3 minute read
Interior Issues at the Core of a Successful Office Project
Office interiors were increasingly being integrated into the concept, design, leasing strategy and Property Management (PM) and Facility Management (FM) of office projects in reaction to tenant and staff demands anyway; now environmental regulations and issues related to the COVID-19 virus have made the area even more pressing.
By Gary J. Morrell
Indeed, as developers are striving to deliver ever more highly specified and sustainable office complexes, interior and exterior design have essentially become part of the same process. Sustainability accreditation from independent, third-party sustainability organizations such as BREEAM or LEED and, increasingly, WELL have a range of requirements regarding interiors.
These incorporate issues regarding the office environment, the provision of amenities and the internal atmosphere regarding the well-being, and its impact on the retention of staff and productivity. As staff return to the workplace, office owners will need to take their needs and new regulations in the post-virus environment into consideration.
“With most companies starting to come back to our buildings in May/June, we are preparing a special precautionary protocol to make sure their work environment is as safe as physically possible,” says Attila Kovács, managing partner of Horizon Development.
“In the long-term, architecture, design and the fit-out of commercial interiors will most likely also be touched by the idea of social distancing and increased personal health concerns, which might ultimately result in a more generous use of space in layouts and seating concepts, and an inclination towards implementing more touchfree smart solutions and smart technologies,” Kovács adds.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
In this way developers, landlords and property managers are expected to pay attention to the increasing importance of health and safety requirements. “Cleaning and sanitizing services as well as management of in-house traffic should be revised, and new regulations should be clearly stated to all tenants and service providers,” comments Adorján Salamon, CEO of Eston International.
“According to our experience, tenants are reintroducing regular office usage with limitations on the number of employees who are present in the property, and thus allowing part of the staff to work from home. Having fewer people in the office allows more time for further investigation of interior rearrangements,” he says. The importance of interiors and working conditions for staff is also underscored by Mátyás Gereben, country manager for Hungary at CPI Property Group, another leading office developer.
“In addition to pricing and location as the two dominant decision-making factors, there is an increasing need for ‘human elements’ to serve the comfort and wellbeing of employees. In this way, design is naturally tenant focused. The design process has already taken into consideration the requirements of accreditation and thus we have already incorporated many features such as bicycle racks, shower facilities, rainwater collection systems and disabled accessibility into the plans.”
With regard to the provision of amenities, the BREEAM “Excellent” accredited Magyar Telekom headquarters building by Wing, designed by TIBA Architects Studio, provides around 5,000 work places and includes a 300-capacity conference center, 700 sqm fitness center and sauna with a panoramic view of the city, roof top running track, two restaurants, two cafes and launderette.
CHECK LIST
“Good public transport access might not be considered as an amenity of the building, but companies want it badly. A high parking ratio can be also important for many users. A good quality canteen and cafeteria is getting more important; an average ‘mediocre quality’ self-service restaurant does not cut it anymore. A concierge-type service is also getting popular among tenants. Car-wash and electric chargers are well-liked by more and more tenants. Fitness access in the building/complex or near-by is also popular,” says Valter Kalaus, managing partner of Cresa Hungary, experts on tenant representation.
“When a tenant selects an office building, most of the time the exterior design of the building is a given; an average tenant in a typical situation cannot change that. You either like or
not. Either it fits your company image or not. On the other hand, the interior design of an office space can easily be changed; it can be custom-made and fitted-out to exactly how that company wants it to reflect its image, functionality, etc. We see significantly more office lease transactions being done with the involvement of an interior designer,” he adds.
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