Pattern 146
Flexible Office Space
Context Self-Governing Workshops and Offices80 · Office Connections82 · Intimacy Gradient127 · Common Areas at the Heart129
Problem
A large, open office floor with no subdivision at all leaves workers feeling exposed — there is no area that truly belongs to their own work. Fully enclosed cellular offices, by contrast, cut people off too sharply from one another.
Solution
Shape office space so that small, half-enclosed work areas can form within it, giving people shelter and a sense of their own place without severing their connection to their colleagues.
Usage Light on Two Sides of Every Room159 · Ceiling Height Variety190 · Column Place226 · Small Work Groups148 · Half-Private Office152 · Reception Welcomes You149 · Communal Eating147