White Paper

The planning of office business center was based on the balance between the expanse of space available and number of offices. The enhancement of offices was done by the conference rooms which were made in accordance with the dimensions of the center. Then, the areas like service areas, reception, and other utility areas were made to fulfil the needs and occupy the mix. As far as the technology aspect is considered, then services like telephone and electricity were made available. The lifetime of the center was expected to be of around 10 years during which only minor changes in the plan were expected. The planning part and the methodologies adopted for construction did not have a scope for change.

Now, when the times are changing and technology is advancing, the need for global communication is also on the rise leading to changes in traditional methods. The market for office business centers is ever expanding due to advancements in technology, different concepts of management and change in lifestyles. This demand has led to the change in the principles that lead the planning. Furthermore, the lifespan which earlier used to be of 10 years has now shifted its boundaries and has become proportional to the market trends. It has become sort of mandatory to keep a scope for change in the office business center planning rules. But whether and how these will be implemented depends up on factors like location, size and budget.

The new buildings that are built have more space between the each floor which is a sign of elasticity. It leads to the usage of raised floors which is very important to support the systems of electricity, communication etc. More flexibility can be introduced by the use of bigger floor plates and providing more distance between the columns. It also helps in utilising the space efficiently. For communication purposes, these new buildings have high speed fibre optics. So in the end, all this leads to high costs of development and hence, higher rents. Therefore, a good choice will be a building which has a nice location, old but having modern technological amenities. The flexibility which comes by raised floors adds approximately ten dollars per square foot to the budget. So their presence has to be justified. The returns can be positive enough, but it depends on the market of that particular center and also on how frequently the changes are required to be done.

Other things which are important for flexibility are modular panels whose cost is 2-3 times more than that of built in place wall. They might not always be used and still will require space. To overcome its disadvantages, the concept of compartmentalisation should be used wherein the office business center’s space is divided into shares using place walls and doors and further divided into the market spaces with the help of modular panels. It has its own advantages including saving money in wiring and partitioning.

Lastly, the flexibility is also associated with the dimensions of the center. Those centers with less than 10,000 square feet are not very flexible. Some planning rules states that more space should be allocated for areas other than the office space leading to less office space and more rent from the tenants. Its application can affect the budget and the application depends on market pressures.

There are other factors that affect the planning rules other than flexibility, for example, the size of amenity areas. It has an impact on the expectations of new users of the business centers.

Some of the available services:

- Evaluation of sites after a visit.
- Analysis of space economy and efficiency.
- Studies of market trends.
- Budgeting.
- Planning of space.
- Documentation.
- Specification of interiors.
- Management of project and control on quality.
- Support services and consultation for construction.
- Obtaining furniture.
- Presentations for promotion.
- Consultation on artwork.