Data Center and NOC Furniture And Work Flow

Shopping for computer workstation furniture brought me to investigate the history of cabinet making.

In the earliest era of cabinet making, designs and construction were solely the domain of specialist craftsmen before the time of mass production. This helped to lend to the emergence of distinct designs and a rise to prominence for cabinet makers such as Thomas Sheraton, Thomas Chippendale, Shaver and Wormley Brothers. With the publication of furniture designs in books by George Hepplewhite, the work of these early masters became popularized by the 19th century.

Steam power would change things, pushing the tools past former limitations. Mass production allowed greater volume of product to be created more quickly thanks to innovations such as the assembly line. Traditional craftsman cabinet shops were gradually replaced by larger factory-like operations in both domestic and international business. Furniture began to be a major market, partially driven by the emerging American middle  class. Before this time furniture was a rarity in America, simply because it could not be afforded by most people. As the new working class had more money to spend, they purchased more furniture for their homes and more stuff to fill them. Mass production eventually led some people to desire a return to the traditional methods of cabinet making, largely motivated by the arts and craft movement of the 19th century. Although it began in the United Kingdom, the arts and craft movement soon spread to the United States. Those in the movement tended to feel that solid, quality furniture could not be produced with the same character and artistry when done by a machine. Following World War II, woodworking was taken up by Americans as a popular hobby, adding a personal touch to the furniture in their homes. These amateurs, with experience, could often be seen producing furniture to rival anything seen in mass production. The output of this do-it-yourself woodworking trend is estimated to be larger than all furniture built up until the 18th century combined.

The Information Age would bring a new market for cabinet making, in the form of computer furniture. Personal computer users wanted furniture that could help them to show off their new devices and keep them organized at the same time.

As corporations and organizations began to implement computers into their operations, they required modified furniture, data center furniture and operations center furniture.

With some modifications to suit the computer, a hutch style cabinet was the most common to address the consumer's' needs. The hutch generally features a top unit that has shelving or cabinets and a lower unit which features drawers or cabinets and a counter top to set things on. The combinations presented by a hutch do well to meet the needs of storing various items and the hutch's counter top is perfect for resting a keyboard and mouse. Before finding a renewed popularity for computers, hutches tended to be used in dining rooms or kitchens as a place to address paperwork and other clerical duties. A variation on the theme was also present in the early 19th century, the hutch table, which would pivot the upper half to form a larger tabletop when not in use. Such innovations were fondly embraced considering that most Americans still were living in cramped living conditions.

The history of the cabinet has endured for centuries but with our devices going wireless and mobile, one has to wonder if it will endure further.

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