Editing Cubicle (section)

=== Action Office I ===
{{main|Action Office}}
In 1960, [[Herman Miller (manufacturer)|Herman Miller]] founded the Herman Miller Research Corporation.<ref name="autogenerated2005">{{cite book |last=Habegger |first=Jerryll |title=Sourcebook of Modern Furniture |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=2005 |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-393-73170-5|edition=Third }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1998">{{cite book |last=Pina |first=Leslie |title=Classic Herman Miller |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |year=1998 |location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-7643-0471-2}}</ref>  The corporation's first major project was an evaluation of the "office" as it had evolved during the 20th Century, and in particular, how it functioned in the 1960s.<ref name="autogenerated2005"/><ref name="autogenerated1998"/> 

Propst concluded from his studies that during the 20th century the office environment had changed substantially, particularly in relation to the amount of information being processed.<ref name="autogenerated2005"/><ref name="autogenerated1998"/> The amount of information an employee had to analyze, organize, and maintain had increased dramatically. Despite this, the basic layout of the corporate office had remained largely unchanged. Propst's studies suggested that an open environment actually reduced communication between employees, and impeded personal initiative.<ref name="autogenerated2005"/><ref name="autogenerated1998"/> On this, Propst commented "One of the regrettable conditions of present day offices is the tendency to provide a formula kind of sameness for everyone."<ref name="autogenerated2005"/><ref name="autogenerated1998"/> In addition, the employees were suffering from long hours of sitting in one position.<ref name="autogenerated2005"/><ref name="autogenerated1998"/>

In 1964, they created the [[Action Office]] I (AO-1) and introduced it in the Herman Miller lineup.<ref name="autogenerated2005" /><ref name="autogenerated1998" /> AO-1 was a failure.<ref name="autogenerated2005" /><ref name="autogenerated1998" /> Despite its shortcomings, Nelson won the [[Alcoa Award]] for the design without crediting Propst.<ref name="autogenerated2005" /><ref name="autogenerated1998" />