I worked in a similar, one-giant-open-area office for a year and didn't enjoy it. My team was a cluster of 8 fixed desks in a giant sea of engineering, with pe

I worked in a similar, one-giant-open-area office for a year and didn't enjoy it. My team was a cluster of 8 fixed desks in a giant sea of engineering, with people always walking through our area on their way somewhere else. The noise level was so high they installed custom white-noise generators that have an unnerving effect when you spend all day with them. Contrasting this to another company where there were separate team rooms of 5-10 people for each group in the company and it was much more pleasant while still having a lot of the same benefits.