All Buildings Are Not Alike
As well as understanding the space needs of your proposed office space, it is important to understand the shape, office design and efficiency of a building.
A common fallacy is to believe that one building is much like another. Actually, the design and shape of buildings vary substantially in terms of their overall efficiency and effectiveness, and consequently, productivity.
For example, you may choose to rent 50,000 sq ft in one building compared to 50,000 sq ft in another because it might appear to be cheaper. But take a close look at the design. You may be looking at a long, thin Sixties building, or a deeper-spaced building from the 70s/80s. In contrast, today’s buildings tend to have central atria and are doughnut shaped.
The irony is that the more modern the building, the less efficient they are, because by law, you have to provide defined routes of escape between protected core areas. But these diagrams (to come) show you how much of the space you’re paying for is wasted. It is your space, and you’re indeed paying for it; you can’t use it all, however, and you have to provide the corridors. So remember that when you’re comparing buildings, it’s not just about the rental, it’s also about the efficiency.
A key aspect of efficiency is the planning module. Buildings are usually built based on a 1.5 metre grid, so you can create office design in blocks of 1.5m. For example, you can have an office of 3m by 4.5m because the window mullions tie in with the ceiling grids, and tie in with the floor grids.
However, that planning module depends entirely on the age and style of the building. And if you’re considering developing a converted period building in London as an office location, your planning module is likely to be more complex.
In general, the more efficient the building, the more useful space you will have with minimal wastage. If it is less efficient, with, for example, a number of columns in the structure, little nooks and crannies and pockets of dead space, that reduces the number of employees you can get into the building. It also means more expense in having to buy bespoke, fitted furniture to fit the awkward spacing.