When I worked in an open office, we had a small team of developers. We all wore headphones when we were in the zone, and we communicated during unofficial "quiet time" by using campfire. Eventually, we all started to complete 60 - 90 minute quiet time focused work sprints followed by 5 minutes of break time and joking, before starting the cycle again. It was weird how we all fell into a similar pattern. It made our team stronger, though.
Thanks so much for posting this Kevin! I was late to the party in terms of reading her blog, so I'm glad I now have "the best of" collection. You rock!