[eternityforest]

It seems like everyone just universally hates open plan offices. I would tend to agree with them.

I think I'd want to really prioritize humidity control, there are studies on dry air and viral infection.

And maybe make it so every cubicle has a personal HEPA filter(Very carefully, since airflow is confusing and some interventions can make germs swirl around even more).

I don't know anything about management or building layout, but from an interior design perspective lighting is pretty much the easiest and cheapest way to change a space. It needs to be bright enough, diffused to prevent harsh shadows, and of a color temperature people like.

You might even want to have the break room slightly dimmer or warmer, or less diffused, if you want to create a strong distinction and have people not think about work while taking breaks.

If the team has people who would appreciate it and there are windows for it, than having real plants is always nice in an extreme indoor artificial tech environment. They make you feel slightly less like a robot if you're doing pure software work.

[ok1984]

An office per developer would be a dream, unfortunately the m2 prices are quite high in our area, thus we are forced to have some sort of open space, we are creating zones with 4 desks each group is separated from the others with furniture and green plants on top of the furniture. In general we are software developers so the office env. is typically quite, except for keyboards, those are on-fire :D.

For lights, since it is one of the most important aspects, we are leaning towards zumtrobel light fields 3, which is supposed to be one of the best lightening options, white lights for work areas and warm lights in relax zones.

Thanks for the airflow suggestions, we will take them in consideration.

[JohnFen]

> we are creating zones with 4 desks each group is separated from the others with furniture and green plants on top of the furniture.

Those are called "pods". It's true that they reduce some of the awfulness of open office plans, but I still wouldn't work at a place that did this.

> In general we are software developers so the office env. is typically quite

You're lucky to have devs who are actually quiet when working. That's something I've never actually experienced.

[ok1984]

Actually in almost all places I worked in (except during go-lives ofcourse), the env was usually quite, if you have a meeting or get a phone call you would typically go to a meeting room or a phone booth, otherwise the open space becomes a call center.