Office layout: plan the work, then the walls

Where should an office layout start?

With a short list of facts about the team. How many people work at a desk on a normal day? How many calls and video meetings happen, and where? Do clients visit, and what should they see? Which roles need a closed door — management, HR, anyone handling confidential conversations? Does anything noisy happen, such as printing, a coffee machine, a busy reception?

The answers lead to a rough brief: a number of desks, a number of closed rooms of different sizes, a reception area if needed, a kitchenette, toilets and storage. Fitting that brief into the floor plan is the design work; building it is ours. If the space is still a bare shell, read our guide on shell units first.

Open plan or enclosed rooms?

Neither is right for everyone. Open plan uses space efficiently and makes collaboration easy, but it suffers when many people take calls. Enclosed rooms give privacy and concentration, but take more space and can fragment a team. Most offices end up with a mix: an open area for everyday work, a few small rooms for calls and focused tasks, and one or two meeting rooms.

The practical test is to imagine a normal busy day. Where does the person on a video call sit? Where do two people have a private conversation? Where does a visitor wait? If the layout answers those questions without anyone having to leave the building, it is probably working.

How do light and position affect the layout?

Natural light is the most valuable resource in most offices, and it is easy to waste. If enclosed rooms line the windows, the open area in the middle gets none. A common solution is to keep desks near the façade and place meeting rooms, storage and toilets towards the core, where daylight matters less. Glazed partitions can share light further into the floor.

Artificial lighting should then suit screens: even, without glare, with softer light in break and meeting areas. Our guide on lighting and ceilings covers how the ceiling is built around the lighting plan.

How can noise be managed?

Noise is the most common complaint in offices. Layout is the first tool: keep noisy functions away from quiet ones and avoid placing a meeting room door next to a row of desks. Construction is the second: partitions with insulation, run up to the slab or with the void above the ceiling closed where privacy matters, and doors that seal properly. Soft finishes and acoustic ceiling elements reduce echo in open areas.

The level of acoustic performance needed is a design decision, and specific requirements may apply in some cases. We build to the specification set and tell you honestly what the construction can and cannot achieve within the space available.

What else needs a place on the plan?

• Power and data: decide desk positions before the electrics are run, with spare points for future changes.
• Storage: plan cupboards, filing and equipment space with the partitions, or they end up in the corridor.
• Kitchenette: water and drainage set its position, so check where the connections are.
• Toilets: number and type depend on the occupancy and your technician’s assessment, including accessibility.
• Reception: if clients visit, the route from the door should be clear and the first impression considered.
• Escape routes: the layout must keep exits and routes as your technician specifies.

Which rules shape an office layout?

Offices are subject to the building code, including its sections on safety in use and accessibility (CTE DB-SUA), and to fire safety and other requirements depending on size and use. Whether a refurbishment needs a declaración responsable, a licence or a technical project depends on its scope and the town hall. These are matters for your technician (to be verified case by case). In buildings with an owners’ community or a building manager, internal rules on works, hours and access also apply.

We build to the layout and specification your technician or designer provides and flag any site condition that conflicts with them.

Which layout mistakes are hardest to fix later?

Some decisions can be revisited with a coat of paint or new furniture. Others are built into walls and ceilings, and changing them later means reopening finished work. The ones we see cause most regret are:

• Too few small rooms: one large meeting room and no space for calls, so people take video meetings at their desks.
• Light blocked by rooms along the façade, leaving the open area dim all day.
• Power in the wrong places, leading to extension leads across the floor once the furniture arrives.
• No storage, so archive boxes and equipment take over a meeting room.
• Kitchenette next to quiet desks, with noise and smells drifting across the office.
• Doors and routes too tight for furniture deliveries, equipment or a wheelchair.

All of these are cheap to fix on paper and expensive to fix after the partitions are built, which is why we review the layout with you before quoting.

How do you move from plan to build?

Once the layout is agreed, we prepare an itemised quote that follows it: each partition, ceiling area, door, electrical point and finish on its own line. You can then adjust the plan knowing what each change involves. During the works, the sequence is the usual one — services, partitions, ceilings, finishes, fitting — with checks at each stage. For details of the building work, see office refurbishment; if the office is in a former shop, shop refurbishment is also relevant.

Official sources

• Código Técnico de la Edificación – DB-SUA, safety in use and accessibility
• Ley 7/2021 (LISTA), arts. 137–138, as cited in a municipal declaración responsable form (Ayuntamiento de Vera)