Workspheres: Design and Contemporary Work Styles (Hardcover)

~ Paola Antonelli (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

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, and part of a groundbreaking 2001 exhibition held 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. Featuring projects commissioned especially for Workspheres by such avant-garde brainstormers as LOT/EK, Digital Image Design, and Hella Jongerius, interviews with designers extraordinaire Bruce Mau, Michael Brill, and Francis Duffy, and more pictures of chairs, cubicles, and desks that you've ever imagined, even in your most compulsive catalogue fantasies, Workspheres is the ultimate consideration of contemporary work space.

Edited by Paola Antonelli.
Essays by Larry Keeley, Christopher Budd, John Thackara, Aura Oslapas, Kayoko Ota, Jim-hee Chang, Hui-Chi Chou and Rachaporn Chouchouey.
Foreword by Glenn D.Lowry.
Preface by Terence Riley.
Interviews with Bruce Mau, Michael Brill and Francis Duffy.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 1st Edition. edition (July 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870700138
• ISBN-13: 978-0870700132
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,082,985 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Ideas for Interior Design, March 26, 2001

By	Michael S. Cole (Kansas City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Workspheres: Design and Contemporary Work Styles (Museum of Modern Art Books) (Paperback)

This book is the companion piece to the current show on exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I just got back from seeing it last week and had to buy the book before i forgot everything from the exhibit. The show focuses on the future of work environments, particularly alternative officing solutions. The future of office work stations is growing more to the specific needs of the end user and how productivity can be increased by making the work environment ever more user friendly. the actual designs and concepts are really futuristic with lots of new technology, high-tech materials and psychedelic colors. The new designs aim at mimicking the shape and patterns of the human mind, supposedly making the interaction between end user and work station more compatible and comfortable. This book demonstrates the importance of designing around the personal needs and psyche of the people who spend the majority of there days working in an office.