Letter: Firms have differing needs for an actual office

As an architect, I can say I don’t want to see the need for “bricks and mortar” go away as we design office spaces, but the article headlined “Some firms have nixed the office; others are doubling down” [Nov. 12] shows what is good for one business or industry isn’t necessarily good for another.

Larger businesses and those that require more control of either processes or the inner workings of that business still need facilities they either own or lease or control.

As business evolves, though, what was thought of as typical business is disappearing or changing. Maintaining office space, which can be quite a large overhead expense, just isn’t always justified by the type of business or profit margin.

Architects, designers and engineers are the perfect example. We can have what is essentially a “virtual office” that consists of each part of a project [connected] only via the phone and internet. We only have to meet from time to time or have meetings that can be held anywhere. To maintain offices and all the cost they require would certainly make the business very precarious.

So I would say: “To each his (or her) own.”

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Neil Dixon