I'm amazed more people don't make use of that book. It's so chock full of brilliant advice with very reasonable explanations, for so many situations. I'm still not done reading it, because it's massive, but every chapter I read makes me notice new things in the environments I move through.
Reading "A Pattern Language" immediately changed the build-out plans for our new office. We're truly putting these ideas in practice.
We have a large-ish, well-lit open space, surrounded by several conference rooms. The open space is oriented in the overall space such that it's farthest from the door to minimize traffic. We're going to let each team (4-8 people) build out their own workspaces in the open area. They will organize the furniture, control how they physically interface with the rest of the space and other teams, etc. They'll have enough types of furniture to build walls, alcoves, desks, conference tables, social spaces, etc. As projects and teams change, adjustments can be made immediately.
I must say it's an exciting yet terrifying prospect, particularly because as with many existing spaces, it's not always possible to follow the prescriptive advice 100%. Additionally, almost no one has ever worked in an office space that is like the Alexander describes, which makes it somewhat of a leap of faith (in Peopleware we trust) that it will all work out.
If anyone else out there has already gone through this process, I'd love to hear how it's worked out for you.
You should share the name of your company. Use your attention to humane office space as a competitive advantage when recruiting. See what Joel Spolsky has done with Fog Creek and Stack Exchange.
