{"id":95803,"date":"2020-10-23T09:30:05","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T06:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office\/"},"modified":"2020-10-23T09:30:05","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T06:30:05","slug":"how-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office\/","title":{"rendered":"#How the Medici, monks, and the British Empire shaped your office"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a50b509263ed\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a50b509263ed\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office\/#Early_origin_in_monasteries\" >Early origin in monasteries<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office\/#Government_merchants_and_commerce\" >Government, merchants, and commerce<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office\/#New_York_and_the_modern_office\" >New York and the modern office<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#How the Medici, monks, and the British Empire shaped your office<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                                The coronavirus pandemic has forced most people to create an office space of their own \u2013 whether by devoting a room in our homes for work, sitting <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a>ly distanced in common areas or just creating a \u201cZoom worthy\u201d corner in a bedroom.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.design.iastate.edu\/interior-design\/faculty\/nicolep\/\">As a scholar<\/a> who researches and designs learning and workspaces, I\u2019m aware how the modern-day workplace was shaped over several centuries. But few people may know that the origins of the office can be found in the monasteries of medieval Europe.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Early_origin_in_monasteries\"><\/span>Early origin in monasteries<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Beginning around the fifth century, monks that lived and worked in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ancient.eu\/Medieval_Monastery\/\">monasteries<\/a> preserved ancient culture by copying and translating religious books, including the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Saint-Jerome\">Bible, which was translated from Hebrew and Greek to Latin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/title\/construction-and-design-manual-offices\/oclc\/969094081&amp;referer=brief_results\">workspaces<\/a> during this time consisted mainly of a table, covered with cloth to protect the books, and a writing room, or \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.getty.edu\/art\/exhibitions\/scriptorium\/\">scriptorium<\/a>\u201d in Latin. It was common for monks to stand before their writing desks in the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>orium \u2013 a practice that has come back into fashion with the advent of the standing desk in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>Only during the Renaissance did the chair-and-table combination start to be seen in workspaces.<\/p>\n<p>In 1560, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uffizi.it\/en\/artworks\/bust-cosimoI-bronze\">Cosimo I de\u2019 Medici<\/a>, who later became the grand duke of Tuscany, wanted a building in which both the administrative and judiciary offices of Florence could be under one roof. So he commissioned the building of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uffizi.it\/en\/the-uffizi\/history\">the Uffizi<\/a>, which in Italian means \u201coffices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lower two floors of the Uffizi were designed as offices for the Florentine magistrates that were in charge of overseeing production and trade, as well as the administrative offices. The top floor was a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westburygardenrooms.com\/blog\/what-is-a-loggia\/\">loggia<\/a> \u2013 an area open on one or more sides.<\/p>\n<p>The Medici family grew an art collection on the top floor of the Uffizi. The loggia underwent various renovations to house statues and paintings, until it grew into a vast art collection and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visituffizi.org\/museum\/history\/\">gallery<\/a>. Today the entire building is an art <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uffizi.it\/en\">museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Government_merchants_and_commerce\"><\/span>Government, merchants, and commerce<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"align-center \">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"515\" class=\" lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/362545\/original\/file-20201008-14-1h1n2wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=321%2C246%2C2917%2C2387&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" data-lazy=\"true\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/362545\/original\/file-20201008-14-1h1n2wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=515&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/362545\/original\/file-20201008-14-1h1n2wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=515&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/362545\/original\/file-20201008-14-1h1n2wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=515&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/362545\/original\/file-20201008-14-1h1n2wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=647&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/362545\/original\/file-20201008-14-1h1n2wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=647&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/362545\/original\/file-20201008-14-1h1n2wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=647&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/growth-quarters\/2020\/10\/23\/how-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office-syndication\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fgrowth-quarters%2F2020%2F10%2F23%2Fhow-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office-syndication%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Board Room of the Admiralty, Jan. 1, 1808. Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson\/Metropolitan Museum\" data-title=\"Share Board Room of the Admiralty, Jan. 1, 1808. Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson\/Metropolitan Museum on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Board Room of the Admiralty, Jan. 1, 1808. Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson\/Metropolitan Museum on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Board Room of the Admiralty, Jan. 1, 1808. Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson\/Metropolitan Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t until the 18th century that buildings with dedicated office spaces were constructed.<\/p>\n<p>The process started in London when the growth of the British empire required office administration. Two buildings were designed to handle paperwork and records related to office administration, the navy and the increased commerce. These included the Admiralty Office, a building for the Royal Navy and a building for the East India Company.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/britainexplorer.com\/listing\/old-admiralty-buildings\/\">The Old Admiralty Office<\/a>, built in 1726, housed government offices and meeting rooms, including the Admiralty Board Room. Today it is known as the Ripley Building, named after the architect who designed it.<\/p>\n<p>Rebuilt in 1729, the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/in.ernet.dli.2015.177522\/page\/n163\/mode\/2up?q=headquarters\">headquarters for the East India Company<\/a> is an early example of a multipurpose building with offices. An expansion of the East India House in London, the reconstruction was designed so the company could conduct public business and manage the trade of spices and other goods from Eastern trade.<\/p>\n<p>The public areas within the building included a spacious hall and courtyard used as a reception for sales and meetings, with large rooms for the directors and offices for the clerks. An <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/2599322\">elite group of established clerks<\/a> at the East India Company administered the growth of company commerce in London and thousands of miles away in East Asia.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"New_York_and_the_modern_office\"><\/span>New York and the modern office<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It was in the United States that the modern offices that most people are familiar with today were developed.<\/p>\n<p>The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/2120893?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents\">number of clerks in North America<\/a> increased tenfold between 1870 and 1930. At first, insurance, banking and finance sectors led the need for skilled clerks with good penmanship. Later, clerks performed specialized, though routine, tasks such as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/daily.jstor.org\/how-typewriters-changed-everything\/\">typewriting<\/a> while sitting next to each other in an open office floor plan. At that point, offices grew larger and began to resemble factories.<\/p>\n<p>Women\u2019s share of clerical employment increased from 2.5% to 52.5% due to the emergence of the typewriter, drastically altering the work environment. Women entered the workforce as typists, which introduced an opportunity for independence and a break away from solely domestic responsibilities.<\/p>\n<p>The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/flwright.org\/researchexplore\/wrightbuildings\/larkincompanyadministrationbuilding\">Larkin Company Administration Building<\/a>, a soap manufacturing facility designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1903, was one of the first modern office buildings to follow the open office floor plan.<\/p>\n<p>The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/comparativemedia.columbia.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/ZCAlexander_Larkin%27s%20Technologies%20of%20Trust.pdf\">soap company<\/a> used this floor plan in New York to ensure efficiency and productivity among employees.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thoughtco.com\/how-skyscrapers-became-possible-1991649\">Skyscrapers<\/a> were designed during this same period, using iron or steel frame structures borrowed from factory buildings. The advances in building <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> and the open office workspaces paved the way for architects and designers in the 1950s and 1960s to develop the offices and office furniture we recognize today.<\/p>\n<p>While we don\u2019t know what the office of the future holds, we can look back at how necessity molded office space. Today the same necessity is helping us carve out workspaces in small nooks and makeshift offices.<!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/nicole-kay-peterson-1157095\">Nicole Kay Peterson<\/a>, Assistant Professor, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/iowa-state-university-1322\">Iowa State University<\/a>\u00a0under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-the-needs-of-monks-and-empire-builders-helped-mold-the-modern-day-office-146390\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-post-pubDate\">\n                                    Published October 23, 2020 \u2014 06:30 UTC<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script data-src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;appId=378011798897423&amp;version=v2.6\" id=\"socialSrcFacebook\" type=\"text\/template\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/growth-quarters\/2020\/10\/23\/how-the-medici-monks-and-the-british-empire-shaped-your-office-syndication\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How the Medici, monks, and the British Empire shaped your office&#8221; The coronavirus pandemic has forced most people to create an office space of their own \u2013 whether by devoting a room in our homes for work, sitting socially distanced in common areas or just creating a \u201cZoom worthy\u201d corner in a bedroom. As a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/growth-quarters?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/renaissance-office-gq.png&signature=b73fa7a984c3403c46cefc7fffe2b701","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}