The library analogy is spot on. I can't proclaim to know professional workspaces, but as a student, it's incredible how much more productive I am in a university library than alone in my own bedroom.

There's something about the hushed, low, but unmistakable presence of serious people in a grand room built and utilized for grand purposes. How could you resent working in a space like this?

http://harperlibrarycommons.uchicago.edu/