CREJ

September 2019 — Office Properties Quarterly — Page 19 www.crej.com T he Denver metro market has seen its fair share of new office buildings in the past several years. Demand has been fueled by the Colo- rado lifestyle and ability to recruit and retain skilled employers and employees. Tenant finish work in the Rocky Mountain region, much of it in first- generation spaces, is a large part of the current office construction and leasing business taking place in the state, which is helping drive the economy and commercial real estate industry as a whole. But the process of developing, constructing and leasing these buildings doesn’t come without its own set of obsta- cles. By definition, a speculative build- ing is constructed without pre- signed tenants. Known as core and shell, or base building work, this contract is exclusive of the major- ity of interiors work. Invariably (and thankfully), a tenant commits to the spec space during core/shell construction, thus introducing a separate tenant finish contract that, more often than not, requires overlap between the core/shell and tenant finish con- struction projects. From a contrac- tor’s point of view, the process of con- currently manag- ing coordination and construction of its respec- tive project often highlights a lack of overall alignment. And in some cases, there exists competing inter- ests as each project looks to deliver on its own contract requirements, whether it be lease obligations, construction milestones or the like. This is a natural outcome of specu- lative development and construc- tion, and it requires a creative and skilled contractor to coordinate all interested parties while maintain- ing the project timeline. Whether acting as base building contractor, tenant contractor or both, it is important that the col- lective project team understands the entirety of the process – from lease commitments to end-user – first day and beyond. This group needs to navigate the parallels and intersections that emerge through- out the process and can save the interested parties time, money and resources. There are a few key components that a general contractor should possess specific to these project types – proactive, detailed coordina- tion with authorities having juris- diction, knowledge of all the various lease agreements between parties and willingness to work with all parties toward an orchestrated project completion, regardless of whether it holds the contract. We all wish there was a comprehen- sive set of rules or an instruction book on how to bring it all togeth- er. Unfortunately, every project arrangement is unique – from lease commitments to scope of work to timing of overlap – and thus each project requires its own customized plan. Understandably, recent overlap- ping projects have also seen an increased level of requirements from the authorities having juris- diction. From their perspective, the challenge is inspecting a base build- ing for completion while the tenant work is dynamic from day to day or week to week. The easiest approach for them would be to sign off proj- ects at completion of both the base building and tenant work. However, they recognize that’s not feasible given how the deals come together and thus are an important partner to bring into the fold as the plan comes together. Specific and detailed plans for overlapping base building and ten- ant work are critical to the success of the whole. If anybody is pull- ing in a different direction, beyond the natural structural tension, the impacts affect all parties. When you’re selecting or joining a project team that will have these nuances, working with partners that are knowledgeable, resourceful and cre- ative can make all the difference. ▲ When core/shell, interiors projects overlap T oday’s employers are seeking office spaces with a mindset toward functionality inside an inclusive, open-design concept. Open office design has been around for at least 80 years, but is has never been more human-centric than it is today. Modern office design, incorpo- rating flexibility and agility for employee recruiting and retention, came around due to high-tech innovators such as Google, Face- book and Amazon. With today’s employee being a consumer of the workplace, a recent Gallup poll indicates that 63% of employees believe it is “very likely” or “somewhat likely” that they could find a job as good as the one they have currently. Gallup’s article recommends that organi- zations develop comprehensive employee-experience strategies, including a focus on workspace. Gallup states that “an appropriate physical environment is a psycho- logical necessity for getting work done.” A supportive work environment should give employees the free- dom to work in the way they feel best – spaces to collaborate or work privately, depending on the task at hand. Light, temperature, ergonom- ics, noise and distractions are other factors in the employee experience. A 2016 article by Instructure, plus many others, concurs with the importance of creating multi- faceted office spaces that include distraction-free work areas and rest areas. Employee attraction and retention drive the functional design of today. Employers realize that if not appro- priately designed, the open office plan is distracting and counterpro- ductive. Historically, companies strived to increase collaboration and com- munication through open concept but failed to conduct the proper due diligence in finding out what spatial arrangements and space requirements would work for their employees. Fortunately, the tide is changing, and employers are more proactive now to define the workplace expe- rience from the perspective of employees and clients. Employers understand that a strong humanistic workplace experi- ence is a competi- tive differentiator for them when attracting and retaining great staff. Q Functional design impa ct. Func- tional design implements a com- pany’s one-of-a-kind culture into its workplace. A company’s people, corporate culture, brand and vision serve as the basis for functional design, and while some may con- sider it a trend, it’s something that might just withstand the test of time. Adding functional design to the open office concept enables design- ers to incorporate collaboration, pri- vacy, connection, focus, sustenance and fun. A cultured design helps promote productivity, efficiency, creativity and wellbeing. Additionally, functional design goes beyond space planning; it requires early research into how different materials, technology and details work together to neutralize office chaos. For example, incorpo- ration of recent design trends, such as glass, stone and metal features with open ceilings requires consid- eration and calculations of sound transfer and reverberation so that the acoustics don’t affect employee concentration. We routinely see acoustical engineering consultants participating during early design phases to consider these situations. Also trending are acoustical ele- ments incorporated into design to minimize distractions and noise. These include sound masking sys- tems, acoustical moss (i.e., Nordgro- na Swedish reindeer moss), high noise-reduction co-efficient ceiling tile systems, felt ceiling baffle sys- tems (i.e., TURF, Arktura, Armstrong Soundscapes), acoustical wall pan- els, acoustical ceiling clouds, dou- ble-glazed demountable wall sys- tems (i.e., MAARS, Teknion, DIRTT, Allsteel) and acoustical LED lighting (i.e., BuzziSpace). It’s interesting to see that the open office concept led to trends focusing on high-acoustic performing spaces, which is some- thing that’s being prioritized over many other project objectives. Similarly, furniture and fur- nishings manufacturers are now jumping in and developing decora- tive materials that offer different textures and patterns to enhance design vision and stand-alone phone booth rooms that are treated more like furniture than construc- tion. These items, along with pri- vate rooms and designated quiet sections or concentration spaces (i.e., office libraries), enable the open office plan to meet collabora- tion and internal coworking needs. Q The Future. In the 2008-2014 era, many office improvements con- sisted of replacing the carpet and vinyl wall base, repainting the walls, and replacing only the stained and chipped 2-by-4-foot acoustical ceil- ing tiles. It has been extremely appealing to see new office spaces designed with beautiful internal stair structures to connect mul- tiple floors and millwork features that add warmth and integrity to a space. Reception desks that were $4,000 to $7,500 are trending up to $40,000. Pops of color, interesting logos and wall graphics, biophilic design elements such as living plant walls, wellness rooms, gender- neutral restrooms, unique ceilings with many different ceiling types throughout a space, natural light- ing and more temperature controls combine for full creature comfort and a place where employees want to work. The impact of the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Wi-Fi 6, flexible work hours and remote working over the next several years in the tenant improvement arena will be exciting to see. Also, Genera- tion Z future employees, who are socially conscious, digitally native and passionate about the planet, will be impactful to the workplace environment by choosing to work for companies that care about their eco-footprint. ▲ Employees drive trends in office construction Construction Ryan Balakas Vice president, Saunders Construction Inc. Laura Kingfisher Senior estimator, Swinerton Swinerton completed AAA Colorado’s new headquarters at 6061 S. Willow Drive in Greenwood Village.