Corporate Campus Best Practices by Ziegler Cooper

NOVEMBER 2017

CORPORATE

CA M P US D E SIG N BEST PRACTICES FOR AN EVOLVING WORLD

“Attracting and retaining a talented workforce was one of the main driving forces for the inclusion of many of the design elements in our client’s recently completed corporate campus projects.” Kurt Hull, AIA, LEED AP Senior Principal, Ziegler Cooper

CORPORATE CAMPUS DESIGN

VISIONARY PLANNING

The first step in the campus design process is to create a multi-year vision and master plan (corporate campus) during a series of workshops between the architect and project stakeholders. This collaborative process elicits the corporate mission and vision to guide an integrated program for all disciplines. The vision tells the story of why the campus plan is being brought into existence. It communicates, in common language, the shared vision of the corporation and the community of which it is to be a part.

It is possible to conceive a diverse set of buildings or a vertical building design that delivers equally well in terms of corporate culture, functional and operational flexibility, longrange financial strategy, while anticipating technological and socio-economic disruptions.

Next, the necessary and desired attributes of physical facilities, land and infrastructure are determined. During this programming stage, transportation and circulation are studied as well as connectivity with surrounding community. Physical site attributes and building synergies bear strong correlation to both the vision and mission phase, and also to the following operational phase. In this way, facilities are designed to be as flexible as possible to fulfill the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s functional program while taking financial strategy into consideration. Lastly, the operational requirements are ascertained and directed. Consideration is given during this phase to allocation of resources and a study of expected return on investment, as well as necessary partnerships to bring the plan to fruition. The operational plan allows for phasing of the master plan to be tailored to growth projections and financial goals or constraints. It may allow for compressed schedules arising from consolidation or staffing relocation constraints.

Program an Exit Strategy

Very often, one of two scenarios face the large-scale employer when right-sizing or restructuring within an existing facility: either try to sub-lease in the middle of a lease term, or sell and relocate to a new campus. It depends upon building ownership, but neither is an ideal scenario. Thoughtful planning and consideration to exit strategy from the very beginning of the master plan design process is necessary.

Context Matters

Sustainability remains a buzz word, but sustainable design means more than developing â&#x20AC;&#x153;greenâ&#x20AC;? buildings. Sustainability is an integral part of good design, but it is only truly meaningful when buildings relate to and connect with surrounding community, inspire more productive, happy and healthy people, and create measurable economic value. Further, with a mix of building uses, the synergy of each building type impacts the performance of the entire community of individual uses and adds resiliency to the whole.

Live, work and play environments are the most sustainable formula when addressing climate change and protecting the environment; residents of compact, connected communities do better with their personal finances as well. So, whether a campus is isolated for security, or integrated into the public realm, accessibility and connectivity matter. In order to create winning mixed use developments that meet the needs of companies, the people who work there, and the communities where they exist, it is not uncommon to see public-private partnerships to help bring about a mix of public amenities and infrastructure.

REAL ESTATE DISRUPTORS

Shifting paradigms necessitate innovation and adaptation. Advances in transportation technology have created disruptions to commercial real estate in the past. From the mass production of the Ford Model-T to the self-driving Tesla, users of the public rights-of-way have become accustomed to adapting to changing transportation modes. Before the horseless carriage, cities like New York provided large livery stables to house as many as 175,000 horses. It is said that some doubted the staying power of the combustion engine as a popular mode of transportation! But, today, the stables have long ago been converted to warehouses and parking garages, and few have ever heard of livery stables. The technology industry has let loose several transformative innovations that are undoubtedly changing the real estate conversation. In a recent article titled ROI Falls to the Investor who Understands Building Obsolescence, Joseph Derhake writes in the National Real Estate Investor: “... the proliferation of automobile ownership after the Second World War changed everything. Now the driver-less car will change everything again.” Not everyone will buy-in to ownership of autonomous vehicles, however. A privately owned automobile spends 95% of its life sitting idle. If vehicles are used only five percent of the time, it is understandable that the transportation as a service (TaaS) model

makes transportation more affordable for everyone, and more accessible for the segment of the population that is, due to age or disability, currently unable to drive.

