Is your office building fit?

A recent article published in the Financial Review revealed companies throughout Asia Pacific want less space of higher quality and greater efficiency. The motivations behind the shrinking office space requirements of companies are the increasing trend in workplace strategies and space efficiency initiatives, requiring owners to prepare their buildings to cope with greater workspace density, new technologies and the latest in energy management. Is your office building fit and ready for the modern workforce?
 

The primary ingredient of success for the service industries is the calibre of their people. The workplace is a key part of the arsenal in the war on talent, and companies need to provide an attractive, efficient, cost effective workplace to attract and retain the best employees.

An office building of the 21st century must cater for changing workplace strategies, greater space efficiencies, modern worker amenities, better energy management and be future proofed against technological disruptions.

A survey of companies by CBRE found that two-thirds plan to reduce the average space per employee to as little as 9 m². This is a dramatic change from the workplaces of 1970 – 2000 when offices were designed for an average of 18 m² per employee, resulting in an increased density of workers and a corresponding increase in the load on building services by as much as 50%. The lifts, air conditioning and toilets of older offices simply can’t cope.

In addition, there’s the challenge of providing the standard of amenities that employees are coming to expect of their workplace. These amenities include the increasingly common end-of-trip facilities, private phone call booths and bicycle storage.

In an increasingly competitive office rental market, landlords who have prepared their buildings to respond to the needs of the market are in a commanding position. Quality tenants are prepared to pay for quality office space.

Northrop has an experienced team of multi-disciplinary engineers focused on commercial building upgrades. They help clients from feasibility through to completion with everything from chiller upgrades to new facades.

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