Something is missing in offices today. It’s not a computer stolen last week. Nor is it cell phones (despite some co-workers’ wishes). It is – or was – the most basic office structure: walls.

Businesses in Greater Des Moines, especially larger corporations, are kicking down the barriers that separate employees from their teammates and creating environments that foster constant interaction with colleagues.

“I think there’s a desire to maximize both productivity and also enjoyment and synergy built between co-workers in the work environment,” said Matt Ostanik, public relations chair for the Iowa chapter of the American Institute of Architects. “Collaboration is a tool for companies to do both things: build more output and an enjoyable experience.”

An open environment is an ideal Wells Fargo Co. abides by from entry-level employees to executives at its new campus on Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines.

Most workstations are not surrounded by four walls. Rather, there is only a tall wall to separate stations and even that has a glass window. In front and back are low panels, so when an employee is seated, he can see the faces of all the co-workers around him. There is no doorway, which allows people to communicate across aisles.

Features such as a low filing cabinet with a cushion that can be pulled out from under the desk and used as an extra seat allow employees to congregate at each other’s stations. Each floor contains about six conference rooms at the end of the hall, which allows for more private conversations or conference calls in settings ranging from lounge chairs to a more traditional table-chair setup.

“We’ve taken down barriers on all workstations,” said Cheryl Howard, senior vice president of corporate real estate and facilities services for Wells Fargo, “and have standards that make it easy for people to move from place to place.”

To keep noise to a minimum, the company installed a white-noise system, which plays a soft hum through speakers in the ceilings. The employees become accustomed to the sound, which drowns out nearby conversations.

Offices actually surrounded by four tall walls – still with no door or walls extending to the ceiling – are set away from the windows so all employees can enjoy natural sunlight.

“Wells Fargo is unique in that there’s not some mix of private offices,” said Scott Hatfield, chairman of the board at SVPA Architects Inc., which designed the building. “They’ve chosen a corporate culture that eliminates those.”

Features are standard across all departments, but flexible enough to allow employees to create spaces that fit their kind of work. They can add additional panels to the walls or remove the window between workstations if their work requires more privacy.

Moving toward a cubicle-free environment offers companies potential savings – more people can fit within less building space – and employees more opportunity to bounces ideas off one another, boosting creative output.

Having executives in the same kind of environment as entry-level workers also provides a sense of equality among team members and helps subordinates not feel neglected by management.

“A lot of innovation in office furniture makes people feel less enclosed and in a square cubicle, “said Vitus Bering, SVPA’s vice president and chief financial officer. “The innovation in the furniture market has a lot to do with the feel of space and opportunity to bump into each other.”

Happy employees, better business

Two Rivers Marketing’s philosophy is “if you can’t have fun, BE fun.” And its office design is an expression of that credo.

The No. 1 goal when renovating this building, said Tom Dunphy leader of the company, was “to build a space that would inspire good work. I wanted someplace where associates would be excited to come to work.

“If an employee isn’t happy, it’s hard to come up with great creative ideas.”

Located in a former General Motors Corp. shop at 106 E. Sixth St., a couple of blocks south of East Village, the company had a huge area that allowed it to create an open environment that encouraged employees interaction.

“The interesting thing about Two Rivers is the glorious extra space, which allows them to stretch out a bit,” said Bryan Shiffler, manager of Shiffler Associates Architects PLC, which designed the office. “It uses space as opposed to walls and corridors to separate people.”

Two Rivers’ workstations are more like desks with loose steel shields that cover some of the work area, but have gaps along the metal bar corners. Creative writers, designers and directors are stationed at one end, with public relations managers and account managers at the other end. They congregate in the space between, a long, wide spot with several meeting sections that include lounge chairs, tables and wireless connection for laptop computers. In the back is a large conference room that can be closed off by pulling down a garage door.

The mezzanine, built to get the business administrative staff away from the creative types, sits above the middle lounge and holds the offices for Dunphy and chief operating officer Brian Jones, a small conference room, and a row of desks for human resources and administration employees. The two offices are surrounded by wood and metal with wide holes for windows, “more decoration than walls,” Dunphy points out.

“Two Rivers Marketing hires very creative people,” said Shiffler. “And those people want bright, energetic open space. By opening everything up, it was the company’s attempt to develop synergies within their people – a cross-pollination of their ideas.”

The collaborative space has boosted not only the morale of the 60 employees, but the agency’s bottom line as well.

“In term of growth, we’ve had the best quarter ever as an agency,” said Dunphy. “It’s showing in every business measurement and I think it’s a function of people being happy.”

A boost in business may also be a reflection of Two Rivers’ clients’ appreciation of the space. The agency specializes in providing marketing services for agriculture and construction businesses, and the concrete floors and steel ceiling reflect those industries’ rougher kind of work.

Attraction to one area

Beyond creating workstations that feel more open, companies also are adding facilities that force impromptu meetings and interaction with other departments outside the office, called “magnet spaces.”

“I believe there’s a desire in corporate America to bring in all elements of their corporation to feel more as one,” said Shiffler. “Corporations don’t want to isolate departments. There could be ideas and possibilities alive inside a corporation that need to be spread to another department.”

When Shiffler’s firm began to design Krause Gentle Corp.’s headquarters, the goal “was to create the best lunch room in West Des Moines so employees would want to go there to work,” he explained.

Before different sectors were in several buildings and spread across several floors, so employees never interacted with different parts of the company.

“Rather than creating five or six different break areas,” said Sharon Krause, who’s in the business development group for the Kum & Go convenience store chain, a Krause Gentle subsidiary, “we have one centralized area. It allows us to have more resources there and give an opportunity for employees to visit with each other and network during the day.”

Putting Bistro 59, the cafeteria, and even the copier and mail room in a common area, forces the employees of Krause Gentle’s diverse enterprises – Liberty Bank, Solar Transport, Des Moines Menace, Kum & Go, Krause Gentle Foundation and Mille Miglia Coffee – to intermingle.

Wells Fargo goes one step further by offering workout facilities, large training rooms, and even a convenience store within one building on its new campus. On each level are break rooms as well. Even the staircase beckons employees to walk rather than take the elevator, with large windows and wide areas in which to stop and chat.

“The intent,” said Howard, “was to encourage people to get away from their workstations and have an informal meeting as they cross paths.”

Two Rivers Marketing focuses on companywide fun, with a break room that has a full kitchen, beer refrigerator, dart board and pool table set back from where employees are working. The company hosts barbecues every Friday, in addition to participating in monthly events such as the Polar Bear Plunge.

Trend to continue

One of the biggest innovations in office design is “120-degree offices,” said Heather Van Essen, associate and director of interior design for SVPA.

“The space is a little more open,” she said. “And allows for more interaction between colleagues and staff.”

Rather than a front wall that forces someone to make a 90-degree turn when entering the space, the front wall is moved out at a 120-degree angle. The design creates a more open work area, and the curved features are more efficient for work.

This is just another example of the desire for larger companies to not only encourage but also set the framework that causes co-workers to interact regularly. The trend is likely to continue as businesses see a boost in productivity and morale of their employees.

“Companies are more and more realizing that you cannot take office space for granted,” said Ostanik. “To maximize your investment, you need to focus on the design and the message it sends.”