Counterpoint, just for the heck of it :-) How awful! One would expect the vicinity of high-level managers to have a lot of activity... people walking in and ou

Counterpoint, just for the heck of it :-) How awful! One would expect the vicinity of high-level managers to have a lot of activity... people walking in and out for discussions, visitors throughout the day, high-level management walking around potentially asking questions which might pull a researcher out from 3-levels deep problem solving! Maybe what researchers need are comfortable working environment (desks, chairs, boards, discussion rooms) and the right amount of stimulation -- maybe a few discussions with colleagues to spark ideas, and not too much generally distracting bustle. My only point is that it is far from obvious whether this seating arrangement is beneficial.