The Rooms Where It Happens

What a relief to note that my own workspace isn't included here! It's like a pair of old shoes that are incredibly comfortable, but a sight that I'd feel absolutely horrible about inflicting on anyone else. :-)

It must be a slow day for anti Trump news. I keep looking in the news for the secret information that Congressman Schiff says he has, that he says proves beyond a doubt, that Trump was guilty of collusion with the Russians. Where did all that collusion rhetoric go anyway? Why should I care about someone’s private space?

For those unclear why these areas were “devoid of processes” or “sterile”, do you understand that these are active workspaces where any stray paper/document would be easily scrutinized by competitors? Of course it’s staged.

To the editors, layout dictators and publishers ...This would have been 1000 times more impactful without the intrusion of ads visually contradicting the narrative. What began as a brilliant/beautiful face of an idea suggested by Lin's Hamilton got mugged by money...Commerce, stay away from our art. ...please... (Recent reports suggest you don't need to monetize everything.)

Oh, come on! Knock, knock, anyone home? Give me Soane's Museum.

Inanimate matter matters. And yet, the thoughts, beliefs, ideologies and hidden agendas of the human beings who make decisions everyday in the exercise of their power that has impact on our lives remains elusive; out-of-site. Years ago, there was a short-lived (thank goodness)TV "reality" series called "Busted on the Job"! It showed surveillance footage of poor, working class workers employed at minimum or no wage jobs doing bad acts. That it was produced and aired in the first place was telling of the disdain we have for low-wage workers. That show had me wishing that those cameras also captured, in the early 2000s, the financiers at the big banks, in their swank offices, raping the world's economy by being both the house and gambler with their "derivatives" instruments. We were devastated by their actions when it came crashing down in 2008. So, if anybody should have been Busted on the Job!, it should have been them. I enjoyed seeing these offices. Seeing them reminded me, however, that it's what I don't see that is more significant.

No middle-aged person could sit in the chair shown in Anna Wintour's office for more than a few minutes without every latent ache or pain manifesting itself. There must be a comfy, ergonomic, dowdy office chair hidden away off-camera.

Power Source - and Anna Wintour's office is featured first! Really? Is Vogue that powerful now? Maybe years ago but hmm, I dunno - I like the concept though!

Brent, Landon, Devin, Will, Mikael, Ryan. Photographs from a roster of male- and only male- photographers. Yes: this is absolutely a clearly focused depiction of the “power source” of vision and influence.

Props over processes. Not very realistic.

Staged. Sterilized. Still, there is something to see. And learn. And think about. I am reminded of Courthouse, the photo project undertaken in 1970s or so to document courthouses around the country. Empty rooms, but so telling.

Wow! Love it. How inventive to come up with this article!! More. More!

The UN photos are the most disappointing. My daughter, who takes part in Model UN, would like to see the actual room please. Not just close up elements. Time for a more comfortable chair, Ms Wintour. But then again, perhaps you are still so slim because you never sit down. In which case, time for a prettier chair and a stand up desk.

I'm glad you skipped Mich McConnell's office.

Maybe I’m old and cranky, but some modern design artifacts leave me cold. I’ve seen and had to sit on many chairs nearly identical to the stamped metal chair in Anna Wintour’s office. Someone must have asked the designer to fashion a chair in which customers would not dally, would finish their coffee or lunch quickly and move on to free up a table. Made of cold hard steel with a narrow and uncomfortable back, it makes the 70’s plastic shell government office waiting room chair or the 50’s-60’s school desk chairs look and feel plush by comparison. I wouldn’t hazard a guess about how or why someone who would have it as their office chair.

That cryptically labeled hardware in the UN Security Council Consultation Room is just a video patch panel. SMPTE is the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, that among other things defines a standard time signal for synchronizing video equipment. The shiny hardware secured with chains are just termination plugs that cover signal connectors when not in use and are easily misplaced.

I love this article, but agree, these are staged offices, not reality. Ten years ago we visited our then-congressperson, now-senator Chris Murphy, in his DC office. It was filled with toys, briefing memos, photographs, and assorted whatnot. No concern at all about what anyone thought.

I would prefer pictures taken after arriving announced at 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon. These set pieces have as much validity as a photo of a sample dorm room in a college brochure.

Anna does not sit in that chair, and David's desk is never that minimal in real life...an iPad, at the edge of the desk, really? I love to live in fantasy too, but I was hoping we'd see some of the Truth here at the Times. Truth matters.

Does anyone else have the song “The Room Where it Happens “ from the musical Hamilton going through their head or is it just me?

David Zwirner's Office is so pretty. It so open to simplicity and taste washed in natural soft light. He definitely wins.

Woah what a fun idea. I would love more in this series! Places I'd like to see in this: 1. facebook -desks of zuck/sandenberg 2. google hq 3. chevron offices 4. nra offices 5. insurance office 6. office of a senator 7. office of a big city police commisioner

Anna Wintour's office is seriously ugly.

This is such a great concept! Thank you. Would it be possible to share additional photos of some of these spaces?