Optimizing workspaces with block and stack planning

Block and stack planning is a fundamental practice for workplace and real estate teams. By visualizing how different teams, departments, or business units are arranged across floors and buildings, organizations can make smarter decisions about space allocation and workplace design. 

When done well, block and stack planning improves efficiency, reduces costs, and helps teams adapt more easily as needs evolve. Let’s discuss the essentials of effective block & stack planning and how AI space planning tools can drastically save FM’s time and energy.

What is block and stack planning?

Block and stack planning is the process of mapping out your organization’s teams, departments, or groups across your physical workspace. “Blocking” refers to identifying which teams need space, how much of it, and what type of work environment supports them best. “Stacking” places those blocks across the floors and buildings in your portfolio, creating a clear visual plan for how people and functions are distributed.

Effective block and stack plans help workplace teams evaluate different layouts, support headcount changes, and plan future growth or consolidation. They also give leaders an at-a-glance view of how their space is used today—and how it could be optimized for tomorrow.

See how AI can speed up block and stack planning: explore OfficeSpace’s AI-powered scenario modeling and learn how Dojo enhances fast, accurate space planning.

Three steps for successful block and stack planning

Successful block and stack planning combines clear data, thoughtful analysis, and the right tools to help workplace teams evaluate needs and make confident decisions about how space should be organized.

1. Understand your space and team requirements

Before building a block and stack plan, it’s essential to understand how much space each team needs and what type of environment supports their work. This includes gathering headcount information, identifying adjacency needs, and noting any specialized requirements such as equipment, quiet zones, or collaboration areas.

Examples of what to assess include:

• Team size, anticipated growth, or planned contraction

• Collaboration needs (e.g., shared project rooms, meeting spaces)

• Focus-oriented needs (e.g., quiet zones, private offices)

• Space types required (open seating, dedicated desks, hoteling areas)

• Specialized equipment or storage needs

• Proximity requirements (e.g., IT near support desks, Finance near leadership)

By mapping these needs up front, workplace teams can create plans that support productivity and reduce the need for major adjustments later.

2. Evaluate your current layout

Once you’ve gathered the information you need, review your existing space layout to determine what’s working and what isn’t. This may involve identifying underused areas, floors that are consistently over capacity, or teams that would benefit from being closer together.

Key questions to guide your evaluation:

• Which floors or spaces are underutilized—or overcrowded?

• Are teams seated in locations that support their workflows?

• Are there bottlenecks or circulation challenges?

• Are collaboration spaces balanced with focus spaces?

• Does the current layout support hybrid attendance patterns?

Visualizing teams at the block level makes it easier to spot inefficiencies, plan ahead, and align your footprint with organizational priorities.

3. Find and make better use of unused space

With a clear understanding of your teams and your current footprint, you can begin building stack plans and comparing different scenarios. This helps you test how reorganizing floors, consolidating groups, or adjusting departmental locations will impact your space.

Scenario planning may include:

• Consolidating teams onto fewer floors

• Moving growing teams to larger areas

• Redistributing departments to improve adjacencies

• Testing different mixes of collaboration vs. focus spaces

• Exploring restack options to support hybrid work patterns

Today, many workplace teams also rely on AI-powered scenario modeling, like OfficeSpace’s Dojo AI, to accelerate this step. Instead of manually building every configuration, AI can:

• Recommend layout options based on team needs

• Flag density, adjacency, or circulation issues

• Predict how different configurations may affect space utilization

• Generate multiple restack options in seconds

• Provide insights that would take hours to uncover manually

This gives leaders the ability to explore more possibilities with greater accuracy—and make decisions faster and with more confidence. Scenario testing gives facility teams the flexibility to explore multiple configurations before making changes in the real world—leading to smarter decisions and fewer disruptions.

Model multiple block and stack scenarios in minutes: see how OfficeSpace’s AI-powered space planning—strengthened by the Dojo acquisition—helps teams evaluate more options with greater accuracy.

Bringing it all together for a safer workplace

Block and stack planning gives organizations the clarity they need to use space more effectively, adapt to changing demands, and support employees with a layout that truly works. By pairing a clear planning process with modern workplace tools—and now, AI-driven scenario modeling—teams can evaluate more options, uncover insights sooner, and make confident decisions about how to design and evolve their space.

With the right approach and the right platform, your workplace can become more flexible, efficient, and aligned with the needs of your people and your business.

Want to learn more about how you can use OfficeSpace to plan space? Check out our block and stack planning product tour

Photos: y LinkedIn Sales Navigator, OSS