Workplace Design for Health: Part 2

Toward an ergonomic and organic office environment

Part 2: This is the second of a three-part series on the relationship between workplace design and health. A complete understanding of healthy workplace ranges from the physical implication of ergonomics through to cultural Implications of workplace design. These ideas are explored with an emphasis on office space, as this is the dominant work space for most of us. The previous article included an overview of how our physical spaces have a direct effect on all of our activities, including politics and religion.

Monocultures have become the dominant spatial paradigm of our society. This thinking is normally associated with high-efficiency industrialized farming in which vast areas are planted with the same crop to rationalize planting, disease control, and harvesting. In the name of efficiency, crops or activities are carefully zoned in like-areas so that vast regions have the same single crop or usage. This approach to our environment is clearly evident in our office environments.