The modern workplace continues to evolve. Remote work. Hot desks. New collaboration tools. Moving away from open offices. The rise of smart buildings. Each of these trends — among many more — are forcing enterprises to reconsider everything they once knew about workplace design and space utilization.

While some companies are getting by with small modifications, others are starting to realize they need a full overhaul if they want to realize all the potential benefits, from cost savings and productivity gains to talent recruitment and employee satisfaction.

One person with in-depth knowledge about how to do this best is Mark Lo Bue, Workplace Strategy Director at Studio Eagle in Springfield, New Jersey. He has been in this game for nearly a quarter century and his company takes a full-service approach to workplace strategy “from the planning stages to the ribbon cutting.”

To find out all the steps involved in overhauling an office and provide you with something of a checklist to build out, redesign, or improve your space, we sat down to get his thoughts.

The following is a rundown of things you must know to maximize your space.

Audit existing conditions

The first step is somewhat obvious: audit your existing conditions. You need to know what you have before you can understand what you need/want. First and foremost, this will require analyzing and understanding how the current space does and does not fit your needs, including a forward-looking plan for how the workforce will change over a medium-to-long-term horizon.

Knowing this, you can then better assess whether you will want to renew (if your space is great!), update (if you need some tweaks), expand (if you need more space and amenities), or move (if this space simply isn’t adequate). The moving determination will also include thinking about whether you build your next office or find something already on the market (as discussed more below).

“Maybe they’re downsizing and don’t need as much real estate,” says Mark. “Or they’re going through a merger and acquisition. Or they just need to relocate. Whatever the final decision, you first need to verify and quantify existing conditions.”

To do this systematically, Mark’s team uses a mix of qualitative interviews and quantitative data collection. Space utilization — something that sits at the foundation of the Density sensor technology — is among the key metrics analyzed to evaluate current conditions, including special attention to meeting rooms and shared areas. Ultimately, the goal is to answer the question: How is the organization using its current space?

“We open up the conversation and start to gather information that paints the picture of our client’s needs — everything from planning headcount to aesthetics,” he says.

Create requirements

After determining what you have and what needs must be met, the enterprise will have to create specific requirements for its space. “The goal is to have a shopping list of ‘must have elements and ‘nice to have’ elements,” says Mark.

Thinking about this from a usage standpoint — rather than only through the lens of rooms or amenities — will help. Will clients be visiting the space often, for example? Are there special requirements related to that? How will specific departments meet? Do they have unique needs for those gatherings? How many remote workers will you have and do they need workspaces when they do come to the office? How much can you benefit from flexible spaces?

Beyond these questions come the physical questions about amenities. What do you need in terms of bathrooms, a kitchen, eating areas, lounges, and parking? Figure this all out, in concert with usage questions, and formulate the most detailed shopping list you can.

As you identify all this, the practical question will then usually turn toward a square footage target. This usually won’t be a hard number but a range. What do you need? What is too small? What is too big?

As you move on to the next step and assess the market, you will then get a better idea of how feasible those “want to haves” really are, for example, and if any other trade offs need to be made. In some cases, you may even find that going bigger than expected makes sense, especially if an aggressive growth trajectory could be realistic.

Shop around

Next comes the real progress: Connecting with a broker and starting to see how these requirements can be met in the real world. “That’s when the party starts,” says Mark.

It’s as if you’re shopping for a house: It’s both unsettling and exciting at the same time

Though the process is not a one-to-one analog for buying a home, there are some similarities — especially when it comes to exiting a space that’s been familiar. You may be wow’ed by what you find. You may be underwhelmed. But you will certainly get to know what is really out there on the market.

“It’s as if you’re shopping for a house: It’s both unsettling and exciting at the same time,” he says.

Naturally, this will all be a more drawn-out and in-depth process if you are building from scratch and working alongside an architect. But the major considerations will remain the same and location will always play a large factor.

Then, of course, there will also be the office space specific questions that will factor into the decision making. What kind of lease structure makes the most sense? Do you want a triple-net lease, a multi-tenant lease, maintenance, amenities?

Test fit

Eventually, you will find something that feels right and meets all the criteria. And this is when you will start the “test fit,” which means overlaying a floor plan design on the potential space to see if the program requirements will fit.

This is how you “make it real.” Although, somewhat ironically, one of the key tools his company now uses to help make the space feel even more real is a virtual construct that employs artificial intelligence. “AI is here,” he says, and it will only continue to get more advanced as a powerful way to help envision what an office will look like.

