Types of Office Layouts By Chris Blank, eHow Contributor

Print this article

The traditional office is still alive and well. However, along with it a number of alternative office configurations developed over the latter part of the 20th century. While many workers choose to work from home, those workers who do make the daily commute into the office are often confronted with working environments unknown to their grandparents or even to their parents.

Traditional Offices

The traditional office layout involves offices with doors and walls. Office sizes may be larger or smaller, depending on the status of the office holder. The office furniture also indicates the position of the office occupant in the office hierarchy. Lower level workers, such as support staff, often sit at desks with or without partitions outside the traditional office, for the convenience of the office occupant. Top officers in the company usually occupy the proverbial corner office, with two window exposures, increased privacy and often much larger square footage.

Cubicle Farms

Many companies with a large number of middle-management level workers place those workers in cubicle farms, or partitioned rows of spaces with dividers which may or may not reach the ceiling. The rows of partitioned spaces are typically separated by aisles for negotiation by the workers to their cubicles and for communication with one another. Cubicles usually have a desk with computer and a private phone line. Printers are often shared. A single worker usually occupies a cubicle, however sometimes two or three workers share a single cubicle.

Open-Plan Offices

Creative environments, such as design companies, often use open-plan to facilitate easy communication among the members of the staff. Staff members may or may not have individual desks, computers or

telephones in an open-plan office. Conference rooms for meetings or visitors are often situated along the outer walls of the open plan office space.

"Hot Desk" and Incubator Office Plans

A phenomenon of the late 20th century is the incubator office environment. Incubators house a number of workers, who may or may not be involved in the same or even related companies or ventures. In an incubator, office workers have their own assigned space, which may be in an enclosed office or within an open-office plan. With a "hot desk" arrangement, two or more workers share office space at different times of the day or on different days of the week. Incubators and "hot desk" arrangements maximize the number of people who can use a given office space.

Short-Term Office Rentals

Another fairly new development are short term office rentals. These rentals range from daily rentals to month-to-month leases and longer terms. Short-term rentals are usually fully equipped, not just with office furniture, but also with Internet and fax machines, support staff and voice mail systems. They are available for small businesses and traveling executives. A variation on short-term office rentals are virtual offices, which allow professionals who work from home to establish a professional presence, complete with answering service.

Office Layout Types By Sarah Fardell, eHow Contributor updated March 12, 2011

Print this article

There are thousands of buildings with thousands of layouts, but which is the best?

Flag this photo

The office has changed a great deal in the last few decades. When you are deciding how to lay out an office, it is important to know all of the facts so that you can design a plan that is beneficial to both your employees and to their productivity. When looking at office layout types, also consider the effects on communication and morale.

Cubicles

Cubicles are common in offices around the world.

The cubicle office is perhaps the most common style now used in the United States and other countries. In this layout, workers are stationed in small cubicles around a room. Each cubicle has a space large enough to fit a desk and a computer. Some cubicles have low walls and others have high walls. This design saves a lot of space and therefore money but has led to the use of terms such as "cubeville" and "cube farm". Studies of this office layout by the Kyoto Institute of Technology, in Japan, have found that it is detrimental to workers for several reasons. First, while cubicles reduce "office wandering" and non work-related conversations, they also limit group work, information sharing and potentially workenhancing communication. Furthermore, according to the American Psychological Association, working in cubicles leads to an increased chance of depression and low morale as workers feel isolated and unappreciated.

Open Office Layout

Open offices have higher noise pollution but better communication.

The open office layout is common in companies where employees work on computers rather than speak on the phone. In this layout, workers may sit at desks that are either circular with four people at one desk or in long lines. People are not in cubicles and can see each other working. This has the obvious disadvantage of lack of privacy. However, it does make employees feel like part of a team and allows them to share information and work collaboratively. A study at Cornell University confirmed the positive

aspects of this layout to enhance communication and teamwork. However, studies at the University of Queensland have found high noise levels and a lack of privacy associated with this layout.

Traditional Closed Offices

It is unlikely that you will find a CEO at work in a cubicle.

Closed offices, which were widespread in the 1970s, are perhaps the least ideal for communication but the most ideal for office morale. Studies continually show that people prefer to have their own office. The need for privacy is a factor. Moreover, having an office is a status symbol. Most managers will probably dislike having to work in a cubicle even if they have been with a company for many years. Thus, the closed office plan is ideal for morale, although it will cost more money as it requires more space.

Mixed Plan Offices

Providing private and public work areas is ideal for business.

Mixed plan offices generally contain three main areas. First, there is the cubicle or shared desk area. This is where computer programmers, designers or lower-ranked employees work. Then there is a common area, such as a meeting room, where people can meet to discuss ideas. Then there are offices where the higher-ranked employees work. This mixture model is perhaps the most ideal solution as it caters to employees with different needs and allows both a space for communication and a space for privacy.

