Open plan offices
An office is a building, portion of a building, or a room, that is used for desk-based business purposes. Approved Document B defines an office as ‘premises used for the purpose of administration, clerical work, handling money, and communications’, and so on.
Offices may contain some or all of the following generic types of work space:
- Open plan: A floor space that isn’t enclosed, typically made up of rows of desks for use by a large number of people.
- Team space: A semi-enclosed work space for groups of people.
- Cubicle: Semi-enclosed work space for use by one person.
- Private office: An enclosed work space for use by one person.
- Shared office: An enclosed work space for use by two or more people.
- Study booth: An enclosed work space for use by one person for a short period, i.e. for making a phone call or holding a video meeting.
Open plan offices are seen as less hierarchical, and can offer the greatest flexibility and space efficiency. They can also create an ‘open’, creative, collaborative and communicative environment where occupants work together rather than being separated by walls and closed doors.
However, they can be noisy and distracting, cramped and provide little privacy or security.
There may be functions that it is not appropriate to carry out in open plan offices, such as meetings, personal or sensitive conversations, loud or potentially distracting activities such as presentations and so on.
A study by Harvard researchers Ethan Bernstein and Stephen Turban published in 2018 actually suggested that open plan spaces stifle collaboration, reducing the number of face-to-face interactions and increasing the use of phones and email. The authors suggested that "Rather than prompting increasingly vibrant face-to-face collaboration, open architecture appeared to trigger a natural human response to socially withdraw from officemates”. Ref https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2017.0239
A University of Arizona study published in 2018 suggested that workers in open-plan offices are 'more active', with 32% more physical activity than workers in private offices and 20% more than those in cubicles. https://oem.bmj.com/content/75/10/689
Movable partitions can allow multiple activities to happen in close proximity to one another, accommodating different settings that support different activities. The next generation work-space has flexibility and adaptability, but where workers can manipulate their surrounding and express their creativity.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Building activities definition.
- Building spaces definition.
- Change of use class.
- Defining the office.
- Hub and spoke model.
- Movable walls.
- Office.
- Office design and data privacy.
- Premises.
- Property.
- Types of building.
- Types of room.
- Use class.
- Wellbeing and creativity in workplace design - case studies.
- Workplaces of the future.
Featured articles and news
CIAT Celebrates 60 years of Architectural Technology
Find out more #CIAT60 social media takeover.
The BPF urges Chancellor for additional BSR resources
To remove barriers and bottlenecks which delay projects.
Flexibility over requirements to boost apprentice numbers
English, maths and minimumun duration requirements reduced for a 10,000 gain.
A long term view on European heating markets
BSRIA HVAC 2032 Study.
Humidity resilience strategies for home design
Frequency of extreme humidity events is increasing.
National Apprenticeship Week 2025
Skills for life : 10-16 February
Update on the future of Grenfell Tower
Deputy Prime Minister decides for it be carefully taken down to the ground.
Ending decades of frustration, misinformation and distrust.
Essential tools in managing historically significant landscapes.
Classroom electrician courses a 'waste of money'
Say experts from the Electrical Contractors’ Association.
Wellbeing in Buildings TG 10/2025
BSRIA topic guide updates.
With brief background and WELL v2™.
From studies, to books to a new project, with founder Emma Walshaw.
Types of drawings for building design
Still one of the most popular articles the A-Z of drawings.
Who, or What Does the Building Safety Act Apply To?
From compliance to competence in brief.
The remarkable story of a Highland architect.
Commissioning Responsibilities Framework BG 88/2025
BSRIA guidance on establishing clear roles and responsibilities for commissioning tasks.