Ideal Office Space

Good morning!  Today's post is about designing the ideal office space for a tenant.  There are two options for design services.  First, is for the Tenant to use the Landlord's architect and the second, which is the strategy I recommend, is to hire a tenants space planner and pay them from the tenant improvement allowance that is given to the Landlord. 

Finding the ideal office space can be a difficult process; however, by selecting the right architect/space planner, it's critical in building an ideal space that meets the tenants business and operational needs and goals. 

After the tenant makes a broker selection, the next step is to get an architect/space planner involved.  Once the space planner has done their  job of meeting with the client, gathering information on their office culture, workspaces, budget, future requirements, etc, then the required amount of usable SF is estimated.   Planning is the most important phase in the real estate process. It is the strategic road map that guides clients to achieve maximum success and savings. It must be done properly to accomplish optimal results.

By doing the programming up-front, the Tenant Representative will now have a better idea of the required space square footage that meets the tenants needs and to better position and identify ideal buildings.

According to Coy Davidson, from Colliers - Houston, the increased focus on the detailed planning of works space is driven by several factors:

1. Minimizing Real Estate costs
2. Emphasis on productivity
3. Changing demographics of the work force
4. The accelerating cycles of change

A Prototype Space Plan is designing a plan around the most efficient and productive layout for the tenant, instead of planning around a specific building.  There are pro's and con's of both, but some of the benefits of doing a Prototype Space Plan include the below:

1. Image
2. Efficiency
3. Productivity
4. Build-out costs

Office tenants are best served when their own architect/space planner, not the Landlord's is engaged early on to work with the broker to determine the best possibly occupancy solution.

Here are some examples of office spaces completed by the Tenant Architect:

Genband - CB Richard Ellis

Bell Helicopter - Jones Lang LaSalle

Radio One - Studley

Accident Insurance Services - Cushman and Wakefield

Have a great day!