I really want to figure out which plan is better. I honestly feel that people with bad experiences with open plan get on here and gripe, and it makes open plan

I really want to figure out which plan is better. I honestly feel that people with bad experiences with open plan get on here and gripe, and it makes open plan sound horrible. But there are bad experiences with offices too. Like rarely interacting with colleagues outside of scheduled meetings. And there's a natural bias towards one's own productivity vs helping the team. Maybe it's just because open plan is more the norm nowadays, now we hear all the downsides of that. But it's worth considering it was adopted in response to the downsides of offices and cubes (shudder), not some shortsighted irrational plot to cut costs at the expense of productivity. One thing I know: If anyone says rarely interacting "sounds great", they shouldn't be trusted. Yes you will absolutely maximize your coding focus. Yes that is an invalid argument. Team collaboration is important too. I suspect that to make either plan work you've got to pair it with a solid culture that shores up its weaknesses: minimize distractions in open plan, fight isolation in offices. My straw man ideal is an open plan that is relatively quiet, but let's you look at each other and leverage body language and enhanced awareness to gague when it's a good moment to interrupt. That's the only way that a whole class of "quick questions" and "crazy ideas" get fielded that would otherwise not cross the interrupt bar of a door-knock or even an IM-ping. And that stuff can be super valuable esp. to a startup team. And it actually can get those handled quicker! But I suspect it has to be paired with a culture of minimizing extended subcritical conversations at your desk and taking them over to separate meeting areas that are less disruptive.