Robert Propst’s original designs were meant to free the working class from the dense, zero privacy workspaces of the 50’s and 60’s (ever seen the newsrooms in movies such as superman where 100 desks are 2 feet away from each other in a giant room?). His original designs offered free flowing spaces, ergonomic designs and comfortable seating long before the ergo revolution of the 90’s began. Have a look at some of the original designs and you’ll see bright open workspaces. In fact the companies that really bastardized the Action Office system were all of the copy-cat producers who made it with only gray or tan fabrics and did not offer all of the worker friendly additions that Herman Miller had designed. These companies and not Herman Miller or my grandfather began the process of shipping out three walls and desk. They didn’t care about the original design, all they cared about was money. Large corporations fed off of this and created the “cubicle”, not Robert Propst. Robert Propst created the Action Office system with easily interlocking and movable walls, comfort with form and function for workers who had none. And take it from me (someone who has worked in offices with and without cubicles) I much prefer the privacy of a cubicle when I remember working in a office without them and watching a co-worker slobber away while downing their fast food lunch.