REPOSITIONING OLDER BUILDINGS WITH NEW IDEAS FROM NEW PLACESDAVID PUGH, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

There is an exciting shift currently occurring in corporate buildings across America. Owners, developers and designers are rejuvenating older building stock by rethinking the traditional concept of common spaces. Lobbies and public areas previously designed to function solely as entry points and security checks are now hospitality-infused destinations. Spaces previously only active at key moments during the day (arrival, lunch, departure) are now “places to be” all day long with food service, retail, group seating, art installations, concierge service and other unique features.

This real estate shift is fueled by multiple drivers, including:

• A need to attract today’s workforce — a group seeking more choice, collaboration, flexibility and balance in their lives and work

• The need to capitalize on underutilized spaces and opportunities within the existing building footprint to help ensure all building spaces are highly-utilized, thus enhancing value for tenants

• Pressure to compete with a stock of newer buildings designed to include collaboration, community and modern amenities throughout

• Evolving needs from prospective tenants that require cutting-edge wireless networks, responsive building systems, and power services

Michigan Plaza

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Given the large quantity of corporate buildings in urban centers designed and constructed decades ago, there are numerous spaces ready for this evolution. In fact, several buildings around the country are already leading the charge. Michigan Plaza, one of the largest office buildings in Chicago, is currently in the midst of a project that will rejuvenate its lobby and public spaces. MB Real Estate is renovating the two-tower office complex to introduce a refreshed aesthetic in line with the newest towers in the city, offering lounge seating, a café, pop-up foodservice areas and a central chandelier art piece. These new features will better engage the approximately 20,000+ people who pass through the area each day and better serve the building’s current and future tenants.

Michigan Plaza and other established buildings are trying to offer something new to their tenants. To ensure success, corporate projects can look toward other industries and project types for inspiration. Other sectors including health, education and retail are also dealing with similar shifts in the design of common building spaces. Several of their solutions can inform how corporate real estate addresses placemaking, fostering connectivity and creating immersive work environments.

Here’s a look at four industries outside corporate real estate with lessons to share.

Michigan Plaza

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As buildings are repositioned, owners should thoughtfully select upgrades and amenities that provide the highest value for the money spent and the most strategic impact for tenants. It is essential for building owners to right size the offerings based on the building location, budget and requests. Here is a look at some types of amenity spaces we see building owners considering as they reshape their buildings.

• Tenant lounges

• Spa-like fitness centers

• Conference centers

• Bike parking

• Concierge receptions

• Casual/collaborative meeting and socialization spaces

• Pop-up food and drink retail

• Game or activity centers

• Wellness centers or health clinics

• Rotating art installations

• Roof decks

• Pedestrian-friendly plazas

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Creating Community on Campus

In some ways, the traditional community college experience echoes how individuals connect with their workplace. Students arrive for specific functions — classes, meetings, study sessions — and then leave campus. They typically do not live and socialize on the campus in the same way four-year students might. However, given that 60-70% of community college students balance full-time jobs and other important demands, these institutions are seeking to provide spaces that help students study on campus and take part in more casual socialization which can enhance academics.

Community colleges leading the charge to provide such spaces are introducing facilities in support of student life activities, places equipped with cafeterias, health centers, lounge seating, fitness areas and childcare centers. Others are finding ways to incorporate these types of spaces into academic buildings, like Malcolm X College, which purposely infused areas for student collaboration and idea sharing in their new urban campus.

Four-year institutions are also focused on fostering collaboration and engagement by rethinking traditional campus norms. The University of Utah’s Lassonde Studios — a first-of-its-kind entrepreneurial education center — offers a 20,000 sf innovation space on its main floor where all university students can connect, study, dine, build prototypes or launch companies. Open just one year, Lassonde Studios has become the place to be on campus, functioning as an entrepreneurial cultural center and hosting frequent events that encourage interaction between a wide spectrum of students.

Echoing similar design efforts in corporate real estate can enrich work-life balance for employees and help buildings encourage the type of cross-pollination of ideas tenants are trying to breed in their interior environments. This amplification of idea sharing and access to expertise across organizations can prove a competitive advantage for companies who choose to locate in such buildings.

The University of Utah’s Lassonde Studios

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Rethinking Patient Experience

As corporate real estate leaders seek to redefine their buildings to attract new talent, they should be open to bold ideas. This has proved true in healthcare where the University of Minnesota Health opened a new Clinics & Surgery Center that features no formal waiting rooms or assigned doctors’ offices. Instead, the patient experience is designed more akin to a customer’s journey in an Apple store. Staff “concierges” greet patients with mobile tablets through which they can check them in, find an open exam room, record health information and notify a doctor. This new approach allows M Health to accommodate twice as many patients with significantly less real estate than their previous facility while enhancing the patient experience.

Northwestern Medicine is rethinking how design can strengthen patient experience in its own unique way. The system’s Lavin Family Pavilion offers a one-stop-shop solution by integrating myriad health services with retail and dining options in the same building. Through Northwestern Medicine’s Shop and Dine program, the institution has formalized relationships with retail providers to better offer immediate access to vision care, a retail pharmacy and healthy dining. This allows patients to not just receive multiple care services in one place, but also view the building as a destination where they can complete errands or meet family members for a meal.

Already, some commercial buildings are experimenting with spaces that allow reception agents to serve more as concierges. These initial steps and the success of breakthrough facilities like M Health’s and Northwestern Medicine’s should encourage designers and developers to think boldly about how new technology and evolving expectations can advance our corporate environments.

University of Minnesota Health Clinics & Surgery Center (top); Northwestern Medicine, Lavin Family Pavilion (middle, bottom)

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The Retail Revolution

The world of retail has been upended in recent years. The success of e-commerce giants like Amazon have made it simple enough to shop from home that the basic need to visit a store and make a purchase is diminished. In an effort to bring people back into physical shops, building owners and companies are reimagining the experiences created within the shopping environment, transforming them into destinations that celebrate brands and encourage social interaction.

• The Yeti flagship store in Austin, Texas is a prime example of this shift. Yes, shoppers can buy coolers at the store if they’d like, but they can also visit to grab a cold beer and watch the game at the store’s bar, enjoy porch concerts, screen films, or take part in myriad other events the store holds each month.

• Restoration Hardware’s new store in Chicago is equal parts store, museum, art gallery, library, courtyard and culinary destination. Housed in the rejuvenated Three Arts Club of Chicago, the store blends residential, retail and hospitality ideas to create a place where visitors can shop, dine, sightsee, meet with friends or relax. The bold design departs from traditional precedents related to retail and creates a truly luxury destination that can attract visitors for a variety of reasons.

• Shopping malls around the country are also rethