Why Architects Shouldn't Be Generalists

I’m prepared to catch a lot of flak from my fellow architects for this article, and look forward to the dialogue.  It is my opinion that architects should be specialists in only a couple types of projects.  Many of us, especially sole proprietors or those at small firms, feel that architects are problem-solvers that can design any type of project by undergoing the same linear process of design regardless of the project type.  But just because we can doesn’t mean we should.

My opinion is informed by my professional background.  I grew up working in my father’s 30-person architectural firm from a very young age.  Before starting my own firm, I was trained at some hugely successful and large companies, including Gensler, and have worked full-time in the industry for over 20 years.

Large firms understand that in order to be successful, specialty niches are necessary.  This doesn’t mean that large firms don’t design many different types of projects.  They do, but they have “practice areas” or smaller groups within their larger organization that specialize.  And it is not very easy for employees to shift from one practice area to another.  The best firms only want employees with expertise in the type of projects they’re working on unless they are entry-level employees who don’t yet have any expertise.

While working at Gensler, on occasion although rarely, architects from a different practice area tried to pinch hit on my commercial interiors projects when their practice area was slow and mine was understaffed and desperate for help.  This often resulted in projects going over budget and over schedule.  Yet these were very bright and talented architects, some of whom worked on airports and high rises.  They were simply not specialists in commercial interiors.  Extreme efficiency is a necessity in order to be really successful in our industry.  As large firms grow even larger and buy up or put many of the medium-sized firms out of business, it’s hard to deny this fact.

When merging my firm with my father’s firm, we expanded the number of our practice areas to three:  office space renovations, retail bank renovations, and custom homes.  My areas of expertise are offices and banks, while my father specializes in banks too, in addition to custom homes.  Although we often assist each other, I won’t take the lead on a custom house project even though I’ve designed a handful of houses.  In recruiting, we hire senior employees who have completed hundreds of projects, not just a handful, within a practice area.

Having a couple niches  - especially those that are counter-cyclical – is a good idea so that when one practice area is slow, the other often is not.  Moreover, architecture has become so complex that it is impossible to keep up with the technology, products, building codes, and programming knowledge for more than a couple different project types.  When an architect takes on a project type in which they have little or no expertise, a great deal of research is required, every detail has to be conceived and drawn from scratch, and significantly more time is spent.  Therefore, they either lose money on the project, or need to charge significantly more for something that, as a general rule, an expert could do better and for a lower cost.

Historically, architects have been generalists, even master builders, and many still like to see themselves in that vein.  But architecture gets more and more complicated.  Some might argue that many successful doctors are generalists, but the human body is not changing that fast, not yet anyway.  Most attorneys, on the other hand, do specialize in one or two areas of law, even believing that it is unscrupulous to take on case types in which they do not have significant experience.  And isn’t good architecture more important than good legal services?  Of course it is (now I’ve pissed off the attorneys too, including my significant other)!  With this approach, attorneys get much of their work referred by other attorneys which makes marketing a whole lot easier for them.  Wouldn’t it be nice if architects did the same instead of being so competitive with each other?  Even if we didn’t refer work to each other, having one or two specialty niches makes marketing to a specific clientele, such as bankers or attorneys, much easier than marketing to anyone and everyone who could possibly need an architect.  But more importantly, why be a jack of all trade and a master of none?

"Repositioning": Giving a Multi-Tenant Office Building a New Lease on Life

While most prospective tenants are looking for good deals in this economy, selecting a home for their business does not boil solely down to money.  Tenants want to work in a building that they can be proud of, that attracts both customers and high-quality employees, and is a pleasure to arrive at each day.

Competition to attract tenants can be tough.  “Repositioning,” also known as ”re-imaging,” is a strategic decision that adds value to a property’s worth with the goal of increasing existing lease rates at renewal time, and attracting new tenants at higher rates immediately.  A repositioned building is able to compete equally with newer properties in the same usage category.

Most repositioning includes either the renovation of Class B and C buildings to Class A buildings, the modernization of Class A buildings, the conversion of industrial space to office space, or the adaptation of single-tenant to multi-tenant buildings.

Over the years, Garcia Architects & Advisors has assessed hundreds of multi-tenant office buildings for owners, and provided recommendations on aesthetic upgrades, along with prioritizations, a proposed schedule, and cost estimates.  Areas that often need improvement are:  Landscaping and exterior hardscape, signage, storefront and main entry, the main building lobby, elevator lobbies and cabs, corridors, and restrooms.  First impressions are the most important, so the main entry storefront, the surrounding landscaping, and main lobby are usually at the top of the priority list.

If a building was built or remodeled before 1990, chances are that the building’s image and amenities are outdated.  Moreover, many tenants these days desire state-of-the-art infrastructure and green design elements including lots of interior glass for daylighting, highly efficient light fixtures and HVAC systems.  It’s important to consider the type of tenants an owner wants to attract in determining the strategy.  Other important factors are the property’s value, location, and other commercial building offerings in the vicinity as tenants look to balance the best deals with the best offerings.

Most often, repositioning is not an all or nothing approach, and involves upgrading only key elements of a building where it’s most needed or where the biggest impact can be made.  Knowing that the owner doesn’t have unlimited funds at hand, we prioritize the recommended upgrades in our report, and provide a master plan and schedule.  With our preliminary cost estimates for the various recommendations, the return on the investment can be calculated based on the estimated increased lease rates.  Often, simply adding an area rug, plants, artwork, and new furniture in the main lobby can add the splash that is needed in the short-term when the funds are not available to do more.  On the higher end of the scale, a new building skin or curtain wall, or amenities such as a fitness center and a restaurant may be in order to attract a certain type of occupant, although this level of renovation is not nearly as common as the smaller ones.

Architects and contractors are hungry for work in these times and construction costs are relatively low.  Therefore, a period of economic downturn is the ideal opportunity for repositioning commercial spaces.  From what we’ve seen, it is the privately owned companies that tend to invest the most in upgrading their buildings on a regular basis, and these buildings are the ones that demand the highest lease rates.

Reduce Real Estate Costs and Increase Productivity by Consolidating Office Space

Garcia Architects & Advisors assists companies assess their commercial real estate portfolios to determine how to gain efficiencies. Companies with a lot of office space usually also have a lot of wasted space which they may not be aware of.  This presents an opportunity to reduce real estate costs.  Once the extra space is identified, it can be determined if it can be subleased, or if a “restack” of one or more buildings allows for giving back some space that is up for lease renewal in the near future.

The most simple type of consolidation is when a single location is partially empty or underutilized due to employee or technology contraction.  These days, many employees are mobile and not everyone needs a designated office or large workstation anymore.  “Hoteling” offices or smaller workstations have become common.  A layout can be reconfigured in order to create space that can be subleased.  Not only is this an opportunity to design a more efficient layout that responds to the company’s current needs thus increasing productivity, it’s an opportunity to bring in additional revenue.

Of course, there are some upfront expenses to creating a separate sublease space.  A demising wall must be constructed, the electrical and mechanical systems must be separated, and the required exits must be added.  A permit must be obtained.  Even for the smallest of projects, the minimum cost to accomplish this is about $10,000.  Keep in mind that these costs can be depreciated.  Spending the money to create a separate suite is a risk.  A subtenant may not be found for many months after construction is complete.  Why not wait until a subtenant is found before the costs are incurred?  This is possible, however, many tenants, especially subtenants, are looking for space that is immediately available and the time frame to permit and demise the space can take anywhere from one to three months depending on the city.

It is also possible to sublease space without creating a separate suite if security is not an issue and tenants are willing to work within the same suite.  However, this drastically reduces the possible rental rate and the number of prospective tenants.  It’s important to check your lease to determine if a subtenant is allowed, and what the limitations are.

A more complex scenario is a company that occupies multiple locations or a very large building.  Instead of assessing each location separately, it’s important to look at the system as a whole.  If 15 out of 50 locations each have a little bit of wasted space, groups can be rearranged and consolidated to create one or two large sublease or give-back opportunities.  But it’s important to understand how each group works, what their needs are, and who and what they should be adjacent to.  Productivity must be evaluated along with real estate opportunities.

There are many factors that affect productivity.  The time it takes for groups to travel between collaborating groups’ locations should be calculated to determine if any additional time spent traveling will cost more than what is being saved in real estate.    Some employees might leave the company if their office is moved and their commute increases.  Moreover, some clients may be lost due to an office relocation.  Often, having a “vanity address” is important for a company’s brand.  Also, it is common for a company to own some of their locations, and lease other locations, and this becomes a factor in deciding which spaces or buildings to dispose of.  It’s typically desirable to give back the leased space and consolidate into the owned properties.  However, we have also helped some companies free up their owned properties that were in high-rent neighborhoods in order to lease out the owned properties and maximize revenues.

The larger the portfolio, the more complex and time consuming the assessment is.  The assessment phase of a one million square foot restack we managed  for Bank of America took about 6 months.  Department heads must be interviewed to not only determine their known needs, but to fully understand their work process and determine possible improvements they may not have considered.  It’s our job as professionals to vet out the hidden potential.  There are always ways to improve a company or individual department’s productivity through rearranging space.

Office Space Tenant Improvement Allowance Basics

Most office landlords offer prospective tenants a “Tenant Improvement (TI) Allowance,” a certain amount of money per square foot that can be utilized to improve the space per the tenant’s specific requirements.  In major California cities, TI allowances typically range anywhere from $10 per square foot for something as minor as new carpet and paint to $45 per square foot for a complete build-out of existing shell space.  Many landlords will offer a “turnkey” deal in a soft market, meaning they’ll build out the space per the tenant’s requirements without limiting the tenant to a specific dollar amount.  In a turnkey deal, the tenant’s requirements, usually by a proposed space plan, are referenced in the lease.  Even in this scenario, however, the project costs are usually no more than about $45 per square foot.  Typically, a landlord only allows the use of TI dollars to fund items that are part of the landlord’s building, and not furniture or cabling.

The TI allowance offered is not free money, but is essentially a loan that is ammortized over the life of the lease via rent payments.  A higher TI allowance usually translates to higher rent.  Taking a space “as is” will usually translate to a lower rent payment.  The overall deal, both the rent payment and TI allowance, are determined by the vacancy rate of the city and building itself, the tenant’s credit, and the length of the lease.  The shorter the lease, the higher the rent and lower the TI allowance.

The tenant may hire it’s own architect and contractor and take on the responsibility of managing the design and construction of the office space.  If this is the case, the tenant should hire an architect or project manager who is an expert in office tenant improvements to assist them with the process.  A project manager is a professional that oversees the entire project including the architect and the contractor.  Garcia Architects & Advisors provides expertise in both design and project management.  This is important so that tenants unfamiliar with timeframes and costs  do not end up wasting money in rent before their office space is ready to move into, or end up paying for items that landlords would typically cover.  Design and construction of a new office space is a complex process for tenants unfamiliar with it.  It is very timeconsuming for a tenant, and can be a full-time job for one of the tenant’s employees for several months.   Changes made during or after construction can be very expensive.  A project manager can be hired to assist a tenant, and their fees are offset by saving the tenant thousands of dollars in both project costs as well as the tenant’s productivity costs.

Often large landlords take responsibility for the entire project process, and have their own architect, contractor, and project manager.  A landlord’s team will typically complete the process more quickly than a tenant’s team, because the landlord’s team is highly motivated for the rent to start as soon as possible, and this cannot happen until the space is ready for the tenant to move into it.  This approach is less risky for the tenant.  On the other hand, when the landlord  runs the process, the tenant has less control over design and construction, and the landlord’s architect and contractor are representing the landlord’s interests, not the tenants.  Just because a landlord has a pre-established team does not mean the tenant cannot negotiate to utilize their own team.  If the tenant hires an architect or project manager who understands how to negotiate with large landlords, the tenant can get the best of both worlds.  And in either scenario, the landlord will usually contribute the same amount of dollars to the project, whether or not the tenant hires their own team or the landlord does.  All the tenant has to do is ask.

Landlords will not typically proceed with signing a lease that is contingent upon a build-out until they understand the cost of the project.  The tenant should do the same if they plan to take responsibility for the design and construction.  It’s important to know what the cost of the project and the construction timeframe will be before a lease is signed and the rent commencement date is determined.

"Why Does This Office Remodel Cost So Much?"

These days, many companies are choosing to make a few minor revisions to their office space instead of building new office buildings or undertaking “gut-and-rebuild” interior overhauls. Whether demising space to sublease a portion of it, or making changes that improve productivity, attract customers, or recruit the best employees, businesses are focused on ways to increase revenue with minimal expense.

We recently met with a new client, the principal of a law firm, who wanted to make some interior changes to their office suite. After she explained her wish list, I provided a ballpark construction cost estimate. Although doing this can nip a potential project in the bud, we don’t want to see clients waste money on design drawings only for a project to be cancelled when the construction bids come in too high. “Why so much?” this attorney wondered, “We just want to move a few walls.” This is very a common question.

Moving walls is not as straightforward as many people think. Actually, walls are notmoved at all. Existing walls are demolished, and new walls, in different locations, are built from scratch. Changing wall locations requires relocating HVAC vents, light fixtures, sprinkler heads, electrical wiring and outlets, telephone and data cabling, and sometimes moldings or wainscoting. Where existing walls are demolished, new areas of flooring and ceiling material are usually needed, because patching the wounds left by demolished walls would be unsightly. This might mean re-carpeting a room or an entire office suite so the carpet matches throughout.

Many construction trades are needed to relocate even one wall, and a General Contractor is typically hired to coordinate the necessary sequence of events amongst the various trades. The GC will hire framing, drywall, HVAC, electrical, cabling, flooring, and demolition subcontractors, and, of course, charge a fee for their services. A minimum amount is charged to make their efforts worthwhile, so small projects cost more per square foot than large projects.

Wall moves require a building permit. The building department requires a licensed architect to submit construction drawings for approval. A minimum amount of drawing work is required regardless of the project size, so design fees, like construction costs, cost more per square foot for small projects. For this reason, “moving just one wall” is often cost-prohibitive.  There may be other, more cost-effective ways to accomplish the client’s goals such as the use of partial-height walls which do not require permits and HVAC, light fixture, and sprinkler rework, or the use of furniture panels.  Often, goals can be met in a different way than the client originally envisioned.  There are potentially multiple solutions of varying effectiveness and prices.  It is an architect’s job to offer out-of-the-box ideas.  The first thing I always ask myself is, “What is the simplest way to solve this problem?”  Phasing a project is another way to keep costs manageable.  We can develop a master plan which can be implemented in two or three phases over a couple of years.  The total cost will be slightly more, but the smaller chunks may be easier to swallow.

Also most remodels occur in older buildings that are not up to code, and code upgrades are triggered by the permit process. Upgrading the toilet rooms, handicapped signage and parking, lighting, and the life-safety system are commonly required code upgrades.  However, a hardship waiver is usually granted for small projects, capping the cost of code upgrades to 20% of the remodel cost. So a $50,000 remodel would cost $60,000 with the required code upgrades added.  The building department may also require asbestos testing if there is any significant amount of demolition work. If asbestos exists, abatement in the area of demolition will be required in order to proceed with the project.

If a lease is coming up for renewal, it is common for a portion of remodel costs to be paid by the landlord. A property owner typically offers new tenants a “tenant improvement allowance” anywhere from $5 to $45 per square foot, and will do so for a renewing tenant as well. It makes sense to postpone a project, if possible, until a lease renewal can be negotiated.

Construction expenses can be depreciated, and it’s a good idea to consult with your accountant, in addition to an architect, when determining the feasibility of a project.  There are many creative ways to get the most for your money.

Today’s Offices Must Foster Collaboration and Socialization to Compete

Despite our culture’s inclination towards texting, emailing, and mobility, we still desire interaction with others.  People are social animals.  Studies show that our happiness is dependent upon our bond with others.  Starbucks are packed with people working on their laptops, people that could otherwise work in solitude at home, but feel the need to be amongst their fellow human beings.   Moreover, today’s complex issues necessitate collaboration.

Many companies are renovating their offices to offer more collaborative work environments.  Even small, one-person companies are coming together in shared spaces to take advantage of knowledge-sharing.  With India and Asia taking over much of our numbers-oriented work, creativity and innovation are becoming the new currency of our society.  Because of a more team-focused approach in today’s workplace, socializing is now encouraged as a way to transfer knowledge and create innovation.  One survey indicates that top-performing companies socialize 16% more than average companies.

The design of an office shapes the level of collaboration and interaction, and fosters creativity.  Workers need spaces where they can come together to brainstorm, go somewhere private to focus, then come back together and combine knowledge and skills to solve problems.  Today’s workstations are smaller than those of a decade ago, but are more open and accessible.  Starbucks-like lounges with connectivity for laptops offer more casual places for people to work, for colleagues from different worlds to share ideas, and inspiration and creativity can flow.

8 Must-know Trends in Office Fitouts, by Peter Fabris (Guest Blog)

Ken Patrick, president of Boston-based Environments At Work, a
provider/installer of office furniture and interior features, relates
his firm’s experience relocating a local client. “We recently moved a
biopharma company from Cambridge to [suburban] Waltham, and they will
save $200 million in rent over five years,” he recalls. While that
atypically high savings is due largely to moving to a more favorable
rental market, a significant reduction in gross square footage also
contributed to the savings.

Even though technology makes it easy for office workers to stay in
touch with colleagues virtually, face-to-face interaction in the work
setting is still prized. Many innovative ideas are born and refined not
only during scheduled meetings but also at impromptu gatherings. So,
while workstations are being slimmed down in number and size, space for
meetings and informal interaction is growing. New office fitouts provide
attractively designed spaces of various sizes for in-person
collaboration, including conference rooms for small, medium, and large
groups. Small cafés, lounges, and nooks with comfortable chairs
encourage informal interactions.

The weak economy is responsible for a modest bump in office retrofit
work for design and construction companies, as employers look for real
estate bargains. Vacancy rates are high, and landlords are doing what
they can to keep occupancies up. “Tenants are able to negotiate good
rates with good concessions,” says Neil Schneider, executive vice
president and principal with McCall & Almy, a Boston-based
commercial brokerage firm and real estate consultancy. As leases expire,
tenants are jumping to higher-quality space, or negotiating with their
landlords to revamp their current spaces. Either way, the new office
usually differs drastically from the old one.

1. Make way for the incredible shrinking workstation.

Individual workstation square footage is being slashed dramatically—in
some cases, to less than half the traditional size—in part to allow
organizations to devote more space for meetings and informal
interaction. “You need to get the workplace denser to afford more
conference and meeting space,” points out Gervais Tompkin, AIA, LEED AP,
Gensler’s head of workplace consulting.

“The workstation used to be eight feet by eight feet, or eight by 10,
but it has shrunk to six by six,” says Nick Haritos, a regional vice
president for office furniture and interiors manufacturer Haworth.

Technology miniaturization has been a factor in this change, says
Haritos. Laptops with built-in flat screens take up way less space than
bulky desktop computers. Desktop phones are rapidly being replaced by
cell phones. With digitization of many documents, techno-savvy
organizations have been able to reduce, if not completely eliminate,
paper files, catalogs, and other printed material.

2. Say goodbye to high partitions—hello, open office.

Workstations are not only shrinking, they are becoming more open.
Partitions are either being junked completely, or their height is being
lowered to foster greater employee interaction. Some organizations are
even getting rid of private offices, or at least reducing their number
significantly. Exceptions to this trend: workspaces for accounting and
human resources personnel who have to deal with confidential matters.

If your client wants to remove private offices, you should discuss
the potential impact on executive morale with them. Mark van Summern,
AIA, a principal with New York-based Perkins Eastman, cautions clients
that want to move employees from closed offices to open spaces to
consider the office-as-status-symbol factor. “You may end up with
increased turnover from more senior people who are accustomed to having
their own offices,” van Summern warns.

To blunt executive grumbling, senior managers at the client firm
should take the lead in promoting the open office. As part of an office
rehab in New London, Conn., Pfizer business unit managers gave up their
private offices. “Some of them were the biggest advocates of the
change,” says Terri L. Frink, IIDA, a principal and the interior
architecture studio leader with the S/L/A/M Collaborative, headquartered
in Glastonbury, Conn.

When private offices are included in a new fitout, they are now being
enclosed with glass partitions rather than drywall. This serves two
goals: maximizing daylighting throughout the office, and allowing
everybody to see who is present. “Young people want to see their
managers,” notes Marie Fitzgerald, IIDA, a senior vice president with
architects Symmes Maini & McKee Associates, Cambridge, Mass. “You
are more likely to have conversations and share information when you can
make eye contact more often.”

3. Manage noise and privacy—and not just through design.

An open office environment has one major drawback: lack of acoustical
privacy. With office workers sitting together more snugly, and smaller
partitions (or none at all) separating them, noise levels can rise,
sometimes making it harder to concentrate.

Many new fitouts are providing quiet and privacy via small, enclosed
spaces that are available for any employee to use. With mobile phones
taking the place of landlines in some offices, employees who take a
sensitive or lengthy phone call can head to a private, acoustically
isolated “phone booth” or “enclave” without having to hang up and call
back from another room.

“People like to work differently, and we don’t all do the same job,”
says SMMA’s Fitzgerald. A recent fitout at Blue Cross and Blue Shield in
Providence, R.I., provided unassigned quiet spaces. “If you need a full
day of privacy, you can sign out a small enclave.”

Pfizer’s New London rehab set aside 6% of total space for “focus
booths,” each a 36-sf dog-bone-shaped, acoustically isolated space that
accommodates two. These spaces are sometimes used by individuals to
access online teleconferences.

Other strategies for quieting the office include using
sound-absorptive desk-level products, ceiling tiles, and flooring.
Breaking up areas to limit the number of workstations connected to each
other can help, too.

Sound-masking technology can be used to reduce distracting noise in
some office environments. Sound masking can supplement or replace
ambient noise by broadcasting a fan-like “white noise” over speakers so
that speech is somewhat diminished. Ironically, quieter HVAC technology
such as underfloor air displacement and chilled beam cooling—popular
options for sustainability—make for a quieter space when vacant, but
when people are present, speech is more discernible over longer
distances.

“Office space is often designed for acoustical standards without
people present,” says Niklas Moeller, vice president of Logison Acoustic
Networks, a sound-masking provider and acoustic consulting firm in
Burlington, Ont. The result is distracted workers. “Noise and lack of
privacy are near the top of complaints, along with thermal comfort, in
new office projects,” he says.

One noise-reduction solution is decidedly low-tech: asking employees
to keep their voices down. Pfizer’s office rehab project included
etiquette training focused on being considerate about noise. And because
all workstations were unassigned, that kind of courtesy extended to
asking employees to leave the workspace clean at the end of the day,
says the S/L/A/M Collaborative’s Frink.

4. Program in more team rooms, not necessarily more conference rooms.

“Most companies don’t have the right types of conference rooms,” van
Summern says. “They are oversized, and you have three or four people
meeting in 10- or 12-seat rooms.” That wasted space is money not well
spent. Better to offer team rooms of varying capacity for groups of
different size.

Pfizer’s project provided four sizes of meeting rooms: “huddle
spaces” for four, “living rooms” with a capacity of six, and two sizes
of conference rooms, one for up to 12, another for up to 24.

5. Allow for an appropriate amount of flexible space.

The pace of change that many organizations face has accelerated to
hyperspeed in recent years. Many traditional procedures and tasks are
becoming obsolete; new high-tech operations have to be generated from
scratch. As work groups grow and shrink in response, the workspace may
need to be adjusted accordingly.

“It’s not a uniform trend across the board, but some companies need a
more agile interior,” says Angie Lee, workplace corporate practice
leader with A/E firm SmithGroup. Demountable partitions, sliding doors,
movable walls, raised flooring, and standardized furniture and fixtures
make reconfiguring office space easier and cheaper.

6. Design common areas to serve your client’s organizational goals.

Determining optimal placement and size of common areas is important for
workplace efficiency. In the Blue Cross & Blue Shield project in
Rhode Island, employees were encouraged to use fewer paper documents by
limiting the new space to just one multifunction printer/copier/fax
machine per floor. “This reduces the footprint and printing costs,”
Fitzgerald says.

