Mobile business tools have widened the potential definition of the workplace well beyond the confines of a specific piece of real estate. Yet we still cling dearly to our tactile office, and employees become defensive of personal space and amenities during renovation or relocation. The environment in which we work has a great impact on workforce productivity in both measurable and less tangible ways. Selecting a suitable location and delivering an inspired workplace will go a long way to achieving user satisfaction and, in turn, translating the investment into improved business performance.
As the workplace and the infrastructure necessary to support it have grown more complex, office interiors have become much more than big furniture purchases. In the past, office interiors tended to be the domain of a small group of specialist interior-design firms and furniture suppliers that provide space planning and basic design drawings, and rely heavily on general contractors, equipment vendors, as well as installers to prepare and coordinate the detailed construction documents.
Once the lease has been signed, the landlord will often pass the baton to the designated contractor, who is expected to look after the tenant’s best interests in getting the space ready for occupancy. Doing so offers the landlord advantages in terms of single-point responsibility, and assurances that work will meet standards that retain the integrity of base building finishing quality, infrastructure, and life-safety systems, as well as logistical management of the construction and move-related activities.
For the tenant, the designated-contractor system brings a team of design and construction vendors familiar with the building but, more important, it also means non-competitive pricing.
To some extent, this is unavoidable, especially in smaller tenancies, and it is also reasonable to entrust work with significant impact on the base building (such as structure or main-plant equipment) to the contractor responsible for putting up the building.
However, defining “impact to the base building” can be tricky if not done early in the lease negotiations. Gaining the right to bid for the fit-out work may be interpreted as bidding to supply the furniture and equipment only, with even paint and carpet under the designated contractor’s scope in extreme cases.
For tenants without in-house facilities expertise, this one-stop shopping approach might be considered the easier path. However, multinationals generally expect greater transparency and hands-on involvement in the design process to be sure they are going to get what they want at a fair price.
Over the past few years, since the value of an independent project manager or construction manager has come to be recognised, owners increasingly have been retaining professional consultants to act on their behalf—liaising with the owner’s head office corporate real estate leaders, local users, the design team, contractors and other stakeholders—while managing the overall project schedule, monitoring quality and controlling cost from the client’s perspective. Also increasing are opportunities for other specialist consultants, such as for communication and data networking, security, and workplace strategy consulting.
Returning to the topic of design, it should come as no surprise that the premium developers compete on the basis of technical innovation and strive to deliver leading-edge base building specifications. Large column-free floor-plates, increased ceiling heights, as well as robust infrastructure that includes redundant power supply and the latest seismic technology, are standard features for A- and S-grade properties.
The most modern buildings tend to rely on automation, with smart controls that, for example, optimize the angle of window blinds with the position of the sun, employ motion or daylight sensors to control lighting levels near windows, integrate security systems to automatically shut down air-conditioning when the last person swipes out, and other building management functions.
This is complemented by other systems that give individual users control over the temperature in their area, either with individual manually controlled air outlets at each desk, or an intranet-based control system that permits adjustments and keeps a log of who adjusts the temperature, light levels and other room conditions. An interesting example developed by a major general contractor uses a global positioning system in each employee’s mobile phone to keep track of how many people are in any room at a given time and automatically controls the lights, air-conditioning, security, etc.
However, a few points should be noted. Tenant office areas of new buildings are still designed with a primarily open layout in mind. To avoid an excessively costly fit-out, tenants who plan to subdivide the space for meeting rooms or private offices, or who may want slab-to-slab partitioning for acoustic privacy, need to pay careful attention to the amount of flexibility, in particular with respect to zoning of air-conditioning controls and smoke exhaust compartmentalisation.
Building regulations require that the landlord complete the interior finishes in order to receive base building occupancy permits. Demolition of the base building finishes is required in order to conduct the tenant fit-out. Furthermore, on the termination of a lease, the original finishes must be restored at the tenant’s expense. Skeleton space or tenant-specified interiors may be negotiated in a pre-lease arrangement, and delivered in parallel with the base building construction, but this requires careful coordination and commitment to a lease well in advance of occupancy.
With regard to future trends, sustainability is certainly at the top of the list. Indoor air quality improvements, water conservation, as well as energy saving specifications—such as on-site alternative energy, heat recovery systems and high-efficiency LED lighting fixtures—are finding their way into the specifications of projects.
Tenants and landlords have begun to show an interest in certification based on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™. Applying this system, which encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria, is seen as a measure of tenant-landlord commitment to sustainability.
To date, three interior projects in Japan have achieved LEED certification, and several more are under review. The justification for green building reflects the accumulating evidence linking the benefits of healthier work environments with improved worker productivity.
For companies re-evaluating their facility needs over the coming year, there is much to think about, and a good supply of new space coming to market.