From Wooton to Workstation: Mechanisms of the Visible in Office Spaces

Abstract

The historical development of the North American office, and the disciplinary power relations that obtain within it, is marked by the clinical gaze of systematic management. The technological artefacts and organizational practices associated with these workspaces deploy spatial and power relations via mechanisms of power which centre upon rendering workflows visible. The office desk provides an exemplar for this situation inasmuch as it acts as the interface between worker, work, and organization.