Having an Open-Floor Plan Office is a Bad Idea

“Would you work in a cocoon that looks like a 2001: A Space Odyssey set piece? Architect Michelle Kaufmann, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Google hope your answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Their distinctively strange, mesmerizing Transformable Meeting Space is designed to vanquish the limitations inherent in open workspaces. Each cubicle descends from the ceiling with the tug of a pulley system, offering a small conference room that jibes with Google’s airy layout.

This Chinese finger trap of a meeting space is a prototype only a minimalist could love, but it just might silence the open floor-plan haters of the world. Or not — because there are after all so many haters.

Indeed, decades into the future, our offspring will still be reading angry articles ripping open floor plans to shreds. According to opponents, these layouts lead to excessive noise, irritation, a lack of privacy and short attention spans. The Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health even found that open workplaces lead to increased employee absenteeism. And don’t get the Swedes started on the consequences for introverts.

To many, this workplace battle might seem like a black-and-white debate but it’s another false dilemma. In reality, an office layout can serve many masters.”

Read the full post here.