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WE’RE HELPING CLIENTS REINVENT THE OFFICE

Time is the new space. According to real estate consultancy Colliers, maximizing a building’s potential opens up a whole range of possibilities. For example, by using spaces for different functions at different times, resulting in a win-win for all parties involved. As a partner and as director Real Estate Strategies at Colliers, Harold Coenders advises clients on corporate workplace challenges. Here, he shares Colliers’ vision on the future of the working environment.

COLLIERS BLAAK 34 3011 TA ROTTERDAM +31 (0)10 412 00 35

A MASSIVE CHANGE

Since the property crisis in 2008, the real estate and office worlds have undergone a massive change, Harold says. “In the old days, property owners seemed to assume that ‘if we build it, they will come’, but now they have become more attentive to what tenants actually want and what functions a building actually has to fulfil.” In the wake of the pandemic, these questions have suddenly become more urgent, he explains. “All at once, the need for offices wasn’t as obvious anymore.” Harold argues that it’s crucial to reflect critically on any period like this and ask what lessons can be learned. “We can take those on board in thinking about what shape work will take in the future and designing building functions in the present.”

APPEAL

For their part, workers have learned that if they can work anywhere, an office has to be more than just a workspace. “It has to be worth all the bad traffic or delayed trains.” The freedom to choose where to work is the new obstacle corporates and employers face. “The office option has to be as appealing as possible.” That’s where Colliers can help, advising employers on what they can offer to tick all of their employees’ boxes. “We won’t go into salaries”, Harold jokes, “but we advise on everything else that goes into keeping workers happy.”

TIME IS THE NEW SPACE

Now more than ever, the classic work culture as we know it is being called into question. Yet, as Harold points out, “The ‘old 9-to-5 normal’ was also just a construct we all agreed on. We are at a juncture now where we have to find a new work equilibrium, and there’s no better time to come up with new agreements. If you could reinvent the office, “The possibilities what would you do?” Here, too, building design and function can of a building and be a guiding factor, according to Harold. “Time is the new space, as its functions are we say. That means not only having different spaces for different endless” functions, but also alternating the functions of the same space over time.” For example, a restaurant that does corporate catering during the week could open its doors to the public during weekends and an auditorium can become a cinema after office hours. “As well as making buildings more appealing to workers, that also helps to enrich urban life.”

INITIATORS OF CHANGE

Colliers helps clients understand the value of their office. “If you’re not using your office as much, what else can you do with the space? If it’s empty at weekends, why not use it for something else?” The Rotterdam Central Business District is the gateway to the city centre. This is a unique feature for adding public functions. “It could do great things for the neighbourhood, seeing as the area around the central station is the ideal place for a hybrid urban district, even though it can sometimes still feel a bit quiet.” Delftse Poort and the new Modernist development could be the initiators of change, Harold argues. “There is so much potential to make the building more accessible to the public during times when its main user is not using it as much, like in the weekend.” And, he stresses, those uses don’t necessarily have to be commercial. “They could also invest in the community by inviting local initiatives. The possibilities are endless.”