As the space starts to take shape visually, don’t forget to understand the other factors as well. Mark notes acoustic considerations, privacy aspects, personal space, and proximity to amenities.

By incorporating everything — beyond purely the floor map — it will help you understand how the space will actually feel and whether it can truly check off all the boxes on your shopping list.

Finals steps

Once everything looks right, it’s time to actually make it real. The contract will be signed, the space will be moved into (or built out or expanded in line with the plan), and it will almost be time to let the employees start getting to work.

One last item to take care of, however, is the “punchlist.” This mean making one final walk-through to evaluate whether everything is up to spec and designed as expected.

=Almost certainly, there will be a few elements that either weren’t done correctly or simply could use some tweaking now that you see them in person. Generally, the modifications will be minor. But be sure to leave some time in the schedule to address these final concerns.After that, it’s all ready. Time to unveil your workplace of the future, a space unique to your needs and sure to hit all your requirements. But even though everything looks great now, there is still more work to be done even after the ribbon cutting.

The workforce is always changing. And that means workplaces need to keep adapting too. So keep an eye on everything as employees start to actually use the space. Because the days of set it and forget it are over. Question for Ari: Is this a point in the article where Density’s technology can assist end-users with evaluating space utilization?

There will always be more improvements to come.

Smart buildings are all the rage, and most people now understand that there are benefits to be had. But confusion can arise when you try to determine exactly how the typical talking points actually translate to tangible value.

How do you differentiate the hype from reality?

If you’ve looked into the topic, there are a few areas that are most often championed: Energy efficiency, security, productivity and occupant experience.

Can smart buildings really deliver these areas?

To shine some light on this topic, we recently sat down to talk about just a few of these aspects with smart buildings expert Joe Aamidor of Aamidor Consulting. He has more than 15 years of experience as a product leader with building industry firms and has watched the landscape increasingly embrace trends like the Internet of Things and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

Energy efficiency: Good for the planet and business value

When it comes to energy, the value proposition is clear. There is widespread agreement that a company will reap savings by changing energy use. The question is how much?

The estimates in terms of savings can be anywhere from a couple percentage points up to 20% or even 25%. – Joe Aamidor, Aamidor Consulting

“There are a variety of different measures, technologies, and operational changes you can make to a building to save energy,” says Aamidor. “And the estimates in terms of savings can be anywhere from a couple percentage points up to 20% or even 25%.”

The high-end of this range would certainly seem compelling. But Aamidor notes that these lofty figures are likely only possible on a small scale (a single building) and usually unachievable across a whole real estate portfolio. The local cost of energy will also play a large role. Somewhere like California, with high utility rates and demand charges, will likely offer more potential for savings than somewhere like the Pacific Northwest, where hydro rules and power is relatively cheap.

In the end, most companies are probably looking at more like 8%-10% savings. What companies need to do is assess what these savings mean for them. Combined with a desire to be a good environmental steward and help save the planet, even these returns would ostensibly seem like enough to move the needle.

Productivity: Chasing the smart building Holy Grail

While lowering your costs and carbon footprint at the same time is great, adoption will really start to take off if companies can leverage smart buildings to increase revenue.

If we can move productivity points 2%–3%, that’s worth more than our entire real estate spend – Mark Golan, Google’s ‎Vice President of Real Estate and Workplace Services

Many people do believe that this outcome is very real. By optimizing the workplace environment and conditions, employees will be happier, healthier, and more productive.

At least that’s the theory.

Some remain quite skeptical, but proponents say that, even through seemingly simple means — optimal temperature control, better airflow, and adaptable lighting conditions — the occupants of smart buildings will work better. “As productivity becomes more of a certain return, that will be sort of a game-changer,” says Aamidor. “That is a pretty big revenue opportunity. There is a stronger value proposition there.”

The link between productivity and place has historically been difficult to measure, but this is changing. According to the Harvard COGx Study, certain office environments are linked to higher cognitive function scores. “If we can move productivity points 2%–3%, that’s worth more than our entire real estate spend,” Mark Golan, Google’s ‎Vice President of Real Estate and Workplace Services, explained at an industry event. Even if the higher employee satisfaction numbers seem tenuous, the business value of increasing productivity by just a few points is clearly valuable.

In short, there is some productivity-boosting evidence out there. But it is not always clear cut and advocates still face an uphill battle to prove the case. “It’s very early,” says Aamidor. “There are not a lot of companies that have solidified a value proposition there. But I think more and more are trying — and more will be successful.”

Security and core systems: More low-hanging fruit ahead?

