Neither a shared medical faculty center nor a traditional assigned-office plan is universally better. A shared center can absorb changing attendance, increase capacity and make cross-disciplinary contact easier. Assigned enclosed offices usually provide better acoustic and visual privacy, concentrated work conditions and personal storage. The most defensible approach for an academic health center is a task-based mix: shared neighborhoods and touchdown desks for variable-presence work, enclosed rooms for confidential or focused tasks, and assigned offices where a stable role genuinely requires one.
This comparison concerns workplace planning for clinical, research and teaching faculty—not patient-care clinic layout. Here, “medical faculty center” means a purpose-designed shared workplace that may include neighborhoods, touchdown workstations, communal collaboration zones and reservable private rooms. “Traditional office space” means assigned individual or shared enclosed offices. Institutions use different names and combinations, so the decision should be based on work patterns and requirements rather than a label.
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What the two layouts are designed to do
Shared medical faculty center
A faculty center allocates a portfolio of settings instead of giving every person a permanent room. A typical plan might include team neighborhoods, touchdown desks, reservable focus rooms, phone or video-call rooms, meeting rooms, shared project tables and secure storage. The intention is to match space to the work being performed and to the amount of time people are physically present.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11This model can be useful when clinical schedules, teaching, research and remote work produce uneven attendance. A desk vacated during a clinic session can be available to another person, while a private room can be booked for a sensitive conversation. That flexibility only works when booking, technology, storage, cleaning, access rules and behavioral norms are reliable.
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Traditional assigned offices
An assigned-office plan gives each faculty member an individual or shared enclosed room. It supports a predictable personal setup, confidential conversations at the desk and a clear place for files and equipment. The trade-off is that a room can remain unused while its occupant is in clinic, teaching, traveling or working remotely. Utilization varies by role and institution; an assumed desk ratio cannot establish the actual capacity available.
What the documented cases show
UCSF Mission Hall: an open-plan caution
UCSF Mission Hall was designed as an activity-based workplace primarily for desktop and clinical researchers and staff. A survey conducted one year after occupancy in 2016 found adverse reported changes in satisfaction, work effectiveness, well-being and engagement. Noise exposure and insufficient visual and auditory privacy were common complaints. The account also reported that some faculty worked at home or elsewhere more often, which made collaboration more difficult rather than easier.
In 2018, UCSF retrofitted the building to add some private offices and adjusted future programming to balance open and private workspaces. This is a single case account, not a controlled comparison of every open center with every private-office building. It does show why a center that emphasizes openness without enough quiet, confidential and acoustically protected rooms can fail in daily use.
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An expanding obstetrics and gynecology department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center used a 2011 space-use assessment, site visits, meetings, literature review, mock-ups and iterative planning with all disciplines. The resulting open, egalitarian workplace accommodated more staff. The authors’ informal observations suggested that proximity supported timely, civil communication across disciplines and encouraged team-oriented behavior.
The authors did not claim measured improvements in clinical care, administrative performance, research output, efficiency or cost. Those outcomes were identified for future measurement. The case therefore supports a planning hypothesis—proximity may make contact easier—but not a universal productivity or patient-outcome claim.
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CU Anschutz: capacity pressure behind The Hub
At the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, an AAMC account reported a deficit of 245 offices for full-time clinical faculty at the start of 2019. The previous dedicated individual- or shared-office approach was described as unsustainable, and leasing more off-campus space was considered less fiscally prudent. The Hub was created as a shared environment intended to support collaboration, cross-disciplinary communication and faculty well-being while increasing capacity in an existing facility.
An AAMC facilities-planning summary published in January 2024 said a second Hub location had opened and that the model was serving more than 700 clinical faculty. Those numbers describe CU Anschutz at the dates reported; they are not a benchmark for how many people another medical school can place in a center or proof that the model improves well-being.
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In a November 2021 announcement, the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine described a phased workplace approach with more shared and open areas, fewer dedicated private offices, collaboration areas and private phone or video rooms. The plan was intended to support in-person, hybrid and remote work and included different workstation types, storage and technology considerations.
