office area

People sometimes say how they feel relieved being out of the corporate world. The term corporate world implies that corporations create a certain world. To an extent, that world perception depends upon where you spend your days. People in the financial district here seem pretty laid back and relaxed when they walk about the town on their lunch breaks. They wear access badges. The company organization chart moves down the street in various modes of dress; from fine suits to business casual to IT commando jeans and vendor-provided golf shirt. The office provides an important atmosphere separate from home, to take care of the business. Working from home may sound cool, but many find that the work deserves its own place. Then there’s the social aspect of work; lunch, the break room, the coffee pot, the drinks after hours on the way home, the birthday celebration. All of this space consideration surrounds me when I see unleased office space. Business writers today discuss the search for the bottom. Is it over yet? Can we proceed up now? When I hear people say they’re happy to be out of the corporate world, I wonder if they have just a bit of sadness from missing that office atmosphere. It can’t be all that bad.

detail from the Salk Institute, Architect: Louis Kahn
photogragh by Ken McCrown