Savills

SAVILLS: “A WAKEUP CALL FOR EVERYONE”

Savills is one of the world’s pre-eminent real estate advisors. Alongside offices in the Americas, Middle East and Africa, they also operate in Rotterdam Central District. Els van Bronckhorst, head of Workplace & Development Strategies, and Lotte de Jong, head of Tenant Representation & Workplace Consultancy, share their observations on Rotterdam’s changing occupier market.

“A major factor we look at is how we can make buildings future-proof and pleasant for tenants and their employees”, Els says. “It’s vital to know what users want and what fits their organization.” With Covid, those needs have changed completely over the past year, notes Lotte, who describes her job as “bridging a company’s vision, ambition and wishes with what its employees need”.

CHANGE

“If it were just the desk, you could stay at home”, Els jokes. The idea that the sole point of the office is work no longer holds true. The function of offices is shifting, and this change is being reflected in their design. “They are becoming places to gather, with mainly a connective function.” The question now is how best to shape and structure this new work culture in a hybrid workplace that specifically fosters interaction. If anything, this past year has revealed that working from home some of the time doesn’t have to put a crimp on operat“People in Rotterdam ing results. Property owners know all too well that they have to facilitate this new function. “This is where organizational craft their identity in DNA comes in”, Lotte continues. “There is no one size fits all.” Even so, there are many commonalities. People want “fewer their own creative, desks, more space for teams to meet, and you don’t want to know how many coffee bars I’m putting up”, Lotte says. unique way” WAKEUP CALL

All this is stimulating organizations to think about their ambitions. Lotte clarifies, “It’s been a wakeup call, in a very positive sense. The important thing is to take time out to really look together at what does and doesn’t work. Instead of getting swept up in the tide, this forces you to think about how you want to structure your organization and how your real estate can be made to fit.” If an office space works for the people who work in it, Els explains, that fosters creative discussions and interaction among colleagues. Moreover, it can genuinely boost productivity and vitality and reduce illness among employees.

NO PLACE LIKE ROTTERDAM

“The mentality in Rotterdam is different compared to a place like Amsterdam”, observes Els. She describes the port city’s market as more “down to earth”, but tenants have very definite ideas about what they want and how they want it. Lotte adds: “Rotterdam is grittier and more pragmatic. Users want to see their identity reflected in the building, and to me that’s what makes this such a cool city. People in Rotterdam craft their identity in their own creative, expansive way, not based on some legacy. Consequently, they become very attached to a place and unlikely to leave it.” This also explains why the majority of projects Savills is currently managing are not relocations, but renovations of existing offices. “These occupiers are loyal to their city.”