Tenant demands for flexible and liveable office interiors have caused architects to lift their game. Laura Fay finds out what is driving this change and how designers have adapted to these high expectations.

Does this sound familiar? You arrive at work, you catch the lift to your floor, you go into your little office and you shut the door. Perhaps for some?

In the past buildings were constructed primarily based on location. Emphasis was placed on the outer prestige of a building, with the internal work space not so high on the priority list. This has changed, according to Abbie Galvin, principal at architecture practice, Bligh Voller Nield (BVN). She says buildings are no longer being designed from the outside-in, but from the inside-out.

“As an industry, it means that we’re really in an incredibly exciting time. It’s a fabulous opportunity for architecture not to become isolated but to completely engage with and be a vehicle in business change and organisational change,” says Galvin.

One of the major reasons for this change is that tenants are becoming much more involved in the design of internal work spaces. “Tenants are demanding a lot more say in what they want and developers are starting to listen to them, and they’re getting a market advantage by listening to them. Even though we’re in an environment at the moment where office space is incredibly difficult to get, tenants are still, especially with new buildings, commanding a lot of respect in being listened to in terms of their needs,” says Galvin.

So how does an architecture firm meet the demands of its clients? Galvin says it’s about engaging with employees at all levels to provide the best possible solutions for that organisation. “We usually run strategic and aspirational workshops with a business – [firstly] with the executives to say what is it [they want]. You set the guidelines . . . and then we start going into more detailed functional briefings with groups within the business.”

Flexibility in design

The most pressing demand from tenants in the design of their work place is flexibility, says Galvin. Traditionally, most office buildings have been designed with their structural core in the middle with working spaces divided into four precincts.

“Organisations want the flexibility to be able to put the core to the side, and you allow then this huge floor where they’re actually able to do whatever they want.

“The visibility across floors is fundamental,” says Galvin.

In today’s marketplace organisations are constantly growing and restructuring, so Galvin says it is essential to build a footprint that can easily be modified to suit changing businesses. One example is the BVN project for Deutsche Bank at 126 Phillip Street, Sydney.

“We’d only just finished the Deutsche Bank design. They’d started on site and they’d restructured their trading environment, which meant the global markets and global equities teams merged. So rather than two trading rooms, we had one. That was because of a global business decision about change and, bang, they’re changing everything. We were able to do it in a very flexible and open footprint. While there was significant physical change within that, no changes or modifications had to be made to the building itself,” says Galvin. The design was so innovative Deutsche Bank Place was the winner of the 2007 Property Council of Australia Rider Levett Bucknall Award.

Technology also plays a part in the need for greater flexibility. It is constantly changing and evolving, so it is essential to have a flexible design in order to keep up with these changes says Galvin. “When I started work we didn’t draw on computers, we had drawing boards. We didn’t have email. Everyone is so computer and technology focused now.

“Office space is becoming a different tool for a company, rather than just a spot to house 100, 400 or 2000 employees,” says Galvin.

More collaborative ways of working

Tenants are also looking for open-plan or more collaborative working environments. “As architects, we don’t come in and say open-plan is the way to go. It’s more about listening to what an organisation’s needs are and how they work and how they can work more effectively,” says Galvin. “You need they physical space that’s going to facilitate your goals.”

These informal environments create spaces for ‘cross-collaboration’ according to Galvin.

“If you’re in an environment that begins to change and you start to see what’s going on in the business, you’re bumping into people in different areas, then you’ve got the ability for cross-collaboration to occur when you might be making a cup of tea, for example. That’s where innovation generally happens, not in meeting rooms. It happens in those informal ways.”

Open-plan can also be beneficial in reducing formal meeting times and reducing email traffic.

There has also been a move in the workplace towards a less-corporate atmosphere. “We have found constantly that within workplaces, people want them to look and feel less corporate. They want the level of scale and detail and authenticity that you get in a residential environment. So while we’re not wanting offices to look like houses, it’s important to acknowledge that these aren’t just boxes for people to inhabit,” she explains. “[Work] spaces need as much consideration as the way that you would consider furnishing your living room.”

It all comes down to quality

Indoor environmental quality is now a major priority for tenants, says Galvin. This has coincided with the growth of sustainable standards within the building industry, including Green Star and the AGBR. “There has been a big shift in that we are trying to make the indoor environment a much better one focusing on natural light, good air quality, cross ventilation, and that has changed the way buildings are designed and conceived.

“It’s a great advantage for workplaces to be able to improve the indoor air quality because you’re improving the health and wellbeing of the people within the building.”

What’s in store for the future?

Galvin believes there will not only be an even bigger focus on protecting the environment, but it will also become mainstream within the property industry.

“Sustainability is not going to be an option anymore. It’s going to be absolutely fundamental. No one will be saying what kind of start rating do you want this building to be, it will be part of it. My feeling is that the government should be legislating . . . so that it doesn’t become an option or a marketing advantage for companies. It should be government and standard policy.”

In light of the Property Council of Australia’s Office Market Report’s latest findings of the tightest vacancy rates ever recorded, Galvin believes more attention will be given to existing building stock.

Galvin says improving the environmental qualities of existing buildings will dramatically reduce the impact on the environment.

“Stockland’s [headquarters at 133 Castlereagh Street, Sydney] is an excellent example of the late 1980s office tower that we were able to turn into a contemporary workplace. Rather than coming from the position that ‘you need to start from scratch to get a good environment’ we were able to work with Stockland and Arup (the environmental engineers) and refurbish the building itself and provide a series of sustainable features . . .”

They included a co-generation power plant, high performance clear glass, zoned lighting systems and energy-efficient t5 fluorescent light bulbs, plus an increase of fresh air into the building by 200 percent.

“So whilst we will continue to see the market grow in new, environmentally sustainable buildings, there’s going to be an even bigger one in making the existing buildings in our cities work much harder. This is where the big steps can be made in terms of our impact on the environment,” says Galvin.