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Tech Mirages, The Worship of Innovation, The Open Office and Creative Destruction: The End of Value

Niccolo Caldararo*

Claims that an open office plan is the most efficient and can promote the greatest amount of innovation and creativity over all other designs of workspaces has become common place. An examination of the basis of this claim finds little objective or empirical evidence to support it. Most innovations and inventions over the past 2000 years have been reported by single individuals working alone. The modern laboratory is often seen as the evolution of the medieval artist/alchemist’s workshop as is the modern factory. The link here is spurious as the modernity of the workplace replaces the innovator’s presence with the supervisor or overseer. It is tied to the transformation in values that promote mass participation in virtual media but sacrifices real community and stable incomes. The ideology of the tech culture dominates and forms the nature of work and expectations of career and achievement. The way people live, establish living and working spaces is defined by this culture.