Somewhere in the middle of these certain energy cost savings and early signs of productivity gains are the benefits that come from safety and security improvements. As with productivity, and unlike cutting 5% off your light bill, this is an area that everyone agrees is fundamental for every workspace.

If you think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and you apply it to buildings, having a safe and secure workplace is the most important factor – Joe Aamidor, Aamidor Consulting

So if smart technology in a building can help improve security, incorporating it will be a no-brainer for many firms — even if it doesn’t have an attractive ROI timeline and, in fact, is an additional cost at the outset. “It’s required and, if you think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and you apply it to buildings, having a safe and secure workplace is the most important factor,” says Aamidor. “Plus, the dollars spent on security in commercial buildings are already a really big number.”

Beyond security, the same logic largely applies to HVAC, fire safety, and lighting systems. You have to have them, right? So as long as the investment isn’t too significant and you can reap savings on the total cost of ownership, the smarter, the better.

“You can’t think about a modern office building not having air conditioning at this point,” says Aamidor. “So there’s just a lot of opportunity to innovate and improve how those systems work.”

Smart buildings: Moving past the early stages

Overall, there is definitely some level of return on investment to be had by making improvements to your workspace. And it’s quite clear that smart technologies have a role to play. Energy, security, and other critical systems have so far shown the most interest when it comes to adoption.

There is also another issue at play. By and large, companies are not thinking about all these areas comprehensively. These technologies may be all grouped together in academic literature, but they remain disparate systems in the real world. And each usually has a different “owner” within the company. The person who is in charge of HVAC systems has little to do with security access control and neither of these people regularly talk to HR or a would-be Chief Productivity Advocate (to the degree anyone in the organization even fulfills that ambitious role).

This is something of a practical brick wall in many cases that only further impairs the ability of an organization to make across-the-board moves on the smart building front. If, however, a company can start to think of an overall Smart Building Concept, that could help marry all of these ideas together.

Nevertheless, even coming from separate starting points, there is some clear movement forward. Smart buildings as a concept — and all the many innovations powering them — are just getting going.

“Different smart building technologies are in different places, but we’re absolutely at the early stages of deploying smart building technology and understanding what additional benefits it has,” says Aamidor. “On the one hand, that’s exciting to see — but it also opens up questions that will have to be answered.”

What if the buildings we use every day weren’t as secure as we assumed?

Smart buildings today are increasingly designed around the occupant experience. Using data to drive office design, optimizing space utilization, and empowering employees to achieve more are all key to the future of work.

But there are a few prerequisites that some organizations are still skipping past in their rush to modernize their office.

Chief among these is security. A core function of physical security is to control who can access the building.

Nothing illustrates this point like “tailgating.”

This isn’t just a nuisance. It effectively means that companies cannot secure who comes in and out.

While most pay it no mind, this phenomenon sometimes called “piggybacking,” is actually the most common onsite security issue on corporate campuses. We have all seen it happen: an authorized individual gains access to a secure area and then — usually out of politeness — allows others to follow behind them without showing proper identification or swiping a keycard.

Most of the time, there is no actual threat. The trailing person is usually a co-worker or someone else with a perfectly valid reason to be on-site, who just so happened to catch the door at the right time. Likely, however, an ill-intentioned person will eventually enter that same building undetected— and they will have unfettered access to the entire workplace.

According to the Security, Resiliency & Technology (SRT) Integration Forum, 41% of security executives believe the cost of tailgating ranges from $2M to “too high to measure.”

And tailgating can come with massive, sometimes unknowable, costs. Aside from the threat of potential harm to employees, there are many “tailgaters” who enter secure buildings in order to steal valuable items. Beyond stolen goods, Tailgaters may also gain access to what should be “secure” data stored on hard-drives and servers within the building. This puts companies at risk of critical data breaches and other physical hacking invasions. According to the Security, Resiliency & Technology (SRT) Integration Forum, 41% of security executives believe the cost of tailgating ranges from $2M to “too high to measure.”

Inherent to stopping incidents of tailgating is the ability to know who has badged and who hasn’t in real-time. Density’s proprietary people counting solution does just that. We provide instant detection so security teams can react immediately.

By integrating Density’s platform to an organization’s access control system, security personnel can monitor incidents of tailgating as they happen as well as historically over whatever period of time they want to revisit. This type of information enables physical security teams to track unauthorized foot traffic violations on building, floor, area, and/or room levels simultaneously.

