Open-plan offices

 In May this year I visited one of my colleagues who has recently relocated to the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. The School is in a very new building, with some really innovative ideas in space planning as well as the expected use of advanced technology in the teaching and laboratory spaces. The biggest difference that my friend noted in his new environment was that the staff did not have individual offices, but rather a shared space. This is supplemented by a number of ancillary spaces for consultation, whether with colleagues or with students, ranging from quite formal enclosed kiosks to less formal seating scattered throughout the building. 

Consultation kiosks near the open-plan staff room

The entire building is designed around an impressive foyer space, with a number of the informal seating areas visible from the circulation routes. What I found especially striking about this arrangement was the sense of inclusivity, where students were encouraged to interact with all members of the university community, whether staff or other students, in the same spatial setting.

Informal seating visible from the main foyer

I can imagine, though, that it takes quite some adjustment after several years of working in an environment with individual offices, most of which were large enough not just to have a couple of chairs for visitors, but even a separate table or perhaps occasional chairs. My friend had previously worked in a building that was constructed in the 1940s, with his last post being Head of School, where he had a very spacious office with a six-seater table as well as a huge desk, and plenty of space all around the furniture. 

There is much debate around the pro's and con's of open and individual office accommodation, with a number of different aspects to consider, from the psychological to the economic and environmental. One also needs to consider the perspective of all of the different users of the space: in a university environment, students may feel quite intimidated by a long impersonal corridor and a closed office, while the lecturer may find an open-plan arrangement with the background noise and activity quite distracting when doing intensive mentally demanding tasks such as writing papers or marking student work.

Despite interesting finishes and spatial articulation, a corridor can be intimidating and impersonal
Creative commons licensed: https://www.pexels.com/photo/interior-of-hall-of-modern-office-7534179/

From an economic viewpoint, an open-plan office can accommodate many more staff: typically six to eight people can occupy the space of a single private office with its essential stretch of corridor. This has the potential for designing buildings that have a much smaller physical footprint, with clear savings in terms of environmental impact during construction and throughout the life of the facility.

Daylight and natural ventilation can often be more effectively utilised in an open-plan design, although if the space is too big, this will require more artificial lighting and may even demand air-conditioning. 

An open-plan arrangement with one "pod" having all the benefit of the daylight
Creative commons licensed: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-working-at-an-office-2983018/

The photo of the open-plan office, while obviously curated, still highlights some of the problems that users have with this approach: neighbours may be less tidy (or more obsessive) than you; where do you put your precious bags from your lunchtime shopping; who chooses the 'cute' scatter cushions?

One of the most important considerations in the choice between 'open' and 'closed', is the type of work being carried out (and to some extent, the ethos of the company). My first exposure to the world of work was as an architectural assistant, back in the early 1980s when all architectural firms had drawing offices for the majority of the staff, and individual offices only for directors and some of the administrative staff.

An architectural drawing office from the 1950s
Creative commons licensed: https://www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/35620867515

The thinking was that such an open environment would, on the one hand, encourage creativity, and at a practical level, it would allow the less-experienced staff to interact freely with the 'old hands'. I remember so vividly, how one person would call out: "what is the spacing of rafters for a copper roof" and the rest of the office would chirp back a range of answers! Inevitably, in any office, there would be the 'detailing guru' whose word was considered gold.

One finds the open-plan arrangement in many similar environments, whether to encourage creativity, build company spirit and community, or facilitate the free-flow of knowledge and ideas. What is less easy to understand, is in work environments that either require a level of confidentiality (so disturbing to have a conversation with the call centre of a medical aid when you can hear a parallel consultation in the background) or where one needs a high level of concentration. While some of us can write their PhD in the concourse of a train station, others of us need a more focused space: earphones are great, but some people are very sensitive to physical distraction. 

In the end, it is one of those design decisions that need weighing up of many factors, in close consultation with a range of stakeholders, and a sensitivity to those users of the space who are not involved in the design consultations.