There are good reasons why open-office plans have gained currency, but open offices may not be the plan of choice for all times. Instead, the right plan seems to be building a culture of change. Overly rigid habits and conventions, no matter how well-considered or well-intentioned, threaten innovation. The crucial take-away from analyzing office plans over time is that the answers keep changing. It might seem that there is a straight line of progress, but it’s a myth. Surveying office spaces from the past eighty years, one can see a cycle that repeats. Comparing the offices of the 1940s with contemporary office spaces shows that they have circled back around to essentially the same style, via a period in the 1980s when partitions and cubicles were more the norm. The technologies and colors may differ, but the 1940s and 2000s plans are alike, right down to the pillars running down the middle.
* rigid: 굳은 ** pillar: 기둥