Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: “Secret” Rooms

by Sally Augustin, Ph.D. | October 28th, 2019

In the August 13 electronic edition of the New York Times Jane Margolies reports on the increasing numbers of secret, hidden rooms at workplaces “If Only These Walls (and Bookcases) Could Talk,”  NY Times August 13, 2019). As she details, “Transparency is one of the biggest trends in modern office design: open floor plans, fewer offices, glass walls and doors. And at a time when #MeToo has called attention to the sordid things that can happen behind closed doors, there may be some comfort in having everything, and everyone, within view. But a taste for hidden places still runs deep. They have appeared throughout history, from secret passageways in medieval castles to Prohibition-era speakeasies. Secret rooms are now popping up in workplaces and other commercial settings, providing the thrill of seeing a room materialize unexpectedly, not to mention the appeal of hanging out in a space reserved for V.I.P.s.” Some …