NEW YORK CITY—Architecture and interior design firm Spector Group has noticed some interesting and impactful trends in office build-outs and renovations this past year.
Principal Scott Spector spoke with GlobeSt.com about trends that arose in 2015—many of which appear poised to continue into the new year.
GlobeSt.com: We're well into the phase of TAMI launching and demanding open space. What's next?
Scott Spector: We're seeing a lot of mature start-ups now, it's almost the next level from when these firms began. We have clients now—say a technology firm we worked with three years ago—that has outgrown the space for which it has a 10-year lease. Now that they've lived in those spaces, they're looking for us to focus on acoustics because with the gritty spaces they wanted, and all of the open space, they're finding it's too noisy.
They're telling us that "we do a lot of Google hangouts and we need to find some other solutions." So we're taking areas like the coffee area or reception and making into a multipurpose room and a training area.
GlobeSt.com: What other solutions to the noise problem are you noticing?
Spector: Some areas are too collaborative and they're disturbing some colleagues. So we're seeing more closed environments with flexible partitioning, which provide good acoustics when they're closed. We also are seeing the design of amphitheaters where parts are closed off.
We just did a renovation for Rent the Runway and created an area for 75 people that can be crazy flexible space but its not impacting where workers are doing their job because it's at the end of the space. It's a destination within a 50,000-square-foot space but you can see it from everywhere.
GlobeSt.com: What changes are you seeing on the sustainability front?
Spector: We're seeing a spike in sensitivity on sustainability being flowed through by management. We have a lot of companied based in San Francisco that are opening larger spaces in New York and those that have been involved in the design of office space in California are bringing sustainability into New York. It doesn't have to be LEED certified but many buildings have gone to that status because it makes leasing more compelling.
GlobeSt.com: What's ahead in terms of office building amenities?
Spector: A lot of bike storage, wellness rooms, etc. On the food service side, companies are subsidizing offerings, such as ovens, particularly firms in financial services and private equity; the only ones not crazy about it is the legal world.
Also, companies are "doing the food thing a lot," and bring in a food service consultant because they're working 10 to 20 hours a day.
We're seeing more of a residential feel in offices versus the slick space of funds and private equity. That trend is here to stay because they're really successful spaces. It's an extension of people homes. It's not La-Z Boys, but it's close.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
