From smoking den to outdoor zen - offices are embracing green spaces.
A newly announced plan to cut chunks out of the 45-storey HSBC tower in Canary Wharf seems crazy at first read. But the benevolent objective, which is to create green terraces, encapsulates the dramatic changes taking place in the design of our offices.
In the recent past, little thought was given to outside space in office design in the UK. With a famously dubious climate, and most workers using desktop computers and adhering to a culture of presenteeism, spaces immediately outside the office, whether a roof terrace, fire escape or the pavement outside, were mainly used out of necessity by smokers, rather than out of choice by those looking to reconnect with nature.
The trend for working outdoors grew exponentially during the pandemic, when employees had to work from home and took advantage by decamping to their gardens during warmer weather, recognising the benefits it had on their mood and productivity. The value of outdoor spaces in the workplace is now belatedly being acknowledged and demand for convenient, connected outside space is significant and growing.
Well-designed outdoor spaces, along with a host of other measures such as secure bike parking, changing rooms and spaces for fitness classes, are being applied to make offices better environments to work in and help boost productivity by placing employee health and wellbeing at the forefront of workplace design.
After all, offices now must offer a more attractive experience than working from home. On the relatively rare days of good weather that we get in the UK, the opportunity to work productively outside while also getting the benefits of collaboration, networking opportunities and after-work socialising, is an important add-on to the office's appeal.
But it is not just employee wellbeing that is pushing more businesses to demand outdoor spaces. Sustainability and ecology are also high on the agenda for forward-thinking companies, and outdoor green spaces such as landscaped roof terraces, green walls and green roofs are becoming more important in mitigating the effects of climate change, reducing rainfall runoff, and the urban heat island effect.
In central London, according to real estate analytics company Costar, last year the take-up of grade A office buildings - which are more likely to offer high-quality outdoor space and wellness amenities - was around 3.6m square feet, 17 per cent higher than the 10-year annual average, while the take-up of lower grade space was 23 per cent below average.
But outdoor spaces only add value if they are designed in a way that encourages people to use them.
At The Kensington Building, our state-of-the-art office building next to High Street Kensington station, we have 12,329 square feet of landscaped terraces, helping to connect those working at the building with nature, while also improving biodiversity. These have been designed to offer a combination of spaces which occupiers can use to sit for outdoor meetings, to work or have lunch.
Similarly, at The Future Works, our building in Slough, the Wi-fi connected 3,136 square feet terrace is furnished with a bar area for socialising, large tables for outdoor working or communal lunches, more comfortable seats for lunch-break relaxation and a lawn area for fitness classes and events.
At first glance, the radical remodeling planned for the HSBC tower might seem over the top. But given what is needed to protect the environment and provide places where we can work at our best, offices draped with green outdoor spaces are set to become commonplace, particularly in our city centres.