The Theatre of Work

Architect and writer Clive Wilkinson examines global developments in the workplace and proposes innovative principles for a design process that will bring the concept of ‘work as theatre’ to fruition.

The modern workplace has evolved to provide better technology and more amenities for employees, but what advances have been made in building truly creative communities that spark creativity and collaboration? Is the 21st century office performing at its peak?The Theatre of Work proposes an evolution of the relationship between office users and the spaces they occupy. As work processes and community relationships evolve, new collaborative synergies within the workplace are created. The interplay between space and people offers a new kind of theatre where parallels with the archetypal theatre of the street and the marketplace occur. This emerging new workspace should amplify and celebrate the activity of work and of human community, and in the process, become vital and compelling theatre.In defining this new office landscape, architect and writer Clive Wilkinson examines global developments in workplace thinking, historical antecedents, the performance touch-points for the new office, and proposes seven humanistic principles that will inform a holistic design process that can bring this concept of theatre to fruition. Each of these principles is demonstrated through case studies of the work of his renowned design studio, Clive Wilkinson Architects (CWa), with rich iconography, diagrammatic strategy and contextual ingenuity. The outcome of this process, with its multiple performative layers, effectively promotes elevating a corporate brief of basic needs and goals to a profoundly human-centered presentation of ‘work as theatre’.Features• Clive Wilkinson Architects is a multidisciplinary, internationally-operating architecture firm creating workspaces for some of the world’s largest technology companies and agencies such as Google, Microsoft, TBWA, Publicis and many more.• Readers gain insight directly from Clive Wilkinson as he undertakes an inspiring investigation into workplace design.• Wilkinson examines global developments in workplace thinking, historical antecedents, the performance touch-points for the new office and proposes seven humanistic principles for the 21st century office design.• Those principles are supported by 14 case studies that are illustrated with a large selection of beautiful project photography, process photos, conceptual drawings and technical plans which provide a wide-angle picture of his firm and a deep-dive perspective of its efforts to bring the ‘work as theatre’ concept to fruition.About the AuthorClive Wilkinson is an architect, designer, writer and strategist with expertise in the application of urban design thinking to interior design, specifically in workplace and educational communities. His practice, Clive Wilkinson Architects, was established in Los Angeles in 1991 and is an acknowledged global leader in workplace design.

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