Herman Miller: The Breakthrough

Forty years after its debut, Action Office is readied for new generations with a slew of updates at NeoCon.

Mark McMenamin -- Interior Design, 5/23/2008 12:00:00 AM

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Rigidity and inefficiency. That's what Robert Propst saw in the office environments of 1964. The head of the new research team at Herman Miller already had a solution in mind, a space-saving system of components that could be combined and reconfigured, keeping pace with shifting dynamics and aesthetics. The status quo proved hard to shake, however, and Propst's first designs were stand-alones. But after countless revisions, the Action Office prototypes that headed into production in 1968 had fully evolved into the first open-plan panel system.

Four decades and more than $8 billion in installations later, it's still selling. Of course, as in any long-running product family, subsequent generations brought change. Panels are now prepackaged with wire and cable management. Work surfaces have been modified, storage added. In the end, adaptability keeps the system relevant, just as Propst intended. Proof positive: What's Herman Miller's big news for NeoCon? A slew of Action Office updates.

Take a preview of the latest generation of Action Office by clicking above to start the slide show.