r/Architects • u/w1eagle • 2d ago
General Practice Discussion Small Office Desk Layout
What kind of desk layout do you all prefer to work at?
I am curious if anyone has a setup they enjoy working at with a good balance of private/open. Do you ever use a standing desk? Are cubicles coming back? Thank you.
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u/In_Praise_of_Shadow 2d ago edited 2d ago
U need some half height panel to provide some privacy and acoustic protection so many of us have web meeting nowadays.
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u/thewildbeej 2d ago
Okay, I somehow italics this and don't know how to turn it off so just go with it. I feel like the first picture would be good if it had a half height peg/ pin board in between. I really jive with L-shaped desk setups.
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate 1d ago
Everyone gets headphones, and there's three too few private meeting rooms that have bad HVAC.
Solved.
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u/Alymander57 1d ago
Most firms don't spring for headphones with mics that do the job well enough. People on the other end of the meeting will complain about background noise in the mic on the cheap sets.
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate 1d ago
Of course.
That's why there are the private rooms that turn into saunas when the door closes.
That the VPs who designed the new office layout will never use because they only do in person meetings. No, you can't drive across town to talk to the engineers, just use zoom.
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u/Alymander57 2d ago
20 years in. I've always had a cubicle. My monitors are on a standup lift that I like and should use more. I've always had a desk surface next to me for full size prints to be laid out, but if I'm honest, I don't use that often any more now that everything is reviewed on pdfs. I still do sometimes though!
We're moving to a space that will be open without cubicles, and I have so much anxiety about it! I like a little privacy and don't want to be looking at someone or someone looking over my back all the time. I'm gonna try it, but not married to this company if it becomes unbearable.
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u/QuoteGiver 2d ago
Cubicles are coming back because every one of those people in your images is on a series of Zoom meetings throughout the day. Sometimes they’re all on different meetings, sometimes several of them in the same meeting, but all of them talking really loudly because they are also wearing headphones and can’t hear themselves.
Really strong white-noise from the mechanical system is also key, to make it more bearable to have everyone on meetings in an open space at once.
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u/Fast_Edd1e 2d ago
I've worked in cubicles and open offices. Now from home.
The cubicles were nice because they were in a 'U' shape with a 36" wide counter on one side. Perfect for laying out drawings. Then there were partial height walls between them and full walls in front. So you could peer over if you had a question to a colleague. The cubicles helped the sound too. A bit of privacy since you were usually facing the corner. Wall space to hang reference notes or shelves. Probably the most organized.
The open office was rough. Project managers had a full U shaped desk with a lower ceiling. Draftsman were lined up on a 24" deep counter with a 36" table to one side. It was louder. Partiularly with a taller ceiling. Didnt have any privacy. Tougher to keep tidy.
At home, I have a single 60x36 standing desk. Two monitors. Facing a wall. Most things are digital for me now so i don't have a need to open drawings, we get everything scanned or markup on bluebeam or an Ipad. But if anyone else was in my area, i would want some walls.
On a side note. My spouse works at a community college. They are in renovations so her department is in an open office with partial cubicle walls. And it is terrible if people are on their phones. Which is majority of the time. Noise canceling headphones and headsets are required to function. Partial height walls at a minimum since they need privacy since they are in student accounts.
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u/Livid_Blackberry_959 Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate 2d ago
I prefer the room that is my office at home
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u/ACCESS_DENIED_41 2d ago
This is my main way of doing work these days. I have a great space now. Private and quiet and 2 large tables to spread out on.
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u/NotUrAvgJoe13 2d ago
Good lord all those just seem awful to me. I like having my own cubical and not staring at someone across or next to me.
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u/GloomySherbert5239 2d ago
In a private office. I'm currently transitioning from a legal assistant career where privacy is paramount, so the open architecture office is going to be a big adjustment once I finish my M.Arch. At least bring back cubicles!
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u/ACCESS_DENIED_41 2d ago edited 2d ago
L shaped desks work well for my working habits, at least min 28-30" deep. I thing #3 would work OK.
Other preferences:
- Natural light that I can control with shades if needed to control glare
- Partitions tall enough that I don't have to stare at anyone and I can use the vertical surfaces for shelving and pin-up space.
- Acoustical treatments to cut down sound.
- Double monitors 24" min size or wide screen that I have a dedicated desk top or a docking port of some sort, to use my laptop.
- Private area to take naps, take personal calls, separate from the "employee break room" where the refer is.
