Archinect - News 2024-11-12T15:07:59-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150428453/the-corner-office-s-long-era-of-dominance-is-over-make-way-for-the-new-workplace-power-symbols-says-the-atlantic The corner office's long era of dominance is over. Make way for the new 'Workplace Power Symbols' says The Atlantic Josh Niland 2024-05-21T17:43:00-04:00 >2024-05-22T13:41:49-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/23/23faafb0dc1de2c35321560a82b1b0c8.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Many modern companies &ldquo;have as many conference rooms as there are executives,&rdquo; [Kay] Sargent said, and it&rsquo;s become a &ldquo;dirty little secret&rdquo; that conference rooms are the new corner offices. [...] When a high-ranking executive parks themselves in a big conference room or spreads their stuff across the long table in the office coffee shop, no one is going to tell them to leave.</p></em><br /><br /><p>The influence that <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/26/google" target="_blank">Google</a> exerted over <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/65945/office-design" target="_blank">office design</a> in the 2000s has been credited with starting the movement toward a post-COVID reality in which the private spaces within offices now occupy only 45% of the total footprint. (H/t <a href="https://www.costar.com/article/1832394626/heres-how-companies-rework-smaller-offices-to-adapt-to-workplace-shifts" target="_blank">CoStar.com</a> from January)</p> <p>Still, <em>The Atlantic</em>&rsquo;s Michael Waters writes: &ldquo;We may one day return to an older layout of explicit hierarchy: [Lenny] Beaudoin, the CBRE designer, told me that he recently worked with a bank that decided to <em>reinstall</em> corner offices for a group of senior leaders, hoping it would bring them back to the office. But even if recent changes prove lasting, with space designed to be up for grabs, there won&rsquo;t be any illusions about who has the power to grab it.&rdquo;</p>