Contributors
The first building developed entirely for offices was built some 300 years ago in the 1720s in London . The office concept rapidly swept around the world . Over the centuries their densities and the privacy they have afforded has altered in line with trends and tasks . They have shifted from dense rows of desks to open-plan spaces and from cubicle farms to today ' s more modern agile and activity-based working designs .
“ While already emerging as a trend before lockdown , tailoring space to its use is going to be a big part of the office of the future . There will be spaces to meet and collaborate , to do admin tasks or to concentrate , rather than a staff member having one dedicated desk to do everything ,” notes Paul Kollenberg , Growthpoint Properties Head of Asset Management : Office . Growthpoint is the largest JSE-listed real estate investment trust ( REIT ) and has its headquarters in Sandton Central , where it also owns a significant portfolio of offices .
“ We believe that offices are going to be a place to plug in – where people can plug into a team and corporate culture , where teams plug into creative thinking and problem solving , where business can plug into innovation , and where a remote working network can plug into their company server and resources . Offices are going to become the centre-point for organisations , around which regional and remote working can revolve ,” says Kollenberg . " While offices will change and be reconfigured , their role as business spaces will remain as relevant as ever . Culture , collaboration and communication are enabled by offices , so are the cues of leadership – the office has become inseparable from work ." Office aren ’ t only defined by actual buildings and inner workspaces but also their locations and surrounds .
A preference for offices in amenity-rich environments was evident before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now been amplified . And , nowhere is more amenity-rich than Sandton Central , South Africa ' s financial capital .
" Sandton Central benefits from compelling and wellmanaged public spaces , important infrastructure such as world-class public transport , and valuable amenities , including retail , hotels , restaurants , conferencing , leisure , entertainment , lifestyle and much more . It provides an exceptional experience for employees , clients and all business stakeholders . With all this , it is unsurprising that Sandton Central has more offices than anywhere else in the country , many of them truly magnificent , modern and environmentally innovative ,” says Elaine Jack , City Improvement District Manager of SCMD .
Investec ' s headquarters on the prominent corner of Grayston Drive and Rivonia Round are a Sandton Central landmark and Darryl Mayers , Joint CEO of Investec Property
Fund , emphasises that quality office properties are best positioned to stand up to change . “ Good office assets offer more flexibility and thus , sustainability . They enable defensive strategies ,” highlights Mayers .
The quality of a property isn ' t the only critical factor ; the quality of the property owner is equally vital . “ Now , more than ever the underlying hands-on property skills and intuition of property owners will come into play ,” says Mayers . He points out that owners need to work with tenants while having the flexibility to adjust spaces for relevance , with an offering underpinned by on-demand services .
The biggest challenge for the office sector in South Africa , however , is a weak economy , which means fewer business opportunities , fewer jobs and lower demand for office space , for now at least . The impacts of the work work-from-home trend are insignificant on the sector , in comparison . But they cannot be discounted entirely .
For several years now , technology has enabled many employees to effectively and efficiently work from home . Before the pandemic , 15 % of American office workers were already working from home and commuting to their offices intermittently . With the pandemic , the shift from office to home has accelerated exponentially . Office use currently remains atypical , with social distancing and limited numbers of people allowed at any given time and , consequently , more work-from-home is expected to persist . Even though remote working will become somewhat more commonplace in future , with many people working from home one or two days a week , it is only one of a flexible mix of ways of working that employees want and leading companies offer .
In short , it ' s not an either-or scenario , rather the best of both worlds – working from the office and home .
Amelia Beattie , Chief Executive of Liberty Two Degrees , believes that remote working brings new opportunities for innovation and doing things differently . Liberty Two Degrees counts the iconic Sandton City shopping centre as the jewel in the crown of its property portfolio , which is retail-focused but includes select office properties in key business nodes . Sandton City incorporates the offices of Atrium on 5th and the Sandton City Office Tower , which was the first high-rise tower building in Sandton Central .
“ New formats and ways of working more efficiently will be top of mind for the leadership of businesses . As the world settles into different perspectives , so will the new demand and supply cycle emerge ,” Beattie says . So , Liberty Two Degrees is exploring innovative solutions and new uses for space .
There is an interesting and exciting time ahead for offices . RACA
70
RACA Journal I January 2021 www . hvacronline . co . za