Can a country like Germany, with its high salary levels, taxes and social security contributions, also afford to have the largest area per office workplace in the world? Describing office space simply in terms of area, of course, says nothing about its quality. Workplaces and infrastructure amenities need to function efficiently. Without adequate daylighting, for example, workplaces are of little value. In this respect, the overall form of a building plays an important role. Developments laid out in block-, strip- or comb-like form or about an atrium provide quite different conditions in terms of daylighting, disturbance caused by through routes, and scope for creating autonomous units. Facade and finishings grids also have a major influence on the economy of the layout and the spatial divisions. Broadly speaking, a closely spaced facade grid can result in savings of nearly a third of the floor area. A similar factor in this respect is the depth of the building. A deep layout that can be divided into a number of zones parallel to the facade can increase design flexibility in the office organization and the economic use of the floor area.