IIDA Perspective - Summer 2019 - 46

T
The New Desk Set

Designers at
Perkins+Will
envisioned
the future of
work in their
Miami office by
implementing
projectbased seating
arrangements.

perspective

The average person will spend one-third-or 90,000
hours-of their life at work. And for many, much of that
time is spent sitting behind the same desk in a standard
office chair at a 90-degree angle.
But, as more and more of the workforce becomes
mobile, companies are breaking away from this traditional
environment and shaking up seating arrangements.
"What we're seeing is really a diversity of options," says
Elina Cardet, design director of interiors and associate
principal at Perkins+Will in Miami. "There's a focus on
creating more intimate seating instead of a sea of seating."
For their own 60-person studio in Miami, designers
at Perkins+Will envisioned the future of work by
implementing project-based seating arrangements. Instead
of fixed seating, team members move as needed on a project
basis, bringing their laptop, chair, and two storage units on

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casters, which have cushioned tops so they double as seating.
Adjustable-height desks are separate from the low space
dividers, allowing them to be placed in a row for bench-style
seating or turned to face each other. This layout reduces
the average amount of space per person while allowing for a
greater number and variety of work areas and meeting and
collaboration rooms. There's a virtual reality (VR) lounge,
which allows clients to visualize designs, and a separate living
room-style space outfitted with a Van Duysen sectional
sofa from Viccarbe, two Wegner Shell chairs, a coffee table,
and a custom-designed credenza still providing complete
connectivity and VR capabilities. "It's a really comfortable
place to have client meetings, the low seating is more relaxed,
and this facilitates better conversations," Cardet says.
More and more offices are expected to follow
Perkins+Will's lead. According to CBRE's 2018 Americas
Occupier Survey, 52 percent of corporate executives
anticipate implementing some level of unassigned seating
in the workplace within the next three years. Thirty-eight
percent said they anticipate going to a partially unassigned
seating environment.
This ongoing shift toward people working in
nontraditional work environments should have designers
reevaluating what kind of seating they're selecting, says Joe
S. Agati, IIDA, the director of design for Agati Furniture
in Chicago. "Seating selection primarily started with
aesthetics, and function was a secondary thought," he says.
"Now with the greater focus on innate human behaviors,
function needs to be balanced with aesthetics."
When debating options for new configurations, Agati
says that designers should consider seating arrangements that
encourage innate human behaviors and that are in line with
work patterns. He typically breaks this down into four groups:
1. Lounge: Activities in lounge seating typically
include tasks like checking email on a phone or tablet
and waiting. "For lounging furniture, the seat back
will be more reclined and can be slightly deeper than
other chairs," Agati says.

Photos by: (previous page) Peter Crowther/Getty Images; (left) ©Robin Hill; (right) Anthony Thalier for IIDA

Throughout history, the chair has often stood as a symbol of power, status, and wealth. In ancient Egypt, for
example, most people sat on the floor or on stools, while the elite sat in chairs crafted with backs and armrests.
In medieval Europe, most common people couldn't afford chairs, so they would seek respite on the ground. And
in monarchical societies of the time, kings and queens used (and in some cases, still do) large, ornate chairs on
raised daises, while their subjects often stood below them.
The Industrial Revolution and the rise of mass production, however, gave way to a sitting revolution-turning
chairs from symbols of power and privilege into ubiquitous furnishings integral to all facets of human activity.
From the seat of a chair, we now eat, are entertained, travel, work, learn, wait, connect, and receive treatment.
Sitting has become central to shaping the physical and social constructs of our lives.
But various evolutions in healthcare, technology, and the workplace are yet again upending deep-seated
assumptions on where, why, and when we sit.

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IIDA Perspective - Summer 2019

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