Common area design is also scrutinized in some cases to better
support company values and goals. When Nissan North America moved its
headquarters from Los Angeles to Smyrna, Tenn., it wanted to promote
cross-functional collaboration through the new design. The old
headquarters was scattered over multiple buildings. The new
single-structure, multi-story design featured a large floor plate with a
“town center” on every floor containing meeting rooms and break areas;
support functions such as printers were purposely located near elevators
to generate “forced congregating,” according to Jack Weber, principal
with Nashville-based Gresham, Smith and Partners, which designed the
Nissan HQ.

7. Use the fitout to embellish the client’s branding.

Fitouts can address a client’s key marketing function: “How are we
communicating to extend our brand message?” asks Goettsch Partners’
Prendergast. That means doing more than just slapping logos on the wall
behind the reception desk. “If you have an environmental law practice,
for example, sustainability is particularly important,” he notes.
Clients and recruits want to see a commitment to the environmental
ethos. One recent Goettsch fitout for a law firm reused furniture as
much as possible, bought new materials with recycled content, made
extensive use of daylight harvesting, and provided light sensors in
every private office—all to reach LEED Silver status.

Multi-location organizations often want to foster aesthetic
continuity across job sites with uniform standards for color, material
choices, lighting, and other features readily visible to employees and
the public. Other clients may choose to go in exactly the opposite
direction, looking for distinctive touches related to the local area.
For example, to add a touch of local color to its corporate look, Google
fitted out its Zurich, Switzerland, office with some ski gondolas that
are used as small huddle spaces.

With the increasingly mobile work force, iconic spaces and imagery
are more and more important, says Gensler’s Tompkin. “These are
grounding elements,” he says. “They relate to the cognition of
wayfinding and help to establish an emotional connection to a place over
great distance.”

8. Help clients ‘manage presence’ to avoid ‘office future shock.’

If the trend toward employee mobility continues at the pace it has show
in the last few years—and who’s to say it won’t?—there could be
profound implications for corporate real estate managers and designers
of workspaces, says Tompkin. The work-from-anywhere-anytime lifestyle
has taken hold at many companies, especially among high-tech and life
sciences companies.

“We are seeing radically more virtual interactions, and the number of
in-person meeting participants is nose-diving at some companies,” says
Tompkin. He wonders if this might not foretell an office model where
meeting space will be severely limited, or a scenario where corporate
management might try to reverse the trend and require more employees to
be present at the office. “Everything is pushing people to work
individually, virtually,” he says. “Who wants to battle rush hour
traffic to attend a status meeting in person when you can do it from
home?”

Many organizations have yet to fully consider the implications of
extreme mobility, says Tompkin. “Companies need to actively manage
presence,” he says. “We may be headed for a model where office space
will support more organizational-critical tasks but not support
individual work.” That could mean the office of the 2020s could be
radically different from today’s most up-to-date workspace.

Architectural Design Fees for Office Tenant Improvements (aka Interior Office Remodels or Renovations)

Architectural fees are generally proportional to construction costs.   A higher construction cost represents more complex details and finishes.  More complex details and finishes require more time-consuming design services.  Thus, a higher-end space requires higher design fees.

These days, many of us tenant improvement architects are designing spaces that are more budget-conscious than image-conscious.  Yet even the most cost-conscious clients must spend a minimum of about $50 per square foot for an interior office remodel, especially for a smaller space less with less economy of scale.  Let’s use a 5,000 square foot space as an example.  At $50 per square foot, $250,000 is a very bare-bones budget.  If a space is in “shell” condition, $250,000 is not enough to build out even the most simple of spaces due to the needed HVAC and electrical infrastructure.  However, if an office is “second-generation” space, meaning it’s an existing office that simply requires some re-work, $250,000 would be enough to make a few functional and aesthetic upgrades.

On a simple $50 per square foot project, basic architectural design fees might range anywhere from $2.00 per square foot to $4.00 per square foot, or $10,000 to $20,000 for the 5,000 square foot example.  These basic services would most likely include:  programming (about 5% of the fee), schematic design (about 10% of the fee), design development (about 20% of the fee), permit, bid, and construction drawings (about 45% of the fee), and construction administration (about 20% of the fee).  Not included are mechanical and electrical engineering costs which might be an additional $1.50 to $2.00 per square foot, or $7,500 to $10,000.  On small projects, the mechanical and electrical work are often design/build and not engineered. Structural engineering is typically not required for most office tenant improvements, however if it is needed, the cost would vary depending on the reason, but would most likely be in the $2,000 to $5,000 range for a small project.  Furniture and decorating services might be an additional $1.00 to $1.50 per square foot.   The above basic fee range also assumes that a CAD file of the existing floor plan and existing handicapped accessibility drawings for the building are provided by the landlord to the architect.  Given everything just said, the total fees for a small tenant improvement project might be as high as $8 per square foot if some of these extra services are provided.

A good benchmark for fees on a small remodel project is about 10% of the construction cost without engineering, or about 15% of the construction cost with engineering.  But since the construction cost is not determined until the architectural drawings are complete and bid, this benchmark is not very useful unless a solid construction budget is established before the start of the project.  If so, the architect should design to that budget if it is realistic.  A client should not give an architect an unreasonably low construction budget in order to keep the architectural fees as low as possible.  The architect will let the client know if the budget is not feasible. Moreover, if a low budget is established, and the contracted architectural fees are thus proportionally low, the architect can only provide services relative to the construction budget and their fees.  If the client drives a higher-end design, the architect will need to request additional fees, because a higher-end design requires the architect to spend more time on the project.  An architect will tie their fees to the construction budget in their contract for this reason.

Sometimes, a client does not want to commit to the entire project until they have an idea of what the construction cost will be, and will retain the architect for programming through design development, or just enough to obtain a construction estimate from a contractor.  If an architect is working without a construction budget in mind, and designing per the client’s direction without boundaries, the architect will most likely be compensated on an hourly basis, instead of a lump sum basis, at least through the design development phase, when the scope of the project is defined.

The above fee ranges apply to interior office tenant improvements, and assume that no work to the building core or shell is required.  Banking, retail, restaurant, and other project types typically have higher fees.

Design Considerations for Office Tenant Improvements

Office tenant improvements are a specialized niche that require specialized expertise.  The architect must often negotiate between the tenant’s goals and the landlord’s.  With a typical 5-year lease, most landlords want a space designed so it is generic enough to accommodate the next tenant with as little rework as possible, while most tenants want a space that is unique to their needs.

A large landlord that owns many buildings will usually have building standards for each building, developed with the assistance of an architect, which determine the products and system requirements that should be utilized within the space, such as the type of the suspended acoustical ceiling system, light fixtures, doors, door hardware, interior window frames, window treatments, etc. In most cases, the landlord must maintain the tenant space, and it would be inefficient to stock 20 different types of replacement light fixtures for 20 different tenants.

In most large, multi-tenant office buildings, interior partitions or walls generally stop at the ceiling so that the suspended ceiling grid is not broken. If walls penetrate the ceiling thus breaking the grid, the ceiling grid in the entire suite would need to be replaced when the wall layout is changed for the next tenant. Even the direction of the ceiling grid in different suites is pre-determined so that as suite demising walls are moved, the ceilings still align. This approach means that acoustical privacy between rooms must be addressed with batt insulation or vertical sound blankets above the walls in the plenum space. Moreover, light fixtures, which lay in the ceiling grid system, will not be centered in each room as is aesthetically ideal, because the ceiling grids are not centered in each room. Yet, this approach reduces the cost of relocating walls for the needs of different tenants. Still, when walls are demolished and relocated, HVAC vents and sprinkler heads within the ceiling must be relocated, the carpet must be replaced, and adjacent wall surfaces must be patched as demolished walls leave scars in the flooring material and adjacent walls, even if not in the ceiling.

