Citigroup’s New Office Plan, and Other Industry News

Our weekly roundup of industry news from around the web.

• From WSJ: “The nation’s third-largest bank is making the shift to an open-plan layout—a vibe more identified with tech startups than global banking conglomerates—where no one, not even CEO Michael Corbat, will have a door. Most employees won’t even get their own desks. Citigroup says the setup will connect people face-to-face, raise energy levels and save money, by fitting more people into one space.”
• We loved this NYT article by Michael Kimmelman about why sound matters: “The spaces we design and inhabit all have distinctive sounds. The reading rooms at the New York Public Library have an overlay of rich sound. Your office may be a big room in a glass building with rows of cubicles where people stare into computer screens. It may be sealed off from the outside, and you may think it is quiet. Is it?” Click through for some awesome animated graphics.
• HuffPo with some tools for repairing the “broken American workplace”.