A 10-person open office is the smallest open-plan configuration where workstation clustering strategies, aisle widths, and shared storage placement significantly affect productivity and compliance. At this scale, you can choose between individual desks, benching runs, or a hybrid approach — and the right choice depends on how much collaboration vs. focused work your team does. This guide provides the exact measurements, workstation configurations, and storage layouts for a functional 10-person open office.
A 10-person open office requires a minimum of approximately 800–1,000 sq ft of gross floor area at standard commercial density (80–100 sq ft per person), or as low as 600 sq ft at high-density benching (60 sq ft per person). For a comfortable mid-density open plan with individual desks, target 90–110 sq ft per person = 900–1,100 sq ft total.
| Density Model | Sq Ft/Person | Total for 10 | Typical Layout |
|---|---|---|---|
| High density (benching) | 55–65 sq ft | 550–650 sq ft | Back-to-back 48" benching, shared storage |
| Standard density | 80–100 sq ft | 800–1,000 sq ft | Individual 60" desks or 6' benching per person |
| Comfortable/collaborative | 100–120 sq ft | 1,000–1,200 sq ft | Individual desks + dedicated collaboration zone |
Standard deductions for open office planning:
For a 10-person team at standard density in a rectangular 1,000 sq ft space (approximately 20'×50' or 25'×40'):
Back-to-back desk row footprint: Row 1 (30" deep) + aisle (60") + Row 2 (30" deep) = 120" (10') total depth per double row. In a 40'-deep room (480"), two double-rows consume 20' of depth, leaving 20' for aisles, collaboration, and storage.
A 10-person benching configuration uses two 120" (10-foot) benching runs, each serving 5 people at 24" per person. Back-to-back benching runs with a 60" back-to-back aisle consume (24" bench depth × 2) + 60" aisle = 108" (9') total depth for 10 people. This is significantly more compact than individual desks — 10 individual desks at 30" depth consume 120" (10') plus the same 60" aisle. Benching reduces individual storage to shared overhead panels and central storage towers. Typical benching footprint for 10 people: 120"×108" = 90 sq ft for the full workstation zone (vs. ~200 sq ft for individual desks).
Arrange 10 L-desks in a pinwheel or quad-cluster configuration — four desks facing outward with backs to a central shared storage tower, and two additional clusters of three desks. Each L-desk (60"×48" footprint) requires approximately 80 sq ft of allocated floor area including chair clearance and aisle access. Total for 10 L-desks: 800 sq ft — demanding close to the full standard density floor area. This configuration maximizes individual storage and surface area at the cost of floor efficiency.
For teams with fewer than 10 assigned seats (hot-desking, hybrid work): reduce assigned workstations to 7–8 and allocate the remaining floor area to focus rooms (minimum 6'×8'), lounge seating, and standing-height collaboration tables. Each focus room requires 48 sq ft minimum. Two focus rooms + 8 workstations + a 10-person collaboration table zone can be planned in 900–1,000 sq ft with careful layout.