Architects unfamiliar with the need for flexibility might design interior partitions to penetrate the ceiling, centering ceiling grids and light fixtures in each room. They may likely specify specialized light fixtures, vary the ceiling heights for specialty areas, design drywall ceilings and soffits, clerestory windows in interior partitions, floor tile, and more. These are typical features in many stand-alone projects, yet not in office buildings where consistency is key. Yet even with these restrictions, a good architect can design a space that is visually interesting, attracts customers, and promotes productivity.

Tenants will usually have a choice in carpet and paint colors. Since most carpets will only last the length of the lease, and paint is inexpensive, landlords expect to change these items between tenants anyway. Most important, however, the tenants, with the help of an architect, typically drive the space layout so that it meets their functional needs.  An understanding of exiting codes is important when space planning. Most office buildings have a number of suites along the outside perimeter of the building off a fire-rated corridor that leads to two-fire rated stairwells on each floor. The corridor and stairwells are part of the building “core” which also includes the elevator shafts, elevator lobby restrooms, and mechanical and electrical rooms on each floor. Most corridors are a Z-shape, but many make a complete loop around the core. On floors that have only one tenant, a corridor may not be needed at all. The boundaries of the corridor are usually pre-determined, however, if the corridor must be
shortened or lengthened to accommodate a new suite entry or exit door, there are a few considerations. The corridor must, at a minimum, connect the two stairwell doors which will be on opposite sides of the building core, and, in general, cannot extend further than 50 feet past the
stairwell door on either end, a condition called a “dead-end corridor,” unless it makes a complete loop.

The boundaries of a tenant space are also, more times than not, pre-determined. Yet it is also common to change the demising wall locations between separate suites or eliminate walls and combine two or three suites into one. When doing so, it is important that the “leftover” suite is marketable and code-compliant, and is a space the landlord will be able to lease as well as the one currently in lease negotiations.  A suite over 50
occupants requires two exits. Calculating the occupancy of a suite is beyond the scope of this article, but this generally equates to a suite that is about 4,000 useable square feet assuming there are no extra-large conference rooms within the suite. When two exits are required, they must be a certain distance apart from one another, so that all of the occupants of a suite do not rush towards the same area in the event of an emergency. The distance between exits must be at least half of the longest dimension within the suite. For example, if a suite’s dimension from corner to corner is 104 feet, then the exits must be at least 52 feet apart. This requirement is sometimes difficult to achieve based on the configuration of the corridor. If the corridor cannot be modified, and the distance between exits is impossible to achieve, then the size of the suite must be reduced. Alternatively, a suite can be divided into two suites with a fire-rated wall between them and “communicating” doors connecting them so that they can be occupied by the same tenant. However, this is usually not conducive to a tenant’s space needs. Fortunately, due to proper corridor design, it is rare that the exiting requirement cannot be met. When it does occur, it is usually at suites located at the ends of the corridor where only one suite entry door is possible.

In general, a 44 inch pathway must be provided from all points within a suite to the exit door or doors. In some cases, the pathway can be 36 inches where only a small number of people would utilize the pathway. If there are file cabinets along a pathway, the required width cannot be encumbered by the open file drawers, so pathways must be designed much wider to accommodate file cabinets. Occupants are only allowed to pass through one intervening room before getting to the fire-rated corridor. This eliminates the possibility of having a maze-like space that is difficult to escape in the case of an emergency. Finding an exit must be easy to accomplish.

A few more miscellaneous considerations: The materials used must be designed for commercial use so that they are fire-rated and UL-tested.
Light fixtures should be located so that they provide adequate light for each area based on the use – this usually equals about one 2×4 light
fixture for every 80 square feet – while also meeting California’s strict Title 24 energy efficiency constraints. Doors must be 36 inches
wide, because a 32 inch clear space is required when the door is open which the width of the door and door handle cannot protrude into.
Reception desk transaction counters must have a portion that is no higher than 32 inches high. Break Room countertops shall also be no
higher than 32 inches high. Break Room sinks must have ADA-compliant sinks and base cabinets that allow a person in a wheelchair to pull up
under the sink. Power outlets must be at least 18 inches high off the floor. In older office buildings, it is common to see power outlets at
different heights, because of the changing codes.  When the budget allows, I recommend raising them all to 18 inches high for visual consistency.

Those are the basics, and will hopefully serve a new designer, a layperson, or a commercial real estate broker well when first considering how a space could be designed.  Having designed nearly 1,000 office tenant improvements for large landlords such as The Irvine Company, Equity Office, and Bank of America, I can share this general overview for designing tenant improvements in office buildings in California where I am a licensed architect. Not every possible situation or exception to the rule is covered, but this article covers the basic technical and process-oriented issues to consider. For more information on design with a capital “D”, please see our other articles at www.garciaarchitects.com.

Tenant Improvements 101 for the First-Time Lessee

Entering into a new lease on a commercial space can be simultaneously exciting and intimidating for a business owner doing so for the first time.  Remodeling that commercial space to meet your specific needs is even more so.  Ideally, start looking for space one year before you plan to move in, because if a remodel is necessary, the process takes a minimum of six months, and usually longer.  And while you want to identify and negotiate your lease early, you want to delay the start of rent payments until your move-in date, if possible. Most building owners will want rent payments to begin shortly after the lease execution, so a compromise may be necessary.  It is advisable to retain a real estate broker who can facilitate this negotiation on your behalf.  Nonetheless, retaining an architect that specializes in fast tracking tenant improvements will be in the best interest of all of the players involved.

Once one or more possible spaces have been identified, this is the time to consult with an architect or commercial interior designer.  First, we will develop a program, based on your ideal workflow, brand, and other requirements necessary to maximize functionality and profitability. We can help determine if any of the spaces identified require a remodel, and what level of remodel, as well as examine how to accomplish your goals in the most cost-effective way.  For example, flooring, paint, cabinets or countertops can be changed, and furniture partitions or screens can be added, without requiring a permit.  However, adding any new walls or changes in the electrical or mechanical infrastructure will require a permit.

Once a building permit is obtained, construction can commence.  Construction on a relatively small interior project (approximately 4,000 square feet) may take anywhere from one month to six months, depending on the scope of work.  If there is any exterior work involved, the design must be submitted to the Planning Department and/or Design Review Board for approval before the construction drawings for permit submittal can be started.  This process can take anywhere from a few weeks for a small change, to several months depending on the scope of the project and the city.  If the proposed exterior work is minor and the tenant can live through the construction, we might recommend that the exterior work be permitted separately and completed as a second phase, so that it does not delay occupancy of the interior space.

When permitting a project, the city will require that existing code violations be corrected.  This may add cost, indeed, even double the cost of your project if it’s in an older building.  The architect or designer will be able to estimate construction costs at the beginning of the project before you commit to a lease, another reason why it is important for the architect to be on board before the lease is finalized.  Once the design is partially complete, the architect may ask a general contractor to provide a more accurate cost estimate of the project, which most will do at no cost in the hopes of being hired for the project.  When the construction drawings are complete and submitted to the building department, the drawings are given to one or more general contractors to provide a hard bid, a process we, the architect, facilitate. Additional costs, called change orders, may arise, so it is recommended to add a 10% contingency or cushion to the original bid.

The good news is that you may not have to pay for 100% of the project’s cost.  Building owners often provide a tenant improvement (T.I.) allowance which can be applied to your remodel costs as an incentive to lease their space.  This allowance is actually more like a loan than a gift, as the money fronted is incorporated into the monthly rent.  It is not uncommon for building owners to offer an allowance anywhere from $10 to $25 per square foot for second generation space, or as much as $50 per square foot for shell space in which case much of the allowance will be utilized for mechanical and electrical infrastructure.  An allowance is more common when it is obvious a space requires a remodel, however, if a space is in “move-in” condition, then an allowance may not be offered.  A real estate broker can assist with your allowance negotiations as most interior commercial remodels will exceed an allowance, and minimizing your out-of-pocket cost will undoubtedly be your goal.  In the recent economy, many building owners are offering “turnkey” deals, meaning that they’ll pay for the entire upfront cost of your remodel.

Even if a remodel is not required, it is often worthwhile to make one or two minor improvements to the space, such as the addition of a focal point that will attract customers, or a small change which will make a major impact on productivity.  In summary, it is important to identify spaces early, determine what improvements are desired, and hire qualified professionals to assist you.

