I recall during my first visit to HP Labs as a grad student. Walking into the office off of Page Mill Road, passing reception and being on an elevated platform looking over a sea of cubes. Creeped me out.

I've worked at places with cubes and bullpens, open offices with a mix of engineering and sales (sucked), open offices that were poorly designed (sucked), and now I work at home full time (unless traveling or at a coffee shop).

I much prefer having the freedom to pick the level of noise I subject myself to. Open offices were generally annoying because you became anti-social anyways by putting in headphones.