On top of that, our solution helps address tailgating by:

• Detecting unauthorized entrances due to tailgating in real-time. When integrated with an access control process, Density can compare the number of badge swipes to people and issue an alert if someone sneaks through
• Displaying the real-time occupancy of every room to enable an effective emergency response. Beyond entrances and exits, you can see where everyone is at all times.
• Showing you which doors are tailgated most often. By tracking tailgating incidents at every entrance, our data will quickly identify where incidents occur most frequently, and educate employees on how to mitigate unauthorized access.
• Reducing risk overall by anonymously counting every person who enters or exits your building.
• Providing unparalleled accuracy powered by algorithms that are based on machine learning and capable of detecting human movement while ignoring other objects.

Data is at the core of modern workplace design. That according to Melissa Marsh, the Founder and Executive Director of PLASTARC and the Senior Managing Director of Occupant Experience at Savills.

Marsh believes companies need to use a blend of employee feedback and space-use data to make the most of their workspace investments.

Why is data is so crucial? And what does it mean to invest in a “diversity of space?”

We talked with Marsh to find out.

The Golden Era of Workplace Design

Density: There seems to be a revelation that physical space has an incredible impact on how humans work.

Melissa Marsh:  We are in what I sometimes call a “Golden Era of Workplace Design.” We now have the liberty to focus on the human experience. Some of that comes from the workplace being more of a place for knowledge work rather than industrial work.

This has led to less systematized work that happens in locations where physical materials do not take up as much space. In the past, a lot of space planning went into figuring out how to make room for thousands of linear feet of filing cabinets. Now you don’t need that at all. We can spend more of our time planning for people instead of equipment and stuff.

We can spend more of our time planning for people instead of equipment and stuff.

Density: So then how do we plan, or design, for people, instead of just equipment?

Marsh: We design for people by involving people. We can do this through a variety of ways. A lot of these either come practically or metaphorically from urban design, a field that has a long tradition of engaging stakeholders and using participatory design. Urban designers, unlike architects, tend to be trained in methods that involve the public in their work.

I see data — whether that is articulated preference data or trace data about people’s behavior — as a way of including people in the design process. It’s maybe a little bit abstracted. But it can be collected by asking people about their preferences or by seeing what choices they make over time.

I see data as a way of including people in the design process.

There is both “Big Data” and “Little Data”. The Big Data is the information we can collect from, for example, the digital layer or building systems (Quartz, 2019) and the little data comes from the stories, conversations, and interactions with people.

You really need to have both. Without the stories, it’s hard to interpret the Big Data. But without the Big Data, you often don’t have evidence of the actual need for change that you might get from what some disparagingly call “anecdotal data.”

Density: Are there any best practices that you can recommend for workplace design?

Marsh: Well, yes. There are some “rights” and “wrongs.” There are certain well-being elements to consider: daylight, physical activity, and other factors. From a practical perspective, I think there are some things that are inherently good.

I often speak of the “diversity” of a space, meaning that it has many different kinds of settings. These give people both choice and control but also recognize that people have very different needs for spaces. This goes for temperature, lighting, acoustics, and even the color or scent of rooms. We’re all slightly different from a sensory perspective.

Density: So, where do organizations go wrong with workplace design?

Marsh: One component that organizations often lose track of is how culturally specific this all can be. A solution for one organization might not be a solution for another—even if they might functionally be doing similar things.

Another challenge comes when you have changes in the workplace. How you communicate those changes can directly impact the outcome. You can have two companies that make the exact same change to their physical environment. The first organization can tell its employees one set of reasons and the second can give another—or, worse yet, may not even provide any messaging at all.

The perception of that change among the employees of each organization can be categorically different.

Density: How do you test a workspace to actually know if it is performing and doing what you want it to do?

Marsh: One of the best tests is whether people are in the space and enjoying it. Especially in a contemporary work environment or public sphere, people will physically be in the spaces that they like and that work for them. And people will not be in the spaces that they don’t like, which aren’t comfortable, engaging or desirable. In the ‘attention economy’ this makes workplace pretty powerful.

This might also come back to where we are currently at from a work perspective. Your employer used to be able to tell you where to go to work—to “sit down and shut up.” That’s no longer part of the social contract between the employer and the modern, highly educated employee. Now more than ever, we really can assess a space by its utilization.

Your employer used to be able to tell you where to go to work—to “sit down and shut up.” That’s no longer part of the social contract.

Now, what that data gives us is a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. It’s like a Netflix rating. I certainly think that the intensity of use, utilization, and occupancy can be held as a strong indicator for the success of the performance of a space.