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Do y ou r empl oy ees e njoy the s p a ce they work i n?
R EA LI Z I N G TH E
NEW OFFICE AARON MARCHAND - VICE PRESIDENT
Tenants and landlords are designing office space for the modern, technical, competitive work environment in new and exciting ways! Today’s work space aims to be fun and collaborative. The old tired standard of perimeter private offices with staff space on the interior is a design style of the past. Principals are realizing that, in this demanding and competitive work environment, paying attention to trends like natural light, office flow, and company happiness are pivotal to maximizing the value of office space in the future. New types of buildout requests from tenant principals designing spaces are commonplace. The dated phrase of “creative” office space was once only thought of as space which techy tenants and architects utilized. Now we are hearing catch phrases such as “natural light,” “huddle space,” “phone rooms,” and “collaboration space” with almost every category of office users. The ultimate goal behind each of these buzzwords is to create a fun work environment, increasing open communication and productivity while retaining the current employee base by offering the most positive work place to the competitive recruiting pool. Historically speaking, the new work force is a very demanding one. But they are demanding in the sense that they want the optimal work environment. In return, principals are able to nurture and curate a work force who works harder while being happier throughout the day. The work space of the future is designed in a way where the employees who are working on daily tasks actually enjoy being at the office and willingly remain beyond normal business hours to complete projects. Principals are realizing that the employ-
ees are often spending more time at the office than in the past because they don’t feel entrapped. Considering new office space design is a chance to create an environment which helps define the company while offering a fun, comfortable sense of space. We are hearing more and more from principals say: “with the new office we really want a un collaborative work environment that brands our firm.” I want to emphasize that this does not have to be a wide open area and no private offices - it’s less about the features of the space and more about connectivity, functionality and productivity. Spaces are planned much more strategically, accounting for a comfortable sense of scale, flow of movement, natural gathering locations, and more. These work places are more purposeful and meaningful, resulting in a more effective recruitment and retention process. Overall, it is loud and clear that no one wants a bland, listless work environmentthat results in unhappy, unproductive employees. Workers are voicing their preferences more boldly than ever and business owners are listening. We will likely see a large-scale profileration of this new style of office - this trend is here to stay.
HOW SOON IS YOUR OFFICE MOVING TO MIDTOWN? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
3. YOUR COMPUTER FEATURES: A) A 1-terabyte flash storage drive. (+25) B) The entire Adobe Creative Suite (legal copy). (+15) C) Windows 2000™ optimization! (-15) D) A floppy drive. (-45) 4. THE #1 COMPLAINT AROUND THE WATER COOLER IS: A) The commute time. (+10) B) The lack of bike racks downstairs. (+15) C) Them damn college kids and their PC culture. (-40) D) Loss of sleep due to their beards scratching noisily on their pillows. (+30) CONTINUED ON PAGE 33
Left: Open office space at 3301 C Street. Middle: BKWLD’s creative space in Old Sac. Right: Rainforth Grau Architects offices at 2401 J.