[athenot]

How about having a developer area that is treated like a library? Silence enforced at all times, you have to whisper if you strike an impromptu conversation. And if that bubbles to a brainstorm, get up and grab a conference room to talk about it.

[rohunati]

I've thought about this too, but my suspicion is there are some good reasons why more companies don't do this. Anybody care to chime in?

[twic]

It might just be that nobody's seriously tried it.

A practical concern might be that a library needs a librarian to shush people. And it needs people to obey the librarian when they do that.