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Green concepts, cost-saving choices prevail in changing office spaces
Green concepts, cost-saving choices prevail in changing office spacesTampa Bay Business Journal - by Margaret Cashill Staff Writer
Choices in office design have changed with the economy. People are learning to do more with less, while green principals continue to gain popularity.
The demand for LEED certification for commercial interior spaces is on the rise, said Rod Collman, president of Collman & Karsky Architects, an architectural and interior design services firm based in Tampa. LEED certification can help separate a business from its competitors but is not necessarily a branding exercise, Collman said.
Creating a LEED-certified space can involve recycled carpeting, odorless paints and sealants, or light fixtures with dimming controls.
These products are available locally and are quite common, but may not have been five years ago, Collman said.
Walt Chancey, senior managing partner of Chancey Design, a Tampa firm providing architecture and planning services as well as interior design, saw requests for environmentally friendly design slow in the fourth quarter of 2008 but pick up again in late 2009.
The importance of designing environmentally friendly space has always been there, but it became secondary to surviving the recession, he said.
With green back in the forefront, there’s a push for buildings to be LEED certified or sustainable in other ways.
“More and more people are doing it, and it’s in every conversation,” Chancey said.
Extravagance vs. practicality
The days of cavernous offices with rows of empty cubicles and vast conference rooms are in the past, Chancey said, while concept of “hoteling,” in which people share workspace, is gaining popularity.
Companies are using less space in more creative ways and asking for quality on a smaller budget.
“People are being a little bit quieter,” he said. “It’s hard to be flashy these days. You need to be solid.”
Commercial clients are choosing functionality over luxury in office design, said Priscilla Castellano, a consultant with Andrea Lauren Elegant Interiors Inc., an interior design firm in Tampa.
Businesses are sharing spaces, entering co-op agreements or working out of their homes.
“That’s a new trend, people are downscaling,” Castellano said.
Michelle Jennings Wiebe, president of Studio M Interior Design in Tampa, said her clients are asking for value engineering as they adjust to smaller budgets.
Value engineering retains an original design concept while seeking ways to cut costs.
It could be choosing bamboo over an exotic hardwood floor or using a faux mohair rug, Wiebe said.
“People are putting a lot more thought into purchases,” she said. “They want longevity and sustainability.”
Wiebe said she will integrate a company’s brand into its interior design with logos or corporate colors, but she discourages design schemes that are overly trendy.
“You don’t have to have that lime green interior because it’s hot,” she said. “We are trying to hone in on their needs, their corporate identity, their branding.”
LEED for Commercial Interiors is a U.S. Green Building Council certification program for tenant spaces in office, retail and institutional buildings.
The LEED 2009 for Commercial Interiors rating system addresses:
• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
• Energy and atmosphere
• Materials and resources
• Indoor environmental quality
• Innovation in design
• Regional priority
