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If you know you need a physical space for your business, and you know what features you need in that space, then your next question is probably, “how much sp­ace do I need?”

According to OfficeFinder.com, in typical office scenarios, you can estimate 175-250 square feet per employee. If you know, however, that you’ll need a couple of large executive offices then you need to estimate more square footage for those. Typical “presidential” offices range from 150-400 square feet. Secretarial and administrative space, on the other hand, will range from 60-110 square feet.

Don’t forget about meeting room space. Conference rooms should allow 25-30 square feet per person for a traditional conference room arrangement. If you’re using it in a classroom (or theatre) style setup you can estimate 15 square feet per person.

Your reception area should accommodate your receptionist, as well as the average number of people you would expect to enter at any given time. If you expect to routinely have groups of 6-9 people arriving and waiting in your reception area, then make sure you have at least 300 square feet. For smaller groups of 3-5, you need at least 200 square feet.

Other space requirements, like filing areas, library space, break rooms, mail rooms, and general storage should not be left out either. The space requirements for these types of areas will vary depending on your use and needs. Here are a few more guidelines:

• For filing cabinets, allow 7 square feet per cabinet.
• In your library, remember to account for people as well as your media shelving.
• People-space can typically be estimated at 15 square feet per person for sitting at tables for break rooms, libraries and meeting rooms.

Remember to plan accordingly for telecommuters and other “transient” workers. If a large portion of your workers telecommute, or are out of the office for a majority of their time then set up non-assigned workstations that they can use when they come in. In most cases, designated office space is not necessary for employees who work from many locations. You can save tremendously on your square footage by using this type of system. It may mean that more filing cabinets, printers, etc. are necessary in employee’s homes, but you’ll still come out better in the long run.

These are just a few guidelines for determining your space needs. Many web sites offer space calculators. The Links section of this workshop provides links that will take you to more of those sites.

To ensure that space is measured on a consistent basis, most building owners follow the Building Owners and Managers Association Guidelines (BOMA) Standard Method for Measuring Office Floor Area in commercial real estate buildings. Make sure the property you are interested in has been measured using these guidelines so you don’t end up paying for space you don’t have.

Next, let’s move on to your time frame. How long is this whole process going to take? Probably longer than you think!

Source: http://money.howstuffworks.com/office-space3.htm

When deciding what purposes you need your office space to fill, think about your expected everyday activities.  For instance:

• Will you expect clients to visit your office? — Think about….a nice reception area, easy parking, product display areas, conference areas
• Will those clients stay for extended periods of time? — Think about…. larger meeting rooms, audio/visual rooms, the impact and impressions that the rest of your office space will make on them… Should there be a closed-off area that clients visit?
• Will groups of your employees have regular project meetings? — Think about…. having several small meeting rooms with white boards, computer hook-ups, overhead projection systems, etc.
• Will many of your employees travel extensively or telecommute? — Think about…. setting up central, non-assigned workstations where anyone can plug in and do their work with access to e-mail, and voice mail.
• Will you need open spaces that will foster creative thinking and teamwork? — Think about…. setting up separate areas where collaborative efforts can easily be discussed and brainstormed without disturbing others.
• Will you have employees involved in phone negotiations, research study, and other tasks that require more quiet concentration? — Think about…. private offices where more independent work and private discussions can take place.
• Will you have employees or clients with sight or hearing impairments, physical challenges, etc.? — Think about…. special accommodations for employees or clients with special needs.
• Will you need a break room? — Think about…. lunch room space, kitchen appliances, games and activities to relieve stress and foster creative thought, restful decor, energetic decor, etc.
• Will noise be an issue in any respect? — Think about…. sound proofing meeting rooms, break rooms, product development areas, manufacturing areas, etc.
• Will you need loading and shipping dock areas? — Think about…. future ventures into product lines you may not offer now, receiving large orders of supplies, etc.

There are probably other uses for your office space, so make sure you’ve thoroughly thought through all of the activities you see being performed on a routine (and even a non-routine) basis and write them down. Your final selected space should accommodate most if not all of those needs.

So now you know the uses the space will have, but how much square footage should you look for? Let’s go to the next session to find out how to estimate the size office you need.

Source: http://money.howstuffworks.com/office-space2.htm

First, ­let’s start with what the other guys are doing. Around the turn of the century (that would be this one), you couldn’t get office space in San Francisco without first showing your potential landlord your business plan and offering stock options.

You had to pitch your landlord the same way you did your venture capitalists. Landlords realized they could pick and choose tenants and interview them, rather than vice versa. Since the dot-com bust, however, that has changed drastically. The vacancy rate in San Francisco jumped from 2% in 2000 to 9% in 2001. Now, landlords are less picky and will often divide up floors of their buildings to suit smaller tenants. Here are a few numbers for the statistic-happy among you…

At the end of 2000, the regions with the lowest average vacancy rates were the:

• Northeast with a 4.7% vacancy rate
• West with a 6.9% vacancy rate
• South Atlantic with a 7% vacancy rate
• Midwest with a 8.9% vacancy rate
• Southwest with a 11% vacancy rate

Source: REIS, Inc.

