Office design policy can be a human resource

Real Estate Weekly, April 26, 2000 by Charles Logan Jr.

Office space of today obviously has to be functional, efficient, cost effective and flexible to meet the needs of corporate competition. This includes the integration of technology, furniture, construction, access to resources and informational data banks. With the labor pools of today being as tight and competitive as it is, companies are forced to create environments that are an enticement to the retention of existing employees as well as the solicitation and expansion of new employees to meet current day market competition. These corporations are changing the structure of the way business is performed. Moving from a highly structured corporate environment to a more entrepreneurial, team/ studio organization has and will allow for a faster and easier opportunity to perform research, development and implementation of new products and ideas. This entrepreneurial] spirit further allows a corporation to reach the market faster, easier and to respond to the competitive swings and spikes that are occurring as a result of this high speed technological age.

In keeping with the spirit of an entrepreneurial corporation, The Aztech Corporation has developed a design program, "Total Architecture," aimed at understanding a corporation's short and long term business objectives. The first element is taking the strategic analysis and assisting a corporation to develop an action plan structured in a fashion that allows the company's facilities plan to be brought into parallel with their business plan. Secondly, the implementation and comprehensive execution of each project-driven assignment is structured so that the facility can be flexible and adaptable to the response of entrepreneurial, on-going change in facility needs.

The understanding of both the fixed and soft peripheral issues of a company's environment is the core of what Total Architecture is. These soft peripheral issues that are essential to the success of a corporation is the quality of life factor. These intangibles are part of the make or break issue in the retention and hiring of new staff members. Exuding the intangible -- a corporate philosophy of empowerment, ongoing training, promotion of new ideas, products, services and procedures -- stimulates and keeps the interest of key people.