Happening NOW:

• Uber reports a $6B increase in transactions worldwide every quarter for the last two years • Dallas Airport System reports a $10M loss in parking revenues, due in large part to shared rides • Hotel drive-in ratio and valet parking is down 20% • New developments with limited-to-no parking: • Branded shared fleets for residential tenants • Frictionless parking to reduce parking ratios • Current parking ratio codes already over-designed

Stages of Change:

• Autonomous vehicles a “rich-man’s toy” • Car ownership to peak in 2020 • Penetration estimations: • 5 Yrs.:15% TaaS market penetration • 6 to 7 Yrs.: Parking structures partially non-used asset • 10 to15 Yrs.: 45-50 % penetration, the tipping point • Drivers: • Smaller families • Work from home • School districts • Live-work-play centers in infill and suburbs • In Houston, existing parking on every other block will go away

Going Forward: • • • •

Design building approaches for drop off New traffic circulation patterns Less parking Parking structures designed for retrofit: • Taller floor-to-floor • Adjust loadings • Express ramps • Remove center ramp/replace with office atrium

CORPORATE CAMPUS DESIGN

DEMOGRAPHICS GUIDE DECISIONS

Workers, specifically Millennials, seek an energizing environment within the workplace and in their surroundings. In greater numbers, suburbanites want to move back to the urban core, and Millennials account for an ever-growing percentage of the workforce. Given these demographic shifts, and with urban areas becoming more livable after the addition of new high-rise residential options in the urban core, corporations find it makes sense to move back to vibrant downtown areas. Property values are skyrocketing, even in Houston - still one of the least dense major cities in the world - so, as investors seek opportunities, they look beyond the city center to urban infill and secondary markets. These markets are seeing an increased interest in mixed-use, walkable developments that offer the live-work-play lifestyle. A sustainable campus will closely resemble this type of development. Whether a campus serves its lifespan for a single corporation or for multiple corporate entities, the buildings within the campus must be adaptable to the changing nature of business, and to a workforce culture that demands a blurring of the lines between home, office and community.

MILLENIALS ARE 25% OF THE WORKFORCE TODAY

BY 2030, MILLENIALS WILL BE 75% OF THE WORKFORCE

Aside from the health and social benefits derived from amenityrich, walkable, developments, rental premiums from such developments range from 41% in the case of office space, to more than 80% for retail and surrounding dense residential, according to the Brookings Institution. This demonstrates that dense, walkable, mixed use development benefits everyone the community, in terms of wellbeing, governments, in terms of decreased cost of services per occupant, and the investor/ developer, in terms of increased value. A final demographic to consider in best practice campus design comes from a recent report by think tank, RethinkX. This suggests that urban transportation as a service (TaaS) will provide 95% of U.S. passenger miles by 2030. If any new development will outlive todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transportation model, there must be a strategy in place to design for increasing passenger drop-off and different traffic flows; decreasing need for parking; and for the redevelopment of existing parking structures and lots.

TAAS WILL PROVIDE

95%

OF U.S. PASSENGER MILES BY 2030

CORPORATE CAMPUS DESIGN

MULTI-MODAL CONNECTIVITY

Opposite, the Research Forest Lakeside master plan is overlayed with three sectors in a one-mile radius, represented by red dotted lines. • The inner, 400 meter radius represents a comfortable, five-minute walking distance to retail, between office buildings, or other of the surrounding mixed use building types. • The next, 800 meter radius can be traveled in ten minutes by bicycle, on a golf cart, or utilizing another form of alternative transportation. • Vehicular and mass transit forms of transportation, such as Park & Ride and Trolley link surrounding neighborhoods and various regions of the master planned site.

SINGLE OR MULTI-TENANT CAMPUS

Corporate culture and security needs are taken into consideration in choice of location. Whether a company locates closer to the suburbs or to the city center, all generations of workers desire a lifestyle that balances the work-live-play aspects of life by being closer to, or more easily connected to, home and leisure. The Single Tenant Campus is typified in the suburban setting as an integrated cluster of buildings with no or limited diversity. Departments or divisions with specialized spaces accommodate specific functions, but they remain within a framework and unified identity. In an urban setting, the single tenant campus is likely to be vertical. The Multi-tenant Campus typically comprises a cluster of diversified buildings whose floor plates accommodate multiple tenant types per floor or building. Whether low-rise and set on suburban acreage, like Chicago Bridge & Iron in The Woodlands, or urban and vertical like 1111 Travis in Houston, these facilities usually involve a degree of shared and public amenities.

