For organizations managing multiple floors, buildings, or campuses, stack planning provides a high-level view of how space is assigned and used. It helps leaders understand where teams sit, how occupancy compares with capacity, and which parts of the portfolio may need to change.
Stack planning is the process of visualizing and organizing how floors, buildings, and campuses within a real estate portfolio are allocated across departments, teams, and functions. A stack plan provides a vertical, bird’s-eye view of building occupancy: showing which teams sit where, how much space is utilized versus available, and where consolidation or expansion opportunities exist.
| Layer | What It Shows | Decision It Informs |
|---|---|---|
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Building overview
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All floors in a vertical stack, color-coded by department
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Executive-level portfolio allocation visibility
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Occupancy vs. capacity
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Headcount and actual utilization per floor
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Identifies underutilized floors for consolidation or subletting
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Department mapping
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Which teams and functions sit on which floors
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Supports adjacency planning and cross-team collaboration
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Lease overlay
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Lease expiration dates and break clauses per floor
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Enables proactive lease renegotiation or exit decisions
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Growth projections
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Headcount forecasts layered onto current allocation
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Connects workforce planning to real estate commitments
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The biggest shift in stack planning is the move from static allocation data to live usage data. Historically, stack plans were built around assigned headcount: which teams sat on which floors, how much space they were allocated, and how much capacity each floor was supposed to support. That worked reasonably well when attendance was more predictable and most employees had fixed desks.
In hybrid workplaces, that model is much less reliable. A floor may look full on paper because 200 employees are assigned to it, while actual attendance shows that only a fraction of those people use the space at the same time. When utilization data is added through badge swipes, booking records, or occupancy sensors, stack planning becomes a more accurate reflection of how the workplace is really functioning. That gives leaders a stronger basis for decisions about consolidation, reconfiguration, neighborhood planning, and lease strategy.
For teams creating a stack plan for the first time, a simple starting point is often enough. Begin by mapping buildings, floors, and department allocations, then add headcount and any available occupancy or booking data. Over time, that view can become more detailed. What matters first is creating a reliable planning baseline.
For organizations ready to accelerate, AI-powered platforms, like Kadence, generate dynamic stack plans from live booking and sensor data, updated continuously, not quarterly. The manual spreadsheet approach works for a single building with a stable headcount that never changes. For multi-building hybrid portfolios in the real world, it’s structurally inadequate.