Help make offices that don't suck!

Lovely people, I have need of you.  I am researching how to design government office space that doesn't suck. Our school project for the Ministry of Technology has a floor full of programming teams, and a floor full of executives. Would those of you who work in offices, especially in IT or government or hopefully both, help me out with these questions?  Comment, send a message or an email.

1. What kind of work do you do, and in what kind of organization?  (Kind of work: e.g. is it thinking/concentration work, meeting-heavy, or interruption-based, like reception?)
2. What is your office in general like, in terms of its design, furniture, and environment?
3. What is your personal workspace like, in terms of its design, furniture, and environment? Which of your furnishings and equipment do you use, or not use? Are there ones you need and don't have?
4. What do you like and dislike about the space? (both personal and common)
5. What would make the programmers' floor in my Ministry of Technology project look unstodgy? Like a cool and pleasant place to work?
6. What would make the executives' floor in my Ministry of Technology project look impressive while keeping theme with the programmers' floor below?  I would like to keep the programmers from gagging on the smell of money and pomposity, but it still has to impress VIP visitors.