Skip to main content



Dual Desk | Workplace

application

In workplace design, Dual Desk developed using two contrasting materials juxtaposed or conjoined. Dual Desk that physically and symbolically separated public from private space.

research

Dual Desk satisfies the "desire for good appearance" by creating a focal point in a corporate lobby space, greeting visitors and staff with a "monumental form in space".1 The two unique material elements are combined in a manner that expresses the individuality of each while creating a functional unit that "works for both the seated receptionist and the standing visitor".2  The two materials are  distinct, typically with one industrial and the other hand-crafted, such as wood paired with metal or painted gypsum contrasted with stone.

Effect
Dual Desk in the workplace is often executed as a substantial sculptural form that communicates the desired image of a corporation. Architecturally, the lobby is often "dictated by circumstances" and is left out of the hands of a designer. In these cases Dual Desk acts as an installation or an intervention in the lobby setting in which the designer regains full control.3 Dual Desk communicates to the visitor that she or he has "reached his destination without making verbal inquiries".4

Physically and symbolically Dual Desk creates a boundary, serving as "an intermediary between two environments", separating the lobby as a public front-space where anyone may enter, from the private back-space, the office, a secure environment which one must gain permission to enter.5 Metaphorically the inherent nature of two dissimilar materials reinforces the two contrasting functions and spaces created by Dual Desk.

Arrival at an office for a first visit produces a series of first impressions with the receptionist's desk among the first points of focus. The reception desk is an opportunity for the company to project its desired image while serving a functional requirement.6  

Chronological Sequence

There are few examples of Dual Desk prior to 1970. Some kind of desk existed, but in architectural and interior design trade magazines, Dual Desk rarely appears in photographs. The first mention occurred about 1970 with descriptions about a "standing height/sitting height" desk.

Prior to 1970, reception desks were simple in construction, often an orthogonal unit made of a single type of wood with little embellishment or detail. In many instances, the reception unit was not built-in, but simply a free-standing desk at which the secretary would work and greet visitors. The most common materials found within workplace environments were wood, some metal, and walls finished with paint or plaster.

Dual Desk was introduced into the workplace in the 1970 decade as strictly rectangular forms, but there was exploration of designers in terms of new materials and construction methods. In the Texasgulf offices (1976) in Houston, Texas, an early example of Dual Desk constructed of two materials, wood and a blue laminate.7 The blue laminate created an exterior shell to the desk; the wood construction provided a private work surface for the receptionist. As was common with many examples of Dual Desk in the 1970s, the material used to construct the "private" space was often used on the floor and walls of the space, integrating object and room.

A similar integration of floor-to-desk was used in the offices of Tod Williams & Associates (1979). The same wood used for the hardwood floor created the millwork of the "back," the private half of the Dual Desk. A white, geometric form sat atop the wooden half, creating the "front" of the desk. The contrasting materials, colors and assembly of the desk established a clear distinction between the guest side and the personnel side.

Designers of Dual Desks of the 1980 and 1990 decades experimented with a wide range of materials and shapes. The desks of this era were significantly more sculptural and dramatic in contrasting materials than the previous decades. For example, in the lobby of the offices of Rathe Productions (1989), the Dual Desk contrasted in colors and materials.9 A dark wood was juxtaposed against a faux light-colored stone. The stone half of the desk was anchored on both sides by large battered half-columns that reinforced the image of the reception desk as a "monument" in space.10  

In a Studios Architecture office design for Varet Marcus & Fink (1993), Dual Desk demonstrated another, bolder juxtaposition of contrasting materials.11  A stone back met a brushed metal front; a natural material was placed adjacent to an industrial one. This Dual Desk illustrates the experimentation with geometry that occurred at that time, breaking away from the orthogonal in favor of organic forms for the façade.

In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), held required the accommodation of guests in wheelchairs. Designers either adjusted the height of Dual Desk or made some other modifications. In the example of the Esquire offices (1994) in Manhattan, the traditional "front and back" design of Dual Desk remained, with a painted grey standing height element connecting to the seated height wooden desk at which the receptionist worked.12 To accommodate ADA accessibility, the wooden desk extended out to the side, creating a wheelchair height portion of the desk.