How Good Design Increases Workplace Productivity

With our region facing its worst recession since the 1930’s, small business owners are looking everywhere to find ways to get more productivity out of smaller staff.  The design of office space, in addition to efficient management processes, plays a significant role in boosting productivity in the workplace.

Many factors contribute to a productivity-boosting office design:  space layout, furniture, acoustics (noise levels), lighting, temperature, chemicals used in products, and color, just to name a few.  The designer or architect conceives a space or building with all of these factors in mind.   The psychological impact of a well-designed environment is just as important as the functional impact.  The physical work environment affects behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.

Workstations, cabinets, and shelving should be custom designed to keep things organized.  And ergonomically designed furniture is important for both short and long-term comfort.  But more important than these micro concerns is the macro concern of the overall space plan.  Layout plays a large role in both function and psychology.  Town planning has a lengthy, rich history, therefore, I look to it for inspiration in planning office space.  There should be different zones for different functions:  public, semi-private, and private.  There should be public meeting spaces and private meeting spaces; open offices (workstations) and, if necessary, private offices; main arterials and minor arterials, and well-engineered traffic patterns for walking within the space.

Typically, assistants are located closer to the copy room or main arterials so they are accessible to numerous staff members.  People who need to concentrate and focus much of the day should be in more secluded, quiet locations.  Depending on the company culture, senior leadership can either sit at an open workstation amongst the general population, or in a private office with glass along the front to be perceived as easily accessible.

Layout affects how employees communicate with each other, the amount of time it takes to communicate with each other, how they learn from one another in both structured and non-structured ways, and socialize.  The designer or architect must find the right balance between privacy and social interaction.  Many people need some level of privacy to concentrate on their tasks while others need to work closely within a team where constant communication is critical.  Like good town planning, good space planning should create a sense of community.  It’s important for employees to feel connected to their organization or department as a whole, to have sense of solidarity.

The job requirements of each employee must be considered when planning an office space.  Each workstation or private office should be customized to suit each employee’s workflow, and be reconfigurable and easy to change when another employee takes over the space.  You cannot place someone in a tiny high-paneled workstation and expect to foster creativity.  Technical, creative and sales people all have different functional and psychological needs.  Entrances to workstations should typically not be along high-traffic corridors or adjacent to noisy areas.  When there are not many private offices, it is important to provide more enclosed meeting rooms for private conversations and phone calls, as well as separate rooms for office equipment and lunch breaks, so that noisier activities can be separated from the workstations where concentration is required.

Both lighting and day-lighting increase functionality.  Working in dim lighting leads to eye-strain and can cause headaches and irritability, thereby greatly reducing productivity.  Providing task lighting at each desk gives employees the ability to adjust their lighting as needed for various tasks.  Dark spaces can be depressing and result in underperformance.  Daylight is preferable to artificial light, and should be maximized.  This can be accomplished in  an “open plan” with short cubicle panels or glass panels. Windows provide a connection, a view, to the outside world.  Skylights can be utilized where windows are not accessible, but minimizing glare is crucial since it causes visual discomfort.

A loud environment limits employees’ ability to work effectively.  It lowers concentration and increases stress.  The architect or designer has many tools in their design toolbox to combat poor acoustics.  The materials used must have the right sound attenuation for their locations.  Materials that highly absorb sound should be used at mouth level for both sitting and standing positions, so that voices do not travel.  A good quality acoustical ceiling tile should be utilized at a relatively low ceiling height.  When a ceiling is high, alternative acoustical materials, such as fabric banners or acoustical wall panels, must be utilized at a lower level to catch the sound before it can bounce off non-acoustical materials such as drywall or glass.  “White noise”, a low level of monotone background noise, assists with covering up louder, more distracting sounds.  White noise can be achieved with various techniques:  a sound masking audio system, the constant hum of the HVAC system, or a simple water fountain.  Finding the right balance between open communication between employees and privacy is important.

The physical workplace design is one of the top three factors which affect performance and job satisfaction.   Perceived “high-end” or “cool” offices attract and retain employees as well as customers.  Nice office space simply increases morale and creativity.  It has been estimated that productivity increases by approximately 20% due to a well-designed office space. Yet about 50% of employees think that good workplace design is not a priority for their employers while 90% of employees say their attitude about work is adversely affected by the quality of their work environment.    Many companies do not feel they can justify the expense of a well-designed office space; however it is much more costly not to make the investment.  An architect or designer can assess a client’s needs and prioritize solutions to work with even a small budget.

Streamlining the Tenant Improvement Process for Large Property Owners

As a project manager on The Irvine Company account during my tenure at Gensler, I utilized an efficient assembly-line approach.  Gensler was one of two on-call architects that serviced The Irvine Company’s office portfolio, having a master agreement with pre-established unit pricing.  There was a very structured process in place that allowed the account to run like a well-oiled machine.   

The Irvine Company, with about 10 million square feet of office space, had a constant turnover of tenants, most of which had 5-year leases.  Although The Irvine Company was the client, the prospective tenants were also clients in a way as it was part of our job to please them thus influencing them to sign a lease.  

When a suite became available, the project manager would meet with a prospective tenant with an existing floor plan, tracing paper, and a black felt-tip pen in hand.   We interviewed the prospective tenant about their needs, their “program”.   If time allowed, and the suite was relatively small, we would sketch some possible floor plans in the meeting.   If the suite was large, we might sketch the space plan options after the meeting back at the office.  Per our client contract, we had 24 hours to complete a space plan after the client meeting. 

It was our responsibility to coordinate directly with the prospective tenant to obtain their approval on a space plan.  Therefore, it was most effective to sketch the plan and simultaneously get the client’s approval in the initial meeting. 

Once a space plan was approved and the client approved proceeding with a preliminary pricing plan, we had 48 hours per our contract to complete the preliminary pricing plan which consisted of the space plan with pricing notes so The Irvine Company’s general contractor could provide a construction estimate.  We would send a job captain to the site to “field-verify” the existing conditions.  There was a standard checklist of items the job captain was to observe, measure, and document.  The job captain would return to the office and add the necessary notes to the space plan.  The project manager would check the job captain’s work, reviewing the plan.  Redmarks were quickly corrected, and the job captain distributed the preliminary pricing plan to a standard distribution list that included all of the subcontractors, so there would be no lag time in getting the pricing effort underway.  The project manager called the general contractor to schedule a job walk within the next couple of days, because the general contractor, by contract, only had 1 week to provide the cost estimate.

The client’s in-house leasing directors were eagerly awaiting the pricing, because they could not negotiate a lease without knowing what it would cost to renovate the space per the prospective tenant’s requirements.  When they received the preliminary pricing, they could structure a deal.  The leasing rate and TI allowance they offered a prospective tenant took the construction cost into account, as well as the architectural and engineering fees to complete the project.  An average TI allowance was $20 per square foot for “second generation space.”  If the construction and architectural costs exceeded the TI allowance, the tenant would have to come out of pocket for the balance.  At this point, the project went on hold from our perspective for anywhere from one to three months while the lease was negotiated.  The project manager consistently checked in with the client to see how close they were to executing a lease in order to predict when the next phase, construction documentation, would commence.

Once a lease was signed, we proceeded with construction documents.  The pressure was now on, because we were the only thing in the way of the tenant’s move-in, the tenant’s rent commencement, and the brokers on both sides getting paid their commissions.  Contractually, we had 2-weeks to complete construction documents, which is swift compared to a full-service tenant improvement project of the same size which had a 4 to 6 week turnaround time.    Fortunately, we utilized drawing templates already set up for each of the client’s buildings which the client had paid for separately.  There were only five drawing sheets, each with standard notes, included in the template set.  Additionally, we had previously been retained to provide a binder of “building standards” for each building outlining all of the product specifications so that information was pre-determined and didn’t need to be selected, specified, or shown on the drawings.  When the tenant wanted finishes or products that were not standard, additional fees would be applied for the additional work.  Working with the same two contractors for all of the client’s projects also allowed the construction documentation to be minimal.