DETAIL OF TYPES
1:Traditional Office Layout
By Giselle Tattrie, eHow Contributor

Print this article

Traditional office layouts feature spaces that are proportionate to staff seniority.

Unlike the modern cube farms and open concept offices, traditional offices have a distinct layout organized by department. Whereas modern office layouts are typically designed to maximize efficiency and productivity, traditional office layouts feature spaces that are proportionate to the seniority of the employee who works within them. The size, location and amenities of an employee s workspace within a traditional office reflect whether that person is at the executive, managerial or entry level. Reception Area

The first space people see when entering a traditional office is the reception area. The reception area usually features a reception desk which is a non-portable fixture that s larger than most of the other desks in the office. The traditional reception area also acts as a waiting room for clients, vendors and other businesspeople. The waiting area features chairs or couches as well as coffee or end tables splayed with magazines and other reading material. The Boss' Office

The largest office within a traditional workspace is reserved for the most senior employee, such as the CEO or president of the organization. The traditional boss office is also likely to be a corner office, which is located at the corner of the building and has the bonus of a more expansive view. The traditional boss office may also feature a couch or comfortable wing-back chairs, as well as a bar area to serve drinks to guests.

Administration Area

The administration area is traditionally located on the main floor near the boss office to facilitate communication between executives and their assistants. The administration area may consist of an office with more than one executive assistant as well as a cubicle area for various administrative assistants and filing clerks. Departments

Departments like accounting, marketing, IT and HR are separated from one another in a traditional office layout. Each department consists of one or more offices for department heads as well as cubicles for department assistants and entry-level staff. Washrooms

Although some modern offices feature a unisex washroom, separate washrooms for men and women are the professional standard in a traditional office layout. The washrooms in a traditional office are never located close to the entrance of the building or the boss office. Kitchen

The traditional office layout includes a kitchen area where staff can store and eat their lunches. The kitchen usually includes a fridge, microwave, coffee maker, a table and chairs. It might also include items like a water cooler and vending machine.

2:OFFICE LANDSCAPING
The term office landscape most frequently refers to an interior design concept focused on creating aesthetically pleasing internal office arrangements for corporations. In practice, office landscape involves furniture and desk placement, particularly in open-plan office settings. It often also involves the selection and placement of plants, the creative use of natural light, and the use of artwork to create ambiance. Sometimes, the term office landscape is also applied to outdoor landscape architecture, which focuses on creating appealing and sustainable outdoor gardens, parks, and green spaces around office buildings.

Office landscape was first introduced as a way to improve the atmosphere of work spaces by a team of German designers shortly after the Second World War. Traditionally, offices in the European style, which for a time also included offices in most of the United States and Canada, were made up of two essential parts: closed offices for executives and managers, and rows and rows of work desks for regular laborers. The concept of office landscaping, or brolandschaft in the original German, experimented with introducing new designs of more open and approachable office space layout. Ads by GoogleINFINIUM Movable Walls www.infiniumwalls.com Floor to Ceilng Movable Walls Glass or Solid - Engineer to Order www.infiniumwalls.com Offices Brussels Airport www.nci-offices.be Flexible office space Brussels Zaventem Airport Business center www.nci-offices.be Dubai Commercial Offices Office Space at the best prices now Big Savings - Rentals & www.smithandkencommercial.com/ Freehold www.smithandkencommercial.com/ Serviced Offices www.officematters.co.za We offer affordable offices to rent Our offices are instant www.officematters.co.za CBD Offices www.i-officegroup.com/

Executive suites in prime CBD locations www.i-officegroup.com/

Much of the early office landscaping involved moving the majority of staff into common areas. Desks were arranged not in uniform rows, but in a more free-flowing system of clusters and sections. The designers pioneered the use of panel-hung systems to create privacy and divide sections without blocking the light or closing people off the way walls would. Many design teams came to believe that an office landscape layout promoted communication, collaboration, and teamwork among employees.

The original brolandschaft concepts still permeate much of office landscape practice today. Many office-space planning teams also look for ways to make office layouts aesthetic, however, which was not a primary motivation early on. Elements like specially-designed lighting, sleek or modern furniture, and seamless accessibility to technology are among the top goals of 21st century corporate interior design efforts.

Increasingly, the term office landscape is also being used by landscape architects to describe the physical landscaping of corporate grounds. Landscape architects work designing the exterior appearances of many corporate office parks and executive campuses. They choose plants, create walking paths or recreation areas, and design aesthetic elements like fountains or rock walls on the land immediately surrounding an office building.

Interior landscape designers may also call themselves office landscape designers from time to time. The practice of interior landscape design is devoted to the strategic placement and appeal of plants and greenery indoors. Decorative trees in building lobbies, for instance, or potted plants and shrubs in corporate hallways, are usually the handiwork of interior landscape designers.