The announcement noted that accreditation requirements, including GME and LCME requirements, could apply case by case. It described an institutional plan expected to evolve, not an independent outcome evaluation. Nebraska Medicine executive vice president and chief operating officer Cory Shaw summarized the rationale: “As the concept of the workplace shifts and more colleagues begin working from home or working on flex schedules, we have an opportunity to move toward a 21st century approach to workplace design for all UNMC and Nebraska Medicine administrative functions of our various research education and clinical missions,”
Shared center versus assigned offices: decision-by-decision comparison
| Decision axis | Shared medical faculty center or activity-based model | Traditional assigned offices | Planning implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity and utilization | Can use rooms and workstations flexibly when schedules and attendance vary. CU Anschutz and UNMC/Nebraska Medicine used shared approaches in response to space pressure. | A dedicated room can be empty while its occupant is away for clinic, teaching or remote work; actual utilization differs by role. | Measure occupancy, schedules and task demand before setting desk ratios or projecting savings. |
| Collaboration and access | Shared areas and proximity may support informal contact. Beth Israel Deaconess reported informal communication benefits after an open redesign. | Enclosed rooms can reduce spontaneous visibility, although shared meeting areas can be added. | Place collaboration zones near work neighborhoods without requiring every task to occur in an open room. |
| Privacy, focus and calls | Open settings may expose people to noise and visual or auditory privacy problems, as reported at UCSF Mission Hall. Phone rooms and enclosed offices can mitigate those needs if sufficient and usable. | More separation is available for concentrated work and sensitive conversations, subject to construction and acoustic performance. | Protect a measured inventory of private rooms and check availability at peak times. |
| Hybrid schedules | Touchdown spaces can suit variable attendance when booking, storage, technology and norms work reliably. | Personal setups are predictable, but rooms may sit unused during remote or clinical duties. | Allocate by work pattern and function, not an assumption that everyone attends or works alike. |
| Implementation and acceptance | Needs clear access rules, change management, stakeholder involvement and support for multiple work modes. | Familiar assignments may be easier to understand but can preserve inefficient or inequitable allocations. | Involve faculty and staff early, test mock-ups and conduct a post-occupancy review. |
| Institutional requirements | Must accommodate discipline-specific work, confidentiality, technology, storage and accreditation requirements. | A private room may simplify some local needs but does not itself guarantee appropriate workflow or accreditation compliance. | Check requirements by program and role rather than applying one campus-wide rule. |
When a shared faculty center is likely to fit
- Attendance is variable. Clinical sessions, teaching blocks, research schedules and remote work leave desks unused at different times.
- Teams need frequent, low-friction contact. A nearby shared zone can make a quick question or interdisciplinary exchange easier than a sequence of scheduled meetings.
- The institution has a measurable shortage. CU Anschutz’s reported 245-office deficit illustrates why an existing building may need a different allocation model.
- The program can operate reliable support systems. People need dependable reservations, fast technical assistance, secure storage and clear rules for leaving a workstation.
- Leaders will protect quiet and confidential work. A center should include enough enclosed rooms, not just open desks.
A shared model is a poor fit when most work is confidential, concentration-intensive or equipment-heavy, or when the organization cannot operate booking, storage, acoustics and change-management systems consistently.
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When traditional assigned offices are likely to fit
- Confidential conversations are routine. Faculty handling sensitive personnel, student, research or clinical matters need dependable visual and acoustic separation.
- Work requires long uninterrupted concentration. Writing, analysis and teleconferencing can suffer when nearby activity is unpredictable.
- Role-specific equipment or records are substantial. A stable room may be safer and more efficient than repeatedly setting up a shared station.
- Presence is predictable and frequent. If a person is in the building most working days, an assigned room may have higher practical value than a bookable desk.
- Privacy rooms cannot meet peak demand. If callers routinely cannot find a room, assigned offices may be the more honest capacity plan for those roles.
Assigned rooms are not automatically efficient. A private office that is routinely vacant represents capacity that another group may need, and enclosing every workspace can isolate teams that benefit from proximity.
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Why a mixed portfolio is usually the safer starting point
The cases point in different directions: UCSF’s experience exposed the cost of insufficient privacy and quiet, while Beth Israel Deaconess observed better informal communication after an open redesign. UNMC and Nebraska Medicine described shared work areas alongside private phone or video rooms, collaboration spaces, storage and hybrid-work support. Taken together, these examples support a mixed portfolio as a design inference—not a proven universal optimum.
Shared neighborhoods and touchdown desks
Use neighborhoods for faculty whose schedules vary and whose work can move between settings. Give each neighborhood appropriate monitors, power, network access and a visible method for identifying available desks. Touchdown stations should be near, but not inside, high-traffic collaboration zones.
Enclosed focus and phone rooms
Provide rooms that can be reserved for confidential discussions, telehealth-related calls where appropriate, video meetings and concentrated work. Count rooms by peak simultaneous demand, not by the average number of people present. A phone booth that is too small, poorly ventilated or acoustically weak will not solve the problem it was intended to solve.
Bookable meeting and collaboration rooms
Different room sizes support different tasks: a two-person conversation, a project team, a cross-disciplinary conference or a teaching session. Publish booking rules, cancellation expectations and escalation paths for urgent use. Keep collaboration rooms close enough to neighborhoods to support contact while separating them acoustically from focus areas.
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Assigned offices for justified roles
Retain assigned rooms where stable presence, confidential work, specialized equipment, records, supervision or accreditation-related activity makes a shared desk impractical. Document the reason for the assignment and review it when the role or work pattern changes.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to plan the layout before construction or renovation
- Inventory existing space and activity. Record room types, workstation counts, actual occupancy by time of day, clinic and teaching schedules, remote-work patterns, storage use and peak meeting demand. Do not calculate capacity from headcount alone.
