Lofts and garages. Domesticated architecture for creative work

Over the last few decades, and since the development of the so-called Creative Industries, companies and organizations have begun to consider the design of workspaces as a key element in transforming themselves into centers of creativity and innovation. Traditionally considered an economic burden to be amortized, the workplace has taken on a new dimension and is now appreciated as a strategic tool for growth. Although the field of psychology provides nuanced and inconclusive definitions of creativity, there is a clear tendency – currently led by North American technology companies – to associate its development with environments that are close to the domestic.

The research proposes, as a starting point, the critical analysis on an architectural scale of two spaces invaded by domesticity, which have been popularly linked to creative work, and which today have been elevated to the category of myth: the loft and the garage. The aim is to demonstrate that a series of architectural strategies move from the home to the workplace to increase production and stimulate workers’ socialization through an informal setting that allows innovation. In addition, a review of the recent history of creative workspaces will be carried out, focusing on the United States but reaching the reality of Madrid to confirm the validity of the myths in contemporary cases.