DESIGN FROM COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE Site Considerations • Sensitive sites • Storm water remediation and capture • Bioswales • Wildlife habitat • Resiliency • Hurricane (Wind/Flood) • Durability • Systems security • Connectivity Public Realm • Eighteen-hour use • Energized • Pedestrian malls • Gathering and socializing • Green space and parks • Trails for walking and biking • Local businesses and access to retail

Well Building Design • Elements • Air • Water • Light • Mind • Nourishment • Fitness • Comfort Sustainable Design • Sprawl minimization • Center around areas of highest activity • Flexible building design • Energy conservation • Multi-modal connectivity • Future-minded parking design • Wired Certification for future connectivity features

“Location is key to attracting and retaining talented workers, especially Millennials. Desirable, revitalized downtown areas are lively, connected and walkable, but have less affordable housing. When corporations team with local agencies, it can result in walkable neighborhoods where people want to live and work.” Kurt Hull, AIA, LEED AP Senior Principal, Ziegler Cooper

CORPORATE CAMPUS DESIGN

ELEMENTS OF A GREAT PLACE

USES & ACTIVITIES

SOCIABILITY

PLACE

ACCESS & LINKAGES

COMFORT & IMAGE

RESEARCH FOREST LAKESIDE Multi-Tenant; The Woodlands, Texas

Nestled between Lake Woodlands and abundant natural groves, Research Forest Lakeside is a premier 11-building, 77-acre commercial office development comprising a total of 1,615,198 SF of office space, 36,552 SF of retail and 4,694 parking spaces. The development offers complete flexibility for multiple tenant and single corporate occupancy, and offers workers an easy commute home with the convenience of on-site retail and restaurants. The flexibility of the phased master plan allowed incremental development and maximized the site’s many natural qualities, preserving unobstructed views from each building yet providing connectivity and a campus feel. Further flexibility is incorporated into the design of the buildings by utilizing highly efficient core layouts and column-free corners. “The Woodlands is just a very desirable place for corporate employees to live and work.” James Warmack Owner, Warmack Investments By preserving and enhancing the utility of the site’s natural ecological attributes - by visually color-blending the buildings with sky and water, and by adding trails, a dock, and generous outdoor gathering spaces for instance - workers are more easily able to transition from their work lives to their leisure and social lives. From wildlife viewing to team rowing, the campus offers immediate access to on-site leisure activities. Shopping and dining choices are an easy five-minute walk from office buildings, and area amenities such as The Woodlands Waterway are a casual bike or boat-ride away. Excellent schools and acclaimed master planned residential communities surround the campus.

CORPORATE CAMPUS DESIGN

REPSOL

Multi-Tenant; The Woodlands, Texas

Repsol, a large, international oil and gas exploration and production company, contracted Ziegler Cooper Architects in early 2011 to test fit their company in Research Forest Lakeside 5, also designed by Ziegler Cooper. “The building, in my view, reflects the Repsol values as well as the Repsol brand and has a lot of common elements with our campus in Madrid. The glass walls, the openness of the space, even the light on the molded white furniture, in my view, all evoke the value of transparency.” Ramon Hernán Managing Director, Repsol By locating their headquarters within a commercial office and mixed use campus, our client gained greater flexibility should future rightsizing of office space become necessary. Each building within the eleven-building campus is within an easy walking distance to all other buildings as well as on-site shopping and restaurants. Buildings are grouped around shared parking structures with focal connectors that provide a cohesiveness to the campus design. The building provides an amenity-rich workplace aimed at increasing retention and quality of life for employees. A large dining hall on the first floor looks onto a landscaped creek area and lake, complete with private dining rooms, outdoor dining space and a dock area. An employee only fitness center and locker rooms are housed on the second floor. The second floor also contains Repsol’s conference center with several large multi-function rooms, and a state of the art VIZ center. The typical office floors are 50% open plan and 50% glass fronted enclosed offices along the perimeter as well as on the interior. Natural light and the feeling of transparency and openness were important to the client, so the ends of the building overlooking the lake and the entry fountain were kept open for workstations. The project was designed for LEED Gold Certification. The natural elements of the campus site presented the opportunity to extend the public areas to the water’s edge by incorporation of a dock for entertaining and gathering, offering enjoyment of the surrounding beauty while being ecologically thoughtful.

