NACORE speakers present smart office design trends

Real Estate Weekly, Sept 22, 1999

The vast changes in the way people work are having a major effect on office design. At a recent NACORE New York Chapter luncheon, a panel of design professionals and corporate decision-makers talked about current trends in "Cutting Edge Office Design' and the importance of design as a way to retain talented personnel, increase productivity, and maintain a competitive edge.

The moderator for the panel discussion was Susan Bilenker of Susan Bilenker Communications. The speakers were Stephen Silverstein, director of real estate, facilities and administration in the tri-state region for Deloitte & Touche LLP; Nicholas Goldsmith, principal of FTL/Happold Architects; John Vernon, president of Approach Inc.; and Juliette Lain, director of the Interiors Group for HOK International Interiors.

According to Bilenker, creative and insightful planning and refurnishing of work environments are essential to remaining competitive. Design is no longer an expense; it is an investment.

"Smart companies invest in employees' productivity," said Bilenker. "This often means investing heavily at the front end, which results in higher staff retention and higher productivity."

She then posed several questions to an audience of corporate real estate executives who are concerned with the bottom line.

With so many new and exciting solutions to choose from, how do you decide which approach will work for your company? As corporate real estate executives, how and where does work happen in the future?

With more attention given these days to creative and strategic thinking and interactive idea exchanges among employees, innovative new design trends have emerged and are becoming increasingly prevalent. Some of the facets of new work environments include: attractive and inviting private and group work spaces; tree-lined interiors and an emphasis on views; creative thinking areas with drawable walls and surfaces; and even whimsical props such as stuffed animals for inspiration.

Even consulting firms are getting away from the staid, old-fashioned look and designing in terms of flexibility, technology and service. When Deloitte & Touche decided to renovate 200,000 square feet of space at the World Financial Center, a steering committee of top managers orchestrated an outreach program to elicit the reactions and responses from the employees who will inhabit the new offices.

Working with Tishman Construction, Steel Case and Jones Lang LaSalle, Deloitte & Touche had an 8,000 square-foot mock-up constructed for employees to walk through and experience, then provide feedback on the planned renovations.

"We took an all-encompassing approach, looking at all the components and how they work together," said Silverstein, who was in charge of the project. "By including employees in the design process, we made a cultural impact."

At FTL/Happold, an architecture, engineering and interior design firm, design is viewed as an integrated process. The systems, and how they all join together, is a key issue.

In his presentation, Goldsmith cited an open square in Morocco as a model for the ideal space. He described the square as a place that changes in use in amazing ways throughout the day.

According to Goldsmith, an environment has to provide similar flexibility as needs change throughout the day. People have to interact to make things happen. As a result, walls have to be movable and lighting has to be easily adaptable to individual needs.

"In a new high-tech way, how can we create an environment that can change according to our changing needs?" asked Goldsmith. "How can we create a space that allows people to interact?"

At Ziccardi & Partners, an advertising agency in New York City, FTL/Happold redesigned an existing warren of little offices that did not allow for easy interaction. Guided by the principal's interest in feng shui, a Confucian philosophy, the design team created cardinal zones in different colors, diffuse, luminous lighting, and an atmosphere that feels more like home. Systems included drawable surfaces, spatial dividers of wire mesh, luminescent plastic panels for privacy, and trees.

For John Vernon, principal of Approach Inc., a professional services firm in the areas of e-commerce, new media and data warehousing, the dilemma was: "How do I get employees to care about the company the way I do?"

With a 40 percent company growth rate, Vernon wants to retain talented personnel. The existing office design was strictly traditional - the antithesis of the Moroccan square Goldsmith described. The newly designed offices include lots of white drawable boards and multiple writing forms, desks that wheel around, and meeting areas where teams can move from space to space.