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December 2018 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 43 Bu i l d i ng Re l at i onsh i ps 303.721.5800 bootsconstruction.com 4949 S. Syracuse St. Suite 450 Denver, CO 80237 ELEMENTS Office Plan The current favorite among hybrid open offices seems to be the agile option, in which employees can work in any number of locations across the suite, or even outside of it, in amenity areas. The irony here is that employers who are proponents of the agile hybrid must take a leap of faith as their workers are scattered, sometimes out of sight, without a permanent address in the office. Similarly, employers who favor the closed-plan must believe that their people, ensconced in a fixed of- fice with a closed door, will resist personal cell phone calls, intermittent surfing and power naps. It’s a leap of faith, as well. Granted, both construction and real estate costs can be up to 35 percent higher for a closed-plan office. It just costs more to install fixed or even moveable walls, and the real es- tate footprint is accordingly larger. But that’s already a known quantity for business owners who choose to adopt that cul- ture. Anne Stilson-Cope is president and CEO of Corey Electrical Engineering, a 30-year-old firm based in Englewood. Its fa- cility is immaculate and modest, spread over approximately 6,000 square feet with a reception desk, and small conference and break area. The balance of the space is a chain of fixed offices for the heads-down detail work her engineers produce. Despite her millennial-heavy staff, Stilson-Cope is all-in on the closed-plan model, although she admits to wavering. “I have felt a little bit of office shame,” she admited. “There are some really creative spaces out there and we could use an update.” But the firm’s culture far outweighs the need for any extraneous – and expensive – real estate. “We have places to collaborate, to meet,” she said. “They just don’t need to be front and center. We have what we need.” The thing is, there’s nobody out there pushing the narra- tive for the closed-plan office. It doesn’t need to be defended. It’s predictable and not all that interesting. And it’s not in the industry press. Its virtues will not overtake the functional di- versity, and cultural popularity of the open-plan. Clearly, it’s not for everyone. On the other hand, its merits are not under perpetual at- tack. Its proponents are true believers, even when research leans to the contrary. It’s here to stay. And on balance, it might be the most stable office platform in an environment where most others are not. \\ tjenkins@kieding.com What we have known for well over a decade is that the open-plan office has been a disaster while the closed-plan has continued to meet with a significant percentage of success.