According to Tim Price, one of the fundamental challenges of encouraging us to return to the office post-pandemic has to do with design.
“[Offices] have very traditional modes of entry – traditional ground-floor lobbies with a concierge,” says the founder of real estate developer Time & Place. “There’s a lot of formality.” Couple that with offices often in busy, inaccessible CBD locations, and there’s plenty of reason to keep working from home.
Price doesn't just envision a future of designing spaces that are more productive, relaxed and accessible, he's seen it first-hand. As well as being responsible for bringing The Ace Hotel to Sydney, which arrived complete with a lobby bar and restaurant that draws crowds far beyond its hotel guests, Price has visited the Silicon Valley headquarters of tech titans like Facebook, Uber and Google, and witnessed how the clever design of their offices facilitates community and creativity.
“[They're based] a long way from where anybody lives – about a 45-minute commute – and they’re all desperate to grab talent,” says Price. “[So] they design these office environments which are 1000 per cent targeted at creating a space which is socially and culturally appealing.”
Worker-centric spaces
Price believes worker-centric spaces that avoid the look and feel of a typical office are key to keeping employees coming back long-term. Due for completion this year, Time & Place’s Bourke and Bowden building in Sydney’s Alexandria hardly seems like a workplace at all.
“The brief was to create, effectively, a work hotel that welcomes and services occupants from a working, wellness and hospitality perspective” Price says
On the ground level are three restaurants with distinct culinary experiences, a wellness precinct for exercise, spa treatments and yoga – all accessible to the public as well as office employees. Then there’s the design of the office itself, which is all about green, open, functional space.
“The centre of the building is a large, heavily landscaped atrium,” says Price. “Within that space, the focus was to create lots of locations for three or four [people] to sit together in a more relaxed environment.
“Our own research suggests that in either office or residential, when tenants connect to three different people in their building in a social sense, they generally stay for periods of five to seven years,” he continues. “With Bourke and Bowden, all of that ground plane is set up on a basis that you and I could have this meeting sitting outside without feeling like we have to buy something. It’s creating the opportunity to connect.”
Moving away from the city
There’s another factor in contemporary office-space design that plays into our post-pandemic ideal: location. In Melbourne, suburbs such as Cremorne that skirt the city centre are being developed with commercial buildings that also provide amenities for locals.
“We’ve focused deliberately on the city fringe – metro being locations closer to residential precincts where people enjoy the convenience and proximity between work and home,” says Price. The concept is called “neighbourhood design”, and it’s a way to provide for the community while creating a better atmosphere for employees. One of Time & Place’s upcoming Cremorne developments includes an open community square, while other builds have performing arts and sports areas. The idea is to create attractive, accessible spaces for everyone, whether you work in the building or just live nearby.
With trends toward both neighbourhood locations and expanded amenities, new offices are consciously becoming more relaxed. For Price, these qualities should only improve morale and productivity.
“We are desperately trying to de-corporatise the flavour of the experience, but maintain the highest level of working environment from a creative and productivity perspective,” he says. “You can do that together.”
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This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Time & Place. See other Time & Place office developments in your city.
