Office Space Planning Guide — Square Footage, Room Sizes & Clearances

The numbers below are the planning rules of thumb we use before drawing anything — enough to sanity-check a lease, a headcount or a budget in about ten minutes. They are starting points for early planning, not a substitute for a stamped drawing: final layouts have to be confirmed against your local building code, fire code and the ADA Standards.

How much space per person

Setting	Typical area per person	Notes
Whole office, all-in	150–250 sq ft	Includes the person’s desk plus their share of meeting rooms, break room and circulation. Denser open-plan offices land near the bottom.
Open-plan workstation	36–64 sq ft	A 6×6 station is 36 sq ft; 8×8 is 64. Panel height changes the feel more than the footprint.
Benching / hot desk	25–40 sq ft	Shared runs with a 5′–6′ surface per person and no full panels.
Private office — staff/manager	100–150 sq ft	Desk, a return or credenza, and one or two guest chairs.
Private office — executive	150–250 sq ft	Adds a small meeting table or lounge seating.

Rooms by function

Room	Size guide	Planning note
Conference room	25–30 sq ft per seat	An 8-seat room lands around 200–240 sq ft. Allow more if there is a credenza or display wall.
Conference table	24–30 in of table edge per seat	A 10′ table seats 8 comfortably; 12′ seats 10.
Huddle / focus room	60–100 sq ft	2–4 people. The most under-built room in most offices.
Reception / lobby	100–200 sq ft	Desk, 2–6 guest seats and a clear accessible path to the counter.
Break room	15 sq ft per person at peak	Size to the largest group actually on lunch at once, not to headcount.
Copy / storage	60–120 sq ft	Lateral files need door swing plus standing room in front.

Clearances that get missed

Where	Minimum	Comfortable
Behind a desk chair to the wall	36 in	42–48 in
Behind a conference chair to the wall	36 in	42–48 in — so people can walk behind a seated row
Primary circulation aisle	44 in	48–60 in
Secondary aisle between station rows	36 in	42 in
In front of a lateral file	36 in	Drawer depth plus 36 in

Accessibility

These come from the ADA Standards for Accessible Design rather than from preference, and they are the ones that most often force a layout change late: a 36 in minimum clear width on an accessible route, a 60 in turning circle for a wheelchair, a 30 × 48 in clear floor space at each element someone must reach, and at an accessible work surface a 27 in minimum knee clearance with the top no higher than 34 in. Confirm the full requirements with your architect or local authority — this is a planning summary, not a code citation.

A quick way to size a space

Step	Do this
1	Count the people who need a permanent seat, and the people who only touch down.
2	Multiply permanent seats by your station type from the first table.
3	Add the rooms — conference, huddle, reception, break, storage — from the second table.
4	Add 25–40% of that subtotal back for circulation.
5	Compare to the usable square feet on the lease, not the rentable square feet.

If the answer comes out tight, that is normal — it usually means the station type or the number of enclosed rooms has to move, and that is exactly what a layout is for.

Want this checked against your actual space?

Enter your email and we will send you the guide, and reply so you can send us your dimensions for a free scaled layout.

Get a free CAD space plan →
See how this plays out by industry →
Browse real installations →

Quote List (0)