Since 2000, another shift occurred in the design of Dual Desk. Natural forms were abandoned almost completely in favor of minimalist, rigid rectilinear forms. Lobby spaces were predominantly designed to be sleek and polished. The design of Dual Desk followed a relatively regular formula in which two rectangular forms of contrasting materials were fused, but not completely integrated, as demonstrated in the law offices of Kirkpatrick & Lockhard(2001).13

The same conceptual design of Dual Desk was observed throughout the remaining decade; exemplars include the offices of Paul Hastings, as well as the headquarters of Zune L.A,14 featured dark wood contrasts with light gypsum. Dual Desk as an archetypical practice in workplace designs continued unabated through 2010.15

end notes

  1. 1) Roger Yee, Corporate Design (New York: Interior Design Books, 1983), 58.
  2. 2) Yee, Corporate Design, 58.
  3. 3) Daab GMBH, Lobby Design (Spain: Loft Publications, 2006), 4.
  4. 4) John Pile, Second Book of Offices (New York: Whitney Publications, 1969), 37.
  5. 5) Pile, Second Book of Offices, 37.
  6. 6) Pile, Second Book of Offices, 37.
  7. 7) Texasgulf [1975] H.M. Keiser Associates; Houston, Texas in Anonymous, "The Houston Offices of Texasgulf," Interior Design 47, no. 6 (Jun. 1976): 124; PhotoCrd: Richard Payne.
  8. 8) Tod Williams & Associates [1979] Alexandra Stoddard, Inc.; New York City in Anonymous, "Cabins in the Sky," Interior Design 50, no. 9 (Sept. 1979): 227; PhotoCrd: Mark Ross.
  9. 9) Rathe Productions [1989] Lee Stout; New York, NY in Monica Geran, "Rathe Productions," Interior Design 60, no. 12 (Sep. 1989): 223; PhotoCrd: Elliot Kaufman.
  10. 10) Yee, Corporate Design, 58.
  11. 11) Varet Marcus & Fink [1993] STUDIOS; Washington D.C. in Edie Cohen, "Studios," Interior Design 65, no. 6 (Jun. 1993): 170; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol.
  12. 12) Esquire [1994] Francois de Menil; New York, NY in Edie Cohen, "Francois de Menil," Interior Design 65, no. 9 (Sep. 1994): 196; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol.
  13. 13) Kirkpatrick & Lockhard, LLP [2001] Lehman-Smith + McLeish; Pittsburgh, PA in Monica Geran, "Facing the Future," Interior Design 72, no. 5 (May 2001): 274; PhotoCrd: Jon Miller, Hedrich-Blessing.
  14. 14) Paul Hastings [2008] Foster and Partners; London, England in Edie Cohen, "London Calling," Interior Design 79, no. 7 (May 2008): 298; PhotoCrd: Eric Laignel; Zune L.A. [2009] mc3; Los Angeles, CA in Edie Cohen, "In Tune with Zune," Interior Design 80, no. 7 (May 2009): 78; PhotoCrd: Benny Chan.
  15. 15) Evidence for the archetypical use and the chronological sequence of Dual Desk in workplace design was developed from the following primary sources: 1970 Texasgulf [1975] H.M. Keiser Associates; Houston, Texas in Anonymous, "The Houston Offices of Texasgulf," Interior Design 47, no. 6 (June 1976): 124; PhotoCrd: Richard Payne; Tod Williams & Associates [1979] Alexandra Stoddard, Inc.; New York City in Anonymous, "Cabins in the Sky," Interior Design 50, no. 9 (Sept. 1979): 227; PhotoCrd: Mark Ross / 1980 Rathe Productions [1989] Lee Stout; New York, NY in Monica Geran, "Rathe Productions," Interior Design 60, no. 12 (Sep. 1989): 223; PhotoCrd: Elliot Kaufman / 1990 Varet Marcus & Fink [1993] STUDIOS; Washington D.C. in Edie Cohen, "Studios," Interior Design 65, no. 6 (Jun. 1993): 170; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol; Esquire [1994] Francois de Menil; New York, NY in Edie Cohen, "Francois de Menil," Interior Design 65, no. 9 (Sep. 1994): 196; PhotoCrd: Paul Warchol / 2000 Kirkpatrick & Lockhard, LLP [2001] Lehman-Smith + McLeish; Pittsburgh, PA in Monica Geran, "Facing the Future," Interior Design 72, no. 5 (May 2001): 274; PhotoCrd: Jon Miller, Hedrich-Blessing; Paul Hastings [2008] Foster and Partners; London, England in Edie Cohen, "London Calling," Interior Design 79, no. 7 (May 2008): 298; PhotoCrd: Eric Laignel; Zune L.A. [2009] mc3; Los Angeles, CA in Edie Cohen, "In Tune with Zune," Interior Design 80, no. 7 (May 2009): 78; PhotoCrd: Benny Chan.

bibliographic citations

1) The Interior Archetypes Research and Teaching Project, Cornell University, www.intypes.cornell.edu (accessed month & date, year).

2) Yin, Shuqing. "Theory Studies: Archetypical Workplace Practices in Contemporary Interior Design." M.A. Thesis, Cornell University, 2011, 134-44.