URL to IRL Offices have transformed in ways unimaginable to workers even a mere 10 years ago?well before words like ?coworking? and ?standing desk? had entered the lexicon. The cubicle, for example, long at the top of the workplace-design food chain has, in many industries, gone the way of the dinosaur, the advent of the open office plan its fateful meteor. But there has been (justifiable) backlash against the open office, too: Detractors say the lack of acoustic and visual privacy has a stifling effect not unlike, well, cubicles. Some psychologists agree.

Photo by Jeremy Bittermann
A stairwell with suspended, light-wood treads and glass balustrades connects levels in Ancestry.com?s new headquarters outside of Salt Lake City. A lower level seating area, with space for work and impromptu gatherings, is visible below.
So, what?s the solution" How do we overcome our reliance on the open-office formula while preserving some of its benefits?namely, the light, air, and sense of collaboration that a well-designed open-plan office can foster" It?s all about choice, says David Galullo, CEO and executive creative director of Rapt Studio, a California-based multidisciplinary design firm that?s recently worked with clients to establish just such a new framework.
Rapt, Gallulo says, strives to create workplaces where ?there are [different] kinds of spaces ... available.? ?More and more,? he goes on, ?we?re seeing factual analysis that emphasiz...