Changing places

Published on 13 Jun 2006

Ann Clarke of Claremont Group outlines the issues that organisations should consider when refurbishing their existing workplaces

There is a tendency for many organisations to see a move to purpose-built new offices as being a better option than improving their current workplace or refurbishing other existing space. All too often this is because they assume that they can’t deal with change in an old building, be it a need to implement new technology or accommodate business growth. But they are often asking the wrong question. Instead of ‘where do we go from here?’ they should really ask ‘should we stay or should we go?’

In most cases, both the stay option or go option can be backed up by a strong business case. This is invariably based on a wide range of factors - from the economic to the personal - each of which may have a considerable impact on the organisation. Only after careful consideration of these factors does it then become possible to make the right decision.

The first thing we need to do is to challenge the notion that modern buildings must be better able than older buildings to meet the needs of a modern organisation. Often they are, but in many cases, older buildings can prove to be a better option. For example, buildings that predate the widespread use of electric lighting and air-conditioning may have better lighting and ventilation. They may also be more flexible in use. Modern buildings often have large floorplates, embedded services and low floor to ceiling heights which can limit their use. Older buildings are unlikely to have the same limitations so may actually be better suited to the needs of contemporary organisations.

In his book How Buildings Learn, author Stewart Brand outlines the process whereby buildings evolve over time to meet the changing needs of their occupants. He shows that intelligent renovation is just as effective and important as new design. Brand looks at the building as consisting of six layers, each of which functions on a different timescale. These range from the site itself which has a life cycle measured in centuries, through to the building (decades), interior fit out (years), technology (months), to stuff (days). An effective refurbishment or fit-out will depend on how well it resolves the tensions that exist between these different elements.

What Brand’s book demonstrates is how important it is at the outset to be aware of the technical and physical complexities of the decision making process. There are two main reasons why organisations need to change their workplaces and both are business critical. Either the organisation needs to accommodate growth and more staff; or it needs to introduce new technology and infrastructure.

Contrary to what many people assume both can often be accommodated within an existing building.

• In the case of technological and infrastructure change the older building structure may be more able to accept for example the large horizontal and vertical channels needed to accommodate telecommunications servicing.
• Similarly, it is often possible to accommodate more people in a space with the application of an intelligent space planning review that either changes the organisation’s space planning standards, frees up poorly used space or, more frequently, both.
• The past ten years have seen many changes in working methodologies which offer a wide choice of business cultures and space planning models which can be used to make it very likely that an organisation can find a complementary model for the way they work in a particular building, whatever its age.

Other factors that will have to be considered include:

• Timing. In the time it takes to secure land, carry out a site inspection and develop architectural plans an entire building renovation can be carried out. When time is a factor, renovation can be the best option.
• The availability of alternatives. However much you may like to move, there may be no viable alternatives, especially if the economic cycle of the property and construction markets is undergoing a period of change.
• Business culture. A renovation offers a better option for those organisations which would prefer their culture to evolve rather than transform. There are numerous examples of companies who have tried to impose a new culture on their organisation under the guise of a new build only to encounter cultural problems that can drag out for years.
• Image. A growing body of research demonstrates the role a building can have in forming part of the company brand. If your organisation is strongly associated with a particular building, a move will have implications for the company’s image.
• Cost. It can cost as much to refurbish as to relocate but there are likely to be other cost advantages for a refurb such as those accrued by a phased occupation.
• Location. This embraces factors such as proximity to customers, suppliers, transport infrastructure, ease of access to the site and so on.
• Retaining staff. While new offices may also help to attract and retain staff, a refurbishment in an existing location may help you to retain staff who might otherwise feel uncomfortable with a move or who may be unable to travel to the new location.
• Ethical considerations. There may well be environmental considerations as well as a belief that a company needs to stay in a particular location to maintain an association with an area and provide employment. There may also be fiscal incentives from government for the firm to be in a particular site.
• Legal considerations. Recent legislation on issues such as disabled access and the management of asbestos will have a bearing on your decisions.

If you decide to refurbish an existing building, decision making about the refurb should cut across the entire organisation and your stakeholders and embrace a wide range of disciplines including architects, interior designers, facilities managers, human resources, IT and building engineers. Close co-operation between the disciplines is essential to get the best results as is a close understanding of your needs.

While an audit of those needs based on an analysis of properties is essential, a full checklist is beyond the scope of this feature. However there are four main areas that need to be considered.

• Building performance. This includes such considerations as structural limits, floor-to-floor heights, column density (which limits space planning flexibility), access and egress and so on.
• Infrastructure issues, which include HVAC and network infrastructure, density of data and telecoms, electrical supply and so on. Most important is to meet your existing needs and anticipate future needs.
• Lighting. As previously mentioned older buildings may even have advantages in this regard. You should pay particular attention to the amount of space with daylight because this plays an important role in providing a productive working environment.
• FM issues, which include obvious ones such as costs of cleaning and maintenance but which should also focus on dealing with change. Churn rates in many sectors run at over 50 per cent per year so built-in flexibility can have important implications for the firm’s bottom line.

With careful planning, a focus on the organisation’s strategic objectives and an holistic, multi-disciplinary approach even century-old buildings can become outstanding contemporary workplaces that can meet current needs and be flexible enough to respond to future demands. More importantly, they can even offer advantages over purpose-built new buildings in terms of cost, culture, adaptability and company image.

Ann Clarke is Design Director of Claremont Group Interiors.