Once the construction documents were complete, the job captain would distribute them to the standard distribution list of subcontractors and general contractor, and all other interested parties.  The general contractor had a week to provide final pricing.  Simultaneously, the job captain submitted the drawings to the building department for permit approval.  The contractor geared up to start construction, and everyone awaited permit approval.  It generally took between two and eight weeks to get a permit approved.

Once construction started, the leasing director faded away, and the client’s in-house construction manager came to the forefront to oversee the contractor, manage client changes, and deal with unforeseen problems.  A typical construction timeframe was eight weeks.  Upon completion, the project manager hosted a punch walk and provided a punch list, the list of items the contractor still needed to complete. The entire process from start to construction completion generally took about eight months.

This streamlined process was facilitated by having at least three people on every project who are experts in one of three disciplines:  project management, design, or technical.   The purpose for this approach, which is fairly common with large firms, is that different types of people, even architectural people, are good at different things.  Although one person might be fairly good at two or even all three disciplines,  it’s nearly impossible to find any one person who is great at all three.  We didn’t want to be a jack of all trades and a master of none.

The actual design, in addition to the process, also requires a unique approach for large property owners with continual churn.  As tenants moved out, it was a common need to change demising wall locations – the walls that divide the suites – in order to accommodate larger or smaller tenants.  This is the reason for building standards.  When combining one suite with other suites or portions of other suites, it’s important that everything in those previously separate spaces match:  the ceiling tile, the light fixtures, the doors, the interior windows, the window shades, etc.  Consistency with carpet and paint colors was not as critical since they were easily changed.  Moreover, we avoided placing break rooms with plumbing and cabinetry along demising walls because they are expensive to relocate.

It was even more common for interior walls to be relocated to accommodate new tenant requirements.  Therefore, we designed the ceiling grid as continuous with walls going only as high as the ceiling tile, so that the ceiling could be reused as walls moved, and only light fixture and sprinkler head locations needed to moved within the grid.

In addition to meeting the immediate tenant’s needs, we kept future tenants’ needs in mind in order to keep renovations to a minimum as spaces switched tenants.  When we designed a generic “spec suite” that was not tenant-specific, it typically incorporated a reception area defined by a copy/coffee room and a conference room, private offices along the perimeter exterior windows, and open areas for workstations.  This type of space could be utilized by many different types of businesses, allowing for an immediate move-in upon lease execution.

Comparing Proposals for Architecture or Interiors Services

Many clients will request proposals from multiple architects, flipping straight to the money page.  However, the scope of services included might be so limited that the proposed fees are irrelevant.  Even if clients thoroughly review each architect’s listed scope, the different proposals will be structured so uniquely that it would be difficult to identify where the differences lay.  In order to make an accurate comparison, clients should require that all the bidders propose on identical services and terms and conditions.   Keep in mind, however, that even with a boilerplate contract, it is difficult to identify every possible unforeseen change or condition.  I recommend that clients budget approximately 20% to 30% more  than the lump sum fee for additional services resulting from client-directed changes or unforeseen conditions.

Two Construction Management Approaches

As the Senior Project Manager for Bank of America’s California data center buildings, I managed projects large and small, including interior renovations of office space, data centers, infrastructure, and lobbies; I hired and oversaw the other in-house Project Managers as well as the the architects and contractors, and chaired a weekly meeting with all of the contractors to get updated on the majority of the projects.   On the larger projects, separate project-specific weekly meetings were held.  The development of the annual capital plan was also one of my responsibilities which was accomplished by meeting with about 20 division heads to solicit their list of real estate and construction needs, determining if the need was legitimate, and assembling a comprehensive list of all the necessary projects with cost estimates each year.  That list was then submitted to the higher-ups for approval.  Completing this list twice, it was approved as submitted both times.  This was the late-90’s and times were good.

During my tenure on the B of A account, CB Richard Ellis deployed two different fee-earning methods.  When I first started, and for the majority of my time at the job, we were on a lump sum contract.  B of A “owned” our time, paying an an agreed-upon amount for each full-time person.  Under this agreement, B of A could utilize our time in any way they chose.  We felt and acted like B of A employees, and were very motivated to obtain the best pricing possible from the vendors on B of A’s behalf.  We were motivated to be as involved as possible in each project in order to justify additional Project Managers, rationalizing this by demonstrating how much money we were saving the client.  We acted as agents or representatives for the client.  As their experts, we reviewed and negotiated the deals then a B of A employee would sign the contracts.

During the latter part of my duration there, the contract was changed to a percentage-based contract.  For each project, we were paid 5% of the project costs — the architectural, engineering, and construction costs — for managing the process.  The bank could no longer ask us to handle non-project tasks unless there was a specific agreement with an agreed-upon fee.  Under this contract, we signed the vendor and construction contracts, giving us more control of the vendors and increased liability.  This agreement changed the way we worked.  It was in our best interest to have as few  Project Managers as possible managing as many projects as possible, requiring us to delegate more to the contractors. The contractors became the Project Managers, and we became Program Managers, further removed from the design and construction, but acting more as Relationship Managers with our Clients.   This approach was a way for the client to capitalize our fees since they were now project-specific, a huge tax benefit for B of A.

Adaptive Re-Use: Converting An Old Firehouse Into Office Space

Garcia Architects recently repurposed a Montecito landmark. The spanish style historical firehouse was originally built in the early part of the 20th century and occupied until the 1990’s.  Santa Barbara Bank & Trust now houses 20 employees in the 5,000 square foot ground floor.  The bank leased this building in a prime location and wanted a beautiful interior office space to match the exterior charm.  In addition to the interior aesthetics, numerous functional items needed updating. While the fire station had been occupied by other office tenants in recent years, they had done little work to convert the ground floor into office space. They occupied the vast garage where the fire trucks had parked with minimal changes.  Arched windows were installed to infill where the two garage doors had been.  Carpet was thrown over the severely sloped garage floor.  Electrical wiring was run in unsightly surface-mounted conduit.

The client’s “program,” their list of needs, required a reconfiguration of much of the ground floor. The main garage space, which is framed with high ceilings and skylights, would remain open, but the adjacent rooms needed to connect to this main space to include 10 workstations.  Many of the building’s walls are unreinforced masonry, so a hefty amount of steel was required to frame each new door opening.  Moreover, at each new opening, the floor elevations between the garage and the adjacent spaces were different.  Via jack hammer and floor floating, we were able to get the garage floor level both with itself as well as with adjacent rooms.  Running electrical conduit in the walls required the careful routing of small chases, and running the conduit in the floor required much of the slab get trenched.

The existing door levers were beautiful, yet did not meet current code requirements for commercial office space.  Rather than replace them with standard off-the-shelf commercial hardware, additional bronze was welded to the existing levers, and curved at the ends, in order to comply while keeping the integrity of the design.  Codes also required the addition of a toilet room to accommodate the higher occupant load, requiring the relocation of a structural sheer wall and the replacement of much of the slab to run new plumbing. .  Other ADA upgrades, such as a new walkway from the public sidewalk to the ADA-compliant entry at the rear, were also required.

Many of the upgrades were unforeseen when the building was leased, and therefore required thoughtful deliberation throughout the process, however, the daily enchantment of occupying this historic space is worth it.

Recent Trends in Law Firm Office Design

Law firms have gone from stuffy to straightforward, from country-club to cost-conscious.  The design of office space at larger law firms is changing as frugality and technology are triggering a perceptible reduction in square footage and grandiosity. 

Gone are the large reference libraries which have been replaced by the internet and software-based libraries.  The industry is still paper-intensive, but becoming less so.  As many documents are now filed electronically with today’s high-speed copiers, the vast amount of file space once needed is dwindling.  Although true of most businesses, the impact on law firms is more noticeable. 

Back in the day, the biggest requirement for a law firm looking to lease space was “bay depth” – the width from the perimeter wall to the core in an office building.  A long, skinny rectangular space didn’t work as well as a squarer space. 

A typical floor plan was, and still is to a large degree, shaped like a rectangle with concentric rectangles creating five zones.  At the center are file and work rooms which are directly accessible by adjacent assistant and paralegal workstations.  Just beyond are the file cabinets and walkway, and at the perimeter, private offices in two or three different sizes.  With every attorney requiring quick access to their assistant, paralegal, and files, these functions are evenly dispersed instead of consolidated.

