I agree on open-offices being distractive - had worked on a work-shelf kind of environment where we could easily elbowed adjacent person without moving an inch from chair. And the division was 'research' oriented! This was because it was a prime location. No wonder most wanted to work from home or do most of their design kind of work in conference rooms. Main reasons I see open office environment is - they want to save up on real-estate. So most of times its hidden and given fancy names.