CONFIDENTIAL CLIENT Single Tenant; Houston, Texas

Ziegler Cooper was selected to design a corporate headquarters for one of the largest, privately-held exploration and production companies in the United States. Located in Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Central Business District on a 65,000 square foot full city block, the new 22-story office tower features a podium style design with one level of parking below grade and eight levels above grade. Fourteen levels of office space total approximately 460,000 GSF over the garage and feature 22,000 square foot floor plates. To facilitate connection with the surrounding community, the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s footprint was reduced to create a public forecourt. This public amenity activates the street and provides human scale. The pedestrian-friendly design features an extended curtain wall to conceal the parking garage. It also includes extensive landscaping and 9,500 GSF of retail. The corporate amenity floor contains the main reception area, multiple conference rooms, a large town hall style meeting room, roof top garden, a fitness center and a commons, Starbucks-style barista area. State of the art technology is integrated and A/V walls in the lobby and tunnel areas are incorporated. Escalators and elevators connect the main lobby to the tunnel system. Thoughtfully designed vertical transportation allows access to potential multi-tenant floors, while a turnstile system grants private, secure, access to corporate floors.

CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON Single Tenant; The Woodlands, Texas

The newest 150,000 SF office building on the Chicago Bridge & Iron Corporate Headquarters campus, located in The Woodlands, Texas was completed in August 2014 and represents the latest phase in a thoughtfully planned campus that considered both growth and exit strategies. Located along the northern bank of Lake Woodlands, the site posed constraints in terms of shape, and cautious consideration in terms of wetlands preservation, but offered unique value in terms of lifestyle enhancement for employees and visitors. In order to provide maximum flexibility in terms of future occupancy while offering a high level of security, two traffic pathways were created via a shared lobby, allowing free and efficient access between buildings for employees, while guiding and restricting access for visitors. The siting and spacing of buildings allows individual buildings to be split off from corporate-owned functions by leaving room to create a future separate lobby and entrance. Deriving maximum benefit from the beauty of the natural surroundings, the building design maximizes views at every opportunity, including the two-story glass connector. Amenities are all about the outdoors, with a great lawn that serves as an event center for up to 1,000 people. Enhanced landscaping blends the buildings into surrounding wetlands and guides foot traffic between smaller gathering spaces throughout a generous decked area.

CORPORATE CAMPUS DESIGN

CGG

Single Tenant; Houston, Texas

CGG is a fully integrated Geo-science company, providing leading geological, geophysical and reservoir capabilities to its broad base of customers primarily from the global oil and gas industry. In 2000, CGG sought to unite disparate corporate functions previously spread throughout Houston in four separate locations. From Ziegler Cooper’s master plan that provided a flexible design to anticipate a 20-30 year forecast for growth, over the course of fourteen years, our team has designed four separate facilities totaling 528,992 SF. Such phasing poses challenges of suitably siting and phasing supporting services that will provide continuity of fire and vehicular access and compliance to changing codes, while maintaining functionality and campus focus and aesthetics. The first phase consisted of two three-story, 162,500 SF office buildings and an interconnecting warehouse/shop building. Arranged in a “C” shape, the buildings are clustered around a generous, landscaped courtyard which promotes interaction and enhanced connectivity. Eight years later an additional 91,500 SF office building was incorporated along with a 5,500 SF dining facility. The most recent addition is an additional 106,992 SF office building and four-story, 192,696 SF parking garage to connect to the existing campus. A bright and contemporary two-story lobby features floor to ceiling windows, limestone floors and walls, and soft seating areas counterbalanced by inset carpet. A large reception desk is centrally located and branded with LED-lit corporate signage. Typical floors maintain design and corporate branding to successfully unite philosophical differences, and the use of demountable walls and raised flooring allows for optimal planning flexibility. Interior design integrates technology to encourage mobile and next-gen methodology, and provides areas that enhance creativity. Interdepartmental connectivity is facilitated by hubs that are located to encourage crosscommunication and work effort. The office building addition is striving for LEED Silver certification.

