchairs, and others, in a variety of sizes and colors.