@marian:
Yep, we have one of those open plans, and you have it nailed. Despite the fact that there is absolutely no studies showing open floor plans improve productivity or collaboration, and open floor plans mostly are about fitting more people into a given space, economics, rather than productivity. I don’t know if having everyone out like that does much to break down barriers or get rid of hierarchy, all it seems to do is create a noisy workspace where it is far too easy to get interrupted.