3 ms·

Here's an example of what I had in mind. I was working at Apple during the time when the Infinite Loop campus was designed. I recall that the Apple execs treat

Here's an example of what I had in mind. I was working at Apple during the time when the Infinite Loop campus was designed. I recall that the Apple execs treated the R&D engineers as equal stakeholders in the design of the working spaces. I had the pleasure of working in IL-3 for six years and it was the best office environment I have ever seen anywhere -- spacious, quiet private offices with numerous comfortable common spaces for conversations and informal meetings. Apparently the interior design of the Apple Park headquarters was handled quite differently. Many employees were saddened when they experienced the working environment there, and some even refused to move in.

microtherion 5y ago
Very interesting! So that would have been the early 1990s? (I remember visiting Apple/IL in 1993). That precedes my tenure at Apple by several years, so I cannot really comment from an employee perspective, but to outsiders, it was a time when Apple as a company was NOT effectively run in terms of strategy. Apple in the Apple Park era was also orders of magnitude larger than in the IL era. But yes, the design was rather top down, and not all design decisions were great. If are among those who could get a semi-private office in Apple Park (1-3 people), it is much nicer than a non-window office in Infinite Loop. The common spaces are also vastly superior. I'm not a fan of the various shared office pods, but I keep seeing claims that there are people who like working that way (Who knows the mysterious ways of millennials?).