Is the Open Office Dead?

How New Work Styles are Affecting the Way
Office Environments Function

by Mary Mowad Guiteau, IIDA, IFMA

Is the Open Office Dead?  Some may argue that it is.  It has certainly changed over time, and has helped shape work styles over many decades.  To understand this fully, let’s look at the history and evolution of the open office concept.

Current Work Styles

In the 21st Century, technology is changing at record speed.  The office space is now required to adapt to ever-changing technology, as it has changed the way people work.  This has put an emphasis on flexibility.

As the workforce changes, so have work styles.  The challenge for office spaces is to appeal to both baby boomers and millennials.  While baby boomers typically prefer more privacy, whether that be from private offices or workstations with tall panels, millennials typically prefer a more open, fluid work space.  So how does the modern office appeal to both generations. 
The answer is Choice & Control.

Holly & Smith Architects utilized these principles when designing the office space for digital agency Envoc.  After working in the new space for several months, Envoc stated that the new office layout was increasing productivity substantially, while also allowing the team to work a normal 40-hour week.

Does this mean that traditional enclosed offices are a thing of the past?  Not necessarily.  While some businesses may not be ready to ditch the private offices just yet, they are realizing that a shift in the way those offices function is taking place.

Below are 3 of Holly & Smith Architects' projects which illustrate different approaches to the current office landscape. 

Envoc

When full-service digital agency Envoc outgrew their original, building-standard office space, the company decided to move to a larger space to accommodate growth and to create an environment which was better aligned with its culture.

The project goals:

1. create a better reality for clients and employees
2. attract new young talent
3.  be innovative

The design tools utilized:

• to provide spaces for impromptu collaboration
• to offer a palette of place (employees can choose where they want to work)
• to offer a palette of posture (stand up, sit down, walk, lounge, swing)
• to provide natural lighting for employee wellbeing
• to make the space vibrant, fun and unique

The space was divided into zones of Think, Work, Play, which are color coded by using flooring and paint selections.

● The Think zone includes collaborative/meeting spaces
● The Work zone includes offices
● The Play zone includes the hospitality room, lounge and swing area

The client initially asked for a fully open office, but quickly realized most of the staff is on conference calls all day and needed more privacy.  The solution was a “cube” that’s floating in the middle of the space.  The “cube” is divided into 6’x6’ pods, separated by walls, but faced with full glass fronts and sliding glass doors.  When the doors are opened, the space functions as an open office, but when the doors are closed, the space functions more as enclosed offices.  It gives the employees the flexibility to choose how they work.  Other areas of choice include private nooks for relaxing or taking personal calls, a collaborative lounge with fun seating, a very social hospitality/break room, and a swing.  Every desk within the space also has the ability to be raised to standing height, so everyone can choose their posture as they work.

General Contractor: Hill Construction

Reily Foods

The Reily Foods Co. interior tenant build-out in New Orleans was a substantial move for the company that had previously been housed in the same historic building for over 100 years. Reily Foods Co. wanted to utilize a progressive design approach that encouraged collaboration, while also bringing the 100-year-old company into the 21st century.

The layout of the space features:

• Continuous offices along the north and south perimeter walls with continuous glazing which allows natural daylight and city views into the main office space
• The open office environment is separated by departments with workstations that have lower-height partitions and a glass panel above to provide a sense of privacy
• The open workstations are pulled away from the perimeter of the high-rise office building to allow for collaboration space along the east and west walls
• The collaboration areas have ample seating and writable surfaces to encourage interaction between the different departments while providing natural light and views to the city skyline

Additional spaces include a large conference room, smaller conference rooms, a large print room, a large break room, and a reception/lounge area. Large panelized graphics of the company’s brands are incorporated throughout the space and delineate separation between the corridor and the open workstations.

General Contractor: Palmisano

Scotia Howard Weil

Scotia Howard Weil is a boutique investment firm located in the heart of the New Orleans CBD.  The 16,000 square feet space was completely gutted and received a design overhaul. The new design is sleek and modern, boasting large open spaces with vast views of the New Orleans skyline.

• The client areas include the lobby, board room, and conference room
• The lobby space is open and inviting, providing ample room for hosting clients and other events. The pivot doors into the board room provide a way to open the space to the lobby or close it off for private meetings
• The conference room provides a space for smaller meetings, while still capitalizing on the city skyline views and ample natural light

The employee areas include:

• A large open sales and trading floor
  This is a true open office, with workstations separated by low screens. Every desk has a sit-stand platform that allows brokers to choose if they want to work sitting or standing.
• Smaller phone rooms and breakout rooms lining the interior perimeter of the open office
  These allow for private conversations or small impromptu meeting.
• Private offices for the research and investment banking departments
  The front of all offices are full glass for transparency and natural light. 
•  A large servery
  This provides plenty of space for employee breaks and catered lunches.

Overall, the renovated space provides a modern design for a progressive, international company.

General Contractor: T.A. Held Construction Co.

Ultimately, the open office isn’t dead, but it has evolved.  The days of the bullpen and cubicle farm are gone.  They have been replaced with a modern version of the open office.  A version where employees have flexibility, options, and access to elements of wellness.   This more human-centered approach is beneficial to employers and employees alike.​

H/S EXPERIENCE

Holly & Smith Architects' award winning portfolio of work includes numerous corporate office projects. H/S has a deep understanding of the way corporate offices function. We pride ourselves on creating spaces and environments in which our clients - and, in turn, the people they serve - enjoy spending their time. We know that the work place environment is key to productivity and well-being and there are unique circumstances that drive how the space should look, feel and work.

Human beings spend most of their personal and professional time within the built environment. As Architects, we create the spaces and places where people live their life. How we learn, work, eat, sleep, heal, worship, and gather are all improved by the quality of the space and place. Our quality of life is greatly impacted. It is therefore critical that we keep this most basic and essential thought at the forefront of our practice:
We Design for Life.

Mary Mowad Guiteau is a registered interior designer and Director of Interior Design at H/S. She is a member of the International Interior Design Association and International Facility Management Association. She has been involved in the design of office facilities for over 22 years.

More information can be found on this subject by contacting H/S Architects at jennifer@hollyandsmith.com.