The organizational structure of law firms is more hierarchical than that of many other professions.   The traditional firm generally placed assistants in low-panel workstations, paralegals in high-panel workstations, associate attorneys in small offices, and partners and senior partners in super-sized offices not typically seen in other occupations.  This floor plan, relatively inflexible and inefficient, caused frequent employee moves and space modifications, more square footage, and higher rent. 

As ostentation has become obsolete, and modesty has become the new model for businesses, many offices have adopted more egalitarian and smaller one-size-fits-all offices and workstations.  Law firms have started taking a cue from the rest of the business world, although most are not yet embracing the completely open floor plans and hoteling workstations of tech firms and advertising agencies where even the CEO’s sit it cubicles alongside everyone else.  With private offices downsized, it becomes necessary to provide a few more conference rooms for both internal and client meetings. 

Also new is the look and feel of many firms.  Wood finishes used to be the tenet of law firm aesthetics:  heavy mahogany furniture and doors, wood wall paneling, wood molding.  Today, more transparency and day lighting via glass walls and doors have become the new norm.  Modern and green design are making their way into this once traditional culture as it undergoes a shift in mindset.  As less money is spent on the overall space, the reception and adjacent client conference rooms are now the only areas where the client’s brand must be showcased.

Some law firms are adopting another mainstream trend:  the replacement of the old-fashioned break room with an open lounge with a cyber-café feel.   This promotes socialization amongst peers resulting in passive learning, mini-breaks, and increased productivity.

It’s necessary for architects to understand our client’s business, examine how they currently work, their internal processes, their organizational structure and culture, and how we can improve their work functions.  Not all law firms are the same, and it takes active listening, as well as asking the right questions, to uncover what is right for an individual practice.

Bank Design In These Economic Times

The banking crisis has caused an unprecedented amount of headache and heartache to consumers worldwide. Those in charge leveraged too much and the house of cards came tumbling down the past two years. Many of my clients are community banks, and I’ve witnessed their suffering and transition through this crisis.

Through countless meetings with my banking clients, I have heard their concerns and strategies to walk the fine line of staying competitive and profitable, while keeping their hand extended and visible to nervous customers. With numerous banks shutting their doors and others downsizing, the climate in finance is less than ideal. To sooth fears and instill confidence, banks are taking steps, both in their branding as well as in their physical space to communicate security and stability to clients.

As of late, bank design had radically changed: Gone are the days of the grand, marbled lobbies, which were intimidating and impersonal. The trendy high-tech aesthetic that followed the grandiose is now falling by the wayside as well. It seems there is some tension between the old vault look, which represents stability, even if it a bit impersonal and the hyper retail experience which did not help Washington Mutual stay in business, and may no longer inspire confidence in depositors. Today, branches are returning to intimate spaces, with a more residential ambiance in an effort to make customers feel “at home” yet secure. Some banks have done away with the teller line all together, using desks or sit-down teller counters in order to remove the barrier between customer and teller. Customers must feel they can trust their bank, and that their bank will help them in these difficult times.

Before the industry’s crisis, the design of bank branches had evolved radically in recent years due to technological drivers. ATM’s, Teller Cash Dispensers/Receivers, and outsourcing are a few of the innovations that affected design. Technology has allowed more flexibility in the floor plan layout as well. For example, a line of sight from the tellers to the vault is no longer necessary, because tellers now have small monitors in the corner of their computer screens with a view of the vault.

The rise of online banking has significantly reduced foot traffic and face-to-face interaction for customers and banks. Newer still is a technology that allows customers to make check deposits directly from their home or office via a small check-scanning machine. Toward the goal of efficiency, the number of security devices has also dramatically increased. Examples include cameras, geometric hand-readers and electronic card readers. In the not-so-distant future, retina-scanning devices could even become the norm. A much more drastic approach removes the face-to-face interaction between teller and customer altogether: ATM-like machines with cameras and speakers connecting a customer to a teller in a separate and secure room within the building. This type of teller line elimination allows for a much more efficient use of square footage, although, the sacrifice made in customer connection is not worth the gain except in rare situations.

These varied technology-driven solutions that increase productivity have unfortunately distanced the bank from their customers over the past decade, most notably with the big banks, allowing for many smaller community banks with a more personal touch to open their doors and thrive for much of the decade. In these times, it is necessary for every banking institution, whether nationwide or local, to present old-fashioned ideals such as earnestness and strength.

“Why Does This Simple Office Remodel Cost So Much?”

These days, many companies are choosing to make a few minor revisions to their office space instead of building new office buildings or undertaking “gut-and-rebuild” interior overhauls.  Whether demising space to sublease a portion of it, or making changes that improve productivity or attract customers, businesses are focused on ways to increase revenue with minimal expense.

I recently met with a new client, the principal of a law firm, who wanted to make some interior changes to their office suite.  After she explained her wish list, I provided a ballpark construction cost estimate.  Although doing so can nip a potential project in the bud, I feel it is important so money is not spent on design and drawings only for the project to be cancelled when the construction bids come in too high.   “Why so much?” this attorney wondered, “We just want to move a few walls.”  This is very a common question.

Moving walls is not as straightforward as most people think.  Actually, walls are notmoved at all.  Existing walls are demolished, and new walls, in different locations, are built from scratch.  Moreover, changing wall locations requires relocating HVAC vents, light fixtures, sprinkler heads, electrical wiring and outlets, telephone and data cabling, and sometimes moldings or wainscoting.  Where existing walls are demolished, entire new areas of flooring and ceiling material are usually needed, because simply bandaging the wounds left by demolished walls would be unsightly.  This means re-carpeting an entire room or an entire office suite, so the carpet matches throughout.

Many construction trades are needed to relocate even one wall, so a General Contractor must be hired to coordinate the necessary sequence of events amongst the various trades. The GC will hire framing, drywall, HVAC, electrical, cabling, flooring, and demolition subcontractors, and charge about 20% above and beyond the total subcontractors’ fees.   A minimum amount is charged to make it worth the effort, so small projects cost more per square foot than large projects. 

Don’t forget the permits!  Wall moves require a building permit.  The building department requires a licensed architect to submit construction drawings for their approval.  A minimum amount of drawing work is required regardless of the project size, so design fees, like construction costs, are more per square foot for small projects.

And then there are the code upgrades.  Most remodels occur in older buildings that are not up to code, and code upgrades are triggered by the permit process.  Upgrading the toilet rooms, handicapped signage and parking, lighting, and the life-safety system are commonly required code upgrades.  These upgrades alone could cost more than the original remodel scope.  However, a hardship waiver is usually granted for small projects, which caps the cost of code upgrades to 20% of the original remodel scope.  So a $50,000 project would cost $60,000 with the required code upgrades added. 

The building department also requires asbestos testing to be performed and submitted if there is any significant amount of demolition work.  If asbestos exists, abatement in the area of demolition will be required in order to proceed with the project.

“Well, this all seems very unreasonable,” you may be thinking.  The truth is that the construction process can be a bit painful at times, and it’s an architect’s job to make it as painless as possible for clients who are not familiar with it. 

If a lease is coming up for renewal, it is common for a portion of remodel costs to be paid by the landlord.  A property owner typically offers new tenants a “tenant improvement allowance” anywhere from $5 to $45 per square foot, and will do so for a renewing tenant as well. It may make sense to postpone a project until a lease renewal can be negotiated.

Phasing a project is a way to keep the cost manageable.  An architect can develop a master plan, which can be implemented in two or three phases over time.  The total cost will be slightly higher due to the inefficiency of this approach, but the smaller chunks may be easier to swallow.  Also, much of the price tag can be depreciated over a period of time.

Often, goals can be met in a different way than the client originally envisioned.  There are potentially multiple solutions of varying effectiveness and prices.  An architect with a fresh perspective may be able to offer out-of-the-box solutions of lesser scope.  I always ask myself, “What is the simplest way to solve this problem?”  There’s often a solution, although it may only be an interim one, which does not require permitting.

There are many creative ways to get the most for your money.  It’s recommended to consult with an accountant, as well as an architect, to look at the costs and benefits of a potential remodel.  A few hundred dollars spent in consulting fees upfront could save a lot.