In recent years, it is true that open-plan has been in trend in architecture design for education and working space. While this development brings some minor drawbacks that could be possibly tackled with appropriate manners, I believe the overall benefits will be manifold.
Critics of open-space design often point to two key aspects, which are lack of privacy and full of distraction. Open-plan offices are often designed with one large coworking space where the whole company will sit together on one floor with a limited barrier like wall and cubicle setting up between people. This space arrangement could make some people feel uncomfortable when they have to conduct a private conversation or feel challenged to concentrate on their work when needed. However, the inconvenience may perhaps be alleviated by adding concentration space where people could be isolated from the distraction sources, namely casual chatting between colleagues or by creating meeting rooms to hold teamwork without disturbing other teams. In addition, open spacing could spark some minor conflicts when different colleagues may have various senses for light and temperature level, marginally impacting one’s mood and productivity on work. The problems could be handled gently just by setting some informal rules of coexistence.
Despite some slight disadvantages, I maintain that designing offices and schools in an open-spacing style has brought about significant benefits. In terms of cost, constructing buildings with limited walls and rooms literally reduces the total construction expense. More than that, open offices and schools provide their employees and students more exposure to sunlight and human reactions, indirectly boosting their mood and productivity .Besides, it could be undeniable that working and studying in an open environment could encourage collaboration and networking between teams. It may feel like there are no more obstacles and boundaries to exchange ideas with other departments. Sometimes it increases holistic learning in the crossing functions sitting nearby each other. All of the above has imposed positive impacts on the overall creativity and productivity of the staff members.
In conclusion, I firmly believe that with some effective approach to the sharing space problems, an open plan office and school has the potential to transform working and learning experience for the better.