Often the simplest, cheapest, emptiest things make pretty good systems. They reduce waste, and have certain advantages. Your joke is funny, but I promise you t

Often the simplest, cheapest, emptiest things make pretty good systems. They reduce waste, and have certain advantages. Your joke is funny, but I promise you that's not the reason for open floor plans. The key is that even an open plan is a system—it's just a less constrained system, with fewer rules. You still have to view it as a system and study the effects and interactions involved.