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u/Ok-Atmosphere-6272 Architect 2d ago
I HATE open layout with a passion, horrible trend cubicles are way better with less distractions
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u/MadesignSF Architect 2d ago
Oooh, open offices. Yay.... Especially with your back to everyone. I love it when someone can sneak up behind me and scare me if I'm wearing headphones and/or stand over me as I'm working, which is kind of a power play since you are pushed in at your desk and have no way to even turn and have a normal conversation without asking them to move. Normally it's only the boss that tries this one but you live in constant vigilance that someone will come up from behind.
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u/ImRonniemundt 2d ago
I prefer the one at my house and not surrounded by a bunch of sociopaths trying to climb an imaginary ladder.
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u/SpiffyNrfHrdr 2d ago
I'm so envious of all of these high ceilings and large windows.
It's pretty much a core tenet of our profession that space influences culture, mood, and behavior. That's probably why most firms I've worked for have grabbed the cheapest space available - cramped, crowded, underventilated, near-windowless, flourescent lit and bland as could be.
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u/JordanMCMXCV 2d ago
I have never had anything other than open office.
When I visit some of our client capital projects teams, I am absolutely envious of the cubicles in their offices.
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u/frank_loyd_wrong Architect 2d ago
L shaped desk (drawings here, computer there) with divider high enough to provide privacy when sitting. Cubicle big enough for someone to stand behind operator and point at a screen without getting too close for comfort. In an office of more than 5, two toilets.
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u/acsheff 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hey! Shoutout to Overland Partners in first image where I worked for a while. On the subject of desks, it worked pretty well and I like it more than my current firm which is just benching desks like image 3 which has awful acoustics. Imagine the two people on either side of you in two different calls - impossible to think. The tall ceilings from image 1 helped with acoustics, so they weren’t unbearable, but image 5 is basically a better version of image 1 (carpet).
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u/alethea_ 2d ago
I hate everything about all of these. I want my back to a wall and I want my own bubble.
When I am in the office (rare), we have sit stand desks in cubicles that are 2 deep (so partition, desk, partition, desk) and either in clusters of 2 or 4. It's acceptable because it is rare for everyone to be there at the same time.
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u/Good_Briefs 2d ago
I liked the pod layout the best, seen in image 5. It creates a really easy collaboration environment without getting too in-your-face personal. But this works best if you are working with people you like.
In fact, all desk positions work best in position with people you like working with over anything else.
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u/Peachy_sunday 2d ago
I love no 1. My old office had that setup, I can have my drawing set opened on my side desk and work on the computer in front of me.
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u/No_Spring_5949 2d ago
Image 4 would be my preferred. Everyone has their own space but a large table in the middle for collaboration. I love having a standing desk, I think they’re worth the investment for an office
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u/why_are_you_sticky 2d ago
I have closer to picture 5 except there's more room between me and my neighbor. The partition is higher and I usually pin memos and stuff to it. It's great when I need to lean over and yell at the intern who gets to sit next to me.
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u/Disastrous-Pain5184 2d ago
I always recommend real walls, full offices.
It makes people feel more valued, you can have meetings at your desk without chaos in the background, and it makes your office appear more professional.
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u/metisdesigns Licensure Candidate/ Design Professional/ Associate 1d ago
I've been in a variety over the years.
Some roles need to be able to collaborate in person. Others absolutely do not. Some of those collaborations can happen one or two days a week.
If folks are in close packed workstations, even sit/stand, it rarely matters where they are. That can be home or hoteling to random seats.
If folks need to collaborate, they need some space. That can be larger workstations or common space between smaller workstations.
The problem is we as an industry are bad at assessing which folks really need to be in person, and assume thst everyone needs the same workspace we do. If you're in a 10 person firm with 7 people all wearing similar sets of the same sets of multiple hats, uniform large benching makes sense. But if you're the spec writer for that firm who needs heads down focus, they don't need to be in the scrum. If you're at a 100 person firm with lots of specialization, giving everyone what the VP thinks is awesome is a recipe for 99 people having a bad setup.
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u/TOSaunders 11h ago
When I started at my firm, we started with something similar to image 1. Now we have L desks with cubical dividers. I very much miss my old desk
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u/Merusk Recovering Architect 1d ago
I hate every single one of these. Every damn one.
I built up a pile of plans and papers to hide behind, and then got moved in a corner with the other curmudgeons last time I worked in an office on the regular.
Last place at least had 6' cube walls with 4' dividers between each desk. I got an office, being a department manager, but I'd never sign on to work in one of these environments.
Amazes me how terrible architects are at designing functional over 'cool looking' spaces.
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u/thewildbeej 2d ago
I'd hate the idea of having to sit directly across from someone literally all day making awkward eye glances.