CORPORATE CAMPUS DESIGN

WESTCHASE

Multi-Tenant; Houston, Texas

Westchase Park II, the latest addition to this Class-A commercial office campus was completed early in 2015. The second phase adds over 300,000 SF and a separate amenity building to the 15.2 acre campus. PMRG developed Westchase Park II and leasing both towers for Clarion Partners. The project was designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The six-story, energy efficient building features 50,000 SF floor plates and connects to Westchase Park I. The large floor plate allows for flexibility to attract a large, single 50,000 SF tenant but can be easily divided in half for a more typical floor plate size. The office park is easily accessible and visible from the Beltway with a distinguishing large water feature and a sculpture by Texas artist George Schroeder.

PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES Single Tenant; Midland, Texas

Pioneer Natural Resources, a large, independent oil and gas exploration and production company, contracted Ziegler Cooper Architects to design a new six-story, 272,000 SF office building situated in Midland, Texas. The harsh environment, and lack of natural features and social infrastructure of the Texas Panhandle location invited creative solutions that would help our client attract the highcaliber workforce needed for their operations. Therefore, an amenity-rich workplace was conceived as a mainly indoor, multi-functional campus, to increase employee retention and enhance quality of life. A large dining hall on the first floor looks onto a landscaped garden and covered porch through an expanse of floor-toceiling glass. A training room for 50 and a generous conferencing center are located on the first floor for easy access to visitors and employees, making the facilities ideal for social and afterhours events also. To offer maximum employee comfort, well-proportioned private offices on the upper floors are punctuated by special open break areas and conference rooms, to provide both the personal space and privacy desired by the highly specialized employee base. A daycare center to care for 100 children was designed with an outdoor, shaded playground. To round out on-site amenities for employees, a state-of-the-art fitness center with locker rooms is housed in the basement. The building was designed for LEED Certification, with special attention given to sustainable water use practices, in a region where water scarcity is the norm. A high performance envelope increases energy efficiency, while recycled and regional materials reduce the carbon footprint.

CORPORATE CAMPUS DESIGN

ZIEGLER COOPER TEAM KURT HULL AIA, LEED AP Principal-in-Charge Senior Principal | Commercial Architecture Studio 713.374.0007 | khull@zieglercooper.com

In his role as the Principal-in-Charge of the Commercial Architecture Studio, Kurt has directed over 10 million SF of commercial, corporate and redevelopment architecture. Corporate clients and developers such as Warmack Interests, Hines, Trammell Crow, Transwestern, M-M Properties, SABIC, CGG and CB&I seek out his leadership and knowledge on their projects to ensure high quality design, on time and within budget.

LEANNA GATLIN AIA, LEED AP Associate Principal | Commercial Architecture Studio 713.374.0094| lgatlin@zieglercooper.com

Her role as Senior Project Manager includes client relations and the coordination of teams made up of designers, architects, interior designers, programmers, engineers and consultants on large, complex projects. Leanna is responsible for the implementation, presentation and management of the project through all phases, from conceptual design through construction administration. She serves as the central point of contact for the client, consultant and project team. Leanna also oversees the coordination and preparation of the project budget and schedule.

BIN YU AIA, LEED AP Associate Principal | Commercial Architecture Studio 713.374.0033| byu@zieglercooper.com

Binâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s distinctive designs range from complex corporate, education, public assembly and church facility design. In her role as Senior Project Designer, Bin is responsible to the Senior Project Manager and Principal-inCharge for preparation of design and technical documentation. She strives to push the envelope in design by creating unique spaces for each client.

700 Louisiana Street, Suite 350 Houston, Texas 77002 713.374.0000 www.zieglercooper.com