- Classify tasks, not personalities. For each discipline, identify focused writing, confidential conversations, video calls, team collaboration, drop-in advising, equipment use, records handling and work that can be done remotely. The same faculty member may need several settings in one day.
- Set non-negotiable requirements. Check confidentiality, infection-control interfaces where relevant, technology, accessibility, records security, storage, supervision and program-specific accreditation obligations. UNMC and Nebraska Medicine specifically noted that GME and LCME requirements could apply case by case.
- Involve every affected discipline. Use a neutral surveyor or facilitator when possible. The Beth Israel Deaconess process combined standardized data collection, site visits, meetings, literature review and mock-ups with all disciplines.
- Test at peak demand. Model the busiest clinic changeover, teaching period, conference block and video-call window. Average occupancy can hide a shortage of private rooms or lockers when demand is highest.
- Build and test mock-ups. Let users sit at sample desks, make calls, store equipment, move between collaboration and focus areas and test sightlines. Change the plan before walls, cabling and furniture make corrections expensive.
- Specify operational rules with the design. Define reservations, desk clearing, storage duration, visitor access, noise expectations, technology support, cleaning and what happens when a booked room is unavailable.
- Phase the change. A pilot neighborhood or floor can reveal booking friction, storage shortages and acoustic problems before the institution converts all faculty space.
- Review after occupancy. Compare measured use and user experience with the planning assumptions, then adjust room mix, furniture, technology and policies.
What to measure after opening
Post-occupancy review should combine building data with reported experience. Useful measures include:
- Workstation, office and meeting-room utilization by hour and day.
- Private-room availability during peak call and conversation periods.
- Room-booking failures, no-shows, double bookings and time spent searching for a room.
- Reported noise, visual privacy, auditory privacy, focus and satisfaction by role.
- Use of lockers, cabinets and other storage, including overflow into work areas.
- Cross-disciplinary contact patterns, assessed carefully rather than equating proximity with a clinical or productivity outcome.
- How often people leave the center to work elsewhere because they cannot find a suitable setting.
- Technology incidents, workstation setup time and accessibility problems.
Do not claim lower costs, higher productivity, better patient outcomes or improved well-being unless the institution measures those outcomes with a suitable baseline and follow-up. The available institutional accounts do not establish a generally applicable percentage effect, cost saving or patient-safety gain.
Privacy, acoustics and visual separation
Privacy is a design requirement, not an accessory. UCSF Mission Hall respondents specifically identified noise and lack of visual and auditory privacy. Enclosed rooms with appropriate walls, doors, ventilation and acoustic treatment provide a stronger response than simply spacing desks farther apart.
A privacy screen or desk divider may reduce direct sightlines at a shared workstation, but the documented concern does not establish that any particular screen improves acoustic privacy, confidentiality, satisfaction or productivity. Treat a divider as a possible visual-separation aid—not a substitute for a properly designed enclosed room. Test speech privacy and sightlines in the actual room, with furniture and equipment installed.
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Common planning mistakes and their corrections
Using one desk ratio for every discipline
Clinical faculty, laboratory researchers, educators and administrators have different attendance, equipment, confidentiality and storage patterns. Use role-based demand data and peak conditions instead of a campus-wide ratio.
Counting collaboration seats but not quiet rooms
Open tables are visible in a plan and easy to count, while the shortage of private rooms appears only after opening. Set a peak-demand target for focus, phone and confidential rooms and test it in mock-ups.
Assuming openness automatically creates teamwork
Proximity can support informal contact, as observed at Beth Israel Deaconess, but UCSF’s experience shows that noise and privacy problems can drive people away. Pair shared areas with protected settings and evaluate actual behavior.
Moving people without storage or technology
Shared work fails when faculty cannot secure equipment, find a monitor, connect reliably or leave materials between sessions. Specify lockers, cabinets, docking, displays, power, network capacity and support before occupancy.
Declaring success from a launch announcement
An institutional plan or a larger capacity figure is not an outcome evaluation. Establish baseline measures, publish review dates and be prepared to change the mix of rooms, desks and assigned offices.
A practical decision framework for leaders
Choose a higher share of shared space when attendance varies substantially, work is portable, collaboration demand is high and the institution can support reservations, storage, technology and private rooms. Choose more assigned offices when confidential or concentrated work dominates, specialized equipment is common, presence is predictable or privacy-room demand cannot be met at peak times.
Most academic medical centers will fall between those extremes. Start with a mixed plan, reserve assigned offices for documented role requirements, and use occupancy and task data to refine the balance. That approach addresses capacity without repeating the privacy and noise problems reported at UCSF, while preserving the proximity benefits observed in the Beth Israel Deaconess case.
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