More evidence that companies are embracing open workplace environments comes from Ted Moudis Associates, a New York-based architectural and design firm, whose 2018 Workplace Report finds that offices are being designed to accommodate collaborative “activity-based” projects.
This report, the firm’s third in as many years, encompasses data from 31 projects in the U.S. with 3.1 million sf of rentable space, 2.5 million of usable space, and 15,546 workspaces. While the average usable square footage per seat remained consistent at 165 sf, 54% of the total seats were allocated for “alternative” (i.e., non-assigned), collaborative, or amenity seating.
Nearly one quarter of the employees in projects that Ted Moudis analyzed—especially those working for digital media and technology companies—participate in activity-based working, meaning that they roam the office on a daily basis. Activity-based work environments average 177 sf per seat last year (versus 163 sf/seat in 2016), 1.3 seats per employee, and 131 sf per person (vs. 124 sf the previous year).
The study states that usable square footage per seat in activity-based working environments rose by 14 points to a total two-year gain of 18 points. “This suggests that we have reached the limits of office density,” the study concludes.
Here’s a breakdown by company type:
“This is a really exciting time to be in workplace,” notes Jamie Feuerborn, Director of Workplace Strategy at Ted Moudis Associates. “Executive leaders are competing [with] other organizations across all industries to recruit the best and brightest talent and have come to realize the value the physical workplace brings. As a result, we have seen a larger investment in workplace strategy and change management services to help create the right balance between their culture, productivity, and employee experience.”
See Also: A cost guide to office fit-outs provides comparisons for 59 markets
Progressive workplace concepts “have increasingly become best practices and virtually all organizations are implementing some, if not all, of them,” the study stated. The number of clients that are adopting benching increased by 7% over 2017, to where 75% of open workspaces are desking/benching.
Of the 54% of workspace seats that are alternative, 71% are being used within meeting spaces (the vast majority of which within an open floor design), 23% for amenity seats (such as cafés), and 6% are “focus” seats that are in enclosed areas free from auditory and visual distractions.
Enclosed spaces in offices are typically reserved for meetings and privacy. Image: Ted Moudis Associates
The study finds a strong inclination toward consolidating café space to include meeting areas. (Amenities are now viewed as “destinations,” the report stated) More often than not, offices are also being designed to support mental and physical opportunities for employees. Wellness space now includes prayer rooms, nap rooms, game rooms, and fitness centers.
The projects analyzed average one wellness space per 173 employees in 2017, vs. one per 198 employees the previous year. And as companies become more paperless, there’s less space allocated for equipment like copier machines, which average one for every 83 employees, vs. one for every 73 in 2016.
In the future Ted Moudis Associates will track its predictions that there will be an increase in semi-enclosed and small focus rooms, fewer executives suites, an increase activity-based seating, and an increase in amenity and wellness spaces.
Related Stories
| Jul 25, 2013
3 office design strategies for creating happy, productive workers
Office spaces that promote focus, balance, and choice are the ones that will improve employee experience, enhance performance, and drive innovation, according to Gensler's 2013 U.S. Workplace Survey.
| Jul 25, 2013
How can I help you?: The evolution of call center design
Call centers typically bring to mind an image of crowded rows of stressed-out employees who are usually receiving calls from people with a problem or placing calls to people that aren’t thrilled to hear from them. But the nature of the business is changing; telemarketing isn’t what it used to be.
| Jul 23, 2013
Tell us how you're reimagining the medical office building
"Obamacare" implementation will add thousands of people to the ranks of the insured, including many who formerly sought primary care in emergency rooms. Now, these patients will have coverage that allows them to more easily access the typical treatment channels—and that means greater demand for services provided in medical office buildings.
| Jul 22, 2013
Top Office Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Structure Tone, PCL top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest office sector contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 22, 2013
Top Office Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Jacobs top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest office sector engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 22, 2013
Top Office Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, HOK, Perkins+Will top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest office sector architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 22, 2013
Market gains encourage better workplace design [2013 Giants 300 Report]
The commercial office sector is finally heating up, led by corporate headquarter and medical office building projects.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, DPR, Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
URS, STV, Wiss Janney Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HOK, HDR top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.