Some of the fastest growing rental rates at the end of 2000 were in these cities:

West Coast Market

• San Francisco — almost double that of 1999 ($63.65 psf average rental rate)
• San Jose — 41% increase over 1999 ($46.73 psf average rental rate)
• Seattle — 16.2% increase over 1999 ($31.62 psf average rental rate)
• Oakland-East Bay — 25.2% increase over 1999 ($31.61 psf average rental rate)
• San Diego — 14.7% increase over 1999 ($24.07 psf average rental rate)

Southwest Market

• Austin — 16.7% increase over 1999 ($26.17 psf average rental rate)

Eastern/Northeastern Markets

• DC — 7.7% increase over 1999 ($35.82 psf average rental rate)
• Boston — 19.2 increase over 1999 ($42.09 psf average rental rate)
• New York — 23.4% increase over 1999 ($50.82 psf average rental rate)

Source: REIS, Inc.

So, you can see that as of the end of last year, things were still pretty much booming in the world of commercial real estate, albeit slightly less so than in 1999 and 2000. Does that mean you’ll have a hard time finding office space? That depends on where you’re looking. In most markets, space is readily available (San Francisco being the least easy market). The area itself will dictate what you have to pay, so check out the average prices per square foot, and think about the location needs of your business long and hard before making your move.

Other trends include more telecommuting and working from home offices. According to the William Olsten Center for Workforce Strategies, more than 50 percent of companies in North America offer some form of telecommuting to their employees and about 75 percent have plans to expand the programs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, home offices have also jumped from 4 million in 1990 to 11 million in 1997. The number is expected to increase to 20 million in 2001. Allowing telecommuting has a definite impact on your office space needs. Those workers still need space when they come to the office, but they don’t need a designated desk that sits empty three days out of the week. The key is to have central workstations available that anyone can plug into when they’re in the office. This reduces the space requirements for your office, and still allows your telecommuters to get work done while they’re in the office.

What About Virtual Offices
Do you really need real estate in order for your business to succeed? Obviously, if you are planning a large manufacturing venture, you’ll need commercial or industrial space in which to do it. But what about the smaller guys who are beginning a consulting service? How many hours would you or your employees spend in an office anyway? Do you need face-to-face contact with your employees, or would phones and e-mail suffice? Video conferencing is also widely available. Is a physical office really worth the expense and upkeep? Perhaps a good virtual office would really be the most you need. By taking advantage of technology and other new office services, you can offer your clients many of the same benefits as your real estate-leasing counterparts. You can even have a prestigious sounding address complete with a suite number available through places like Mailboxes Etc. and other packaging and mailing businesses. Most of these businesses offer the equivalent of a post office box, but with a “suite number” rather than a P.O number. You can receive packages, and have 24-hour access to your box.

Office Space Options

If your work involves traveling, you have many options for where you can get your work done. The most obvious, and least comfortable, is the parking lot outside your client’s building, or the seat you find at the airport while waiting to board your plane. Other more comfortable options include:

• Telecenters This is a business center that rents space along with access to clerical assistance, e-mail, voice mail, fax services and a receptionist. These are useful for work forces that travel the majority of the time. Most major cities have several of these centers.
• Tenant space These are rented spaces that are used for specific projects for short periods of time (usually weeks or months).
• Hotelling Popular in the consulting, financial, and high tech fields, this system allows you to buy or lease a smaller space than you would otherwise need. It works for businesses that have the majority of their employees on the road most of the time. With this system, employees reserve workspaces for specific blocks of time and keep all of their files with them on a personal computer or other electronic device. The whole process is facilitated by a “concierge”.
• Executive Suites These can be leased for as little as $100-200 per month. (For very limited use.) This type of arrangement provides you with a receptionist, voice mail, e-mail, and other services, along with access to private offices, a reception area, a meeting room, and more that is shared with other businesses and managed by a management firm.
• Business Incubators These are groups that foster new business startups by providing the usual office space and services, as well as management and finance assistance.
• The Ultimate Home Office In the not so distant future, it is projected that many urban areas will have what is called Live-Work Condominiums. The idea is to take advantage of office space that is only used 8-10 hours out of the day, and turn it into combination housing and work environments.

For those of you who know you need some type of permanent office space, let’s look at the possible functions you may need in office space.

Source: http://money.howstuffworks.com/office-space1.htm

New Zealand architects Weirwalker could have first five-star Green Star NZ building rating in the South Island

Christchurch architects Weirwalker Architecture’s sustainable Club Tower design has been submitted by its commissioners, Latitude Group, to be the first South Island building to achieve five stars in the Green Star NZ building rating. The rating system was set up this time last year by the New Zealand Green Building Council as the first comprehensive green rating system in the country.

The Green Star NZ system looks at qualities such as management, energy, transport, materials, emissions and innovation to achieve an overall rating. Latitude Group believes that the Club Tower in Worcester Boulevard has the green credentials to achieve the landmark status with their director, Ken Wimsett telling press: “Club Tower will be the most technologically advanced office tower in Christchurch’s CBD. It will be an environmentally sustainable building that offers an exquisite workspace with enduring design. We are extremely confident that Club Tower will be the South Island’s first building to be awarded the five-star Green Star NZ rating due to its ecological excellence.”

Club Tower will have the ability to recycle on-site as one of its possible qualifications for the rating with the building’s design emphasizing ‘cutting-edge efficiency and clean technologies’ according to the design website.

Club Tower is an addition to the Canterbury Club in Christchurch which has historical significance as the place where Captain Robert Scott ate his last meal before departing on his expedition to the South Pole. The construction of the tower will provide modern amenities as part of an overall re-vamp of the site which has been designed with the involvement of the local historian. The tower is set to take 15 months to construct.

Source: http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=2219