open plan

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open plan or free plan. Space in a building undivided by means of walls or partitions. Areas within it may be defined by means of columns, ceiling-heights, differing floor-levels, screens, furniture, etc. Inspired by a vogue for things Japanese connected with the Aesthetic and Arts-and-Crafts Movements, and with Art Nouveau, it was adopted by F. L. Wright in the 1890s, and by other architects working with the Shingle style. Le Corbusier and other Modernists called it le plan libre, and it was used to considerable effect by Mies van der Rohe (e.g. Tugendhat House, Brno (1928–30) ). It became a feature of office buildings.

Bibliography

Boje (1972)