For example, IBM has a floor of a high rise on Market St in San Francisco. It is exactly as you describe, but I had the impression that most on that floor were on temporary assignment working with clients in the City or even more frequent travelers there for the day. It was incredibly sterile. I am not one to put up photos in my cube, but there were zero personal effects on that floor and it was EXTREMELY quiet.

The last open space I worked at — the Gas Tower downtown LA — was like a morgue. You could see two hundred or so other people at their desk working away and hear nothing but the quiet clacking of keyboards. I detested that place.