Cubicles where original marketed as "Action Offices" there is a book on the history of them called Cubed: A secret history of the workplace.
The creator of them came to regret his creation as they where subverted in a direction he never expected.
I've often wondered what a modern cubicle if designed today would look like, we've done wonders in computer modeling and such since even sound dampening designs would be much easier.
A desk with a single wall in the front, behind where your displays would sit, and a frosted glass pane demarcating rows. "We're not an open design", but you don't exactly have anything remotely resembling a private workspace either.
The creator of them came to regret his creation as they where subverted in a direction he never expected.
I've often wondered what a modern cubicle if designed today would look like, we've done wonders in computer modeling and such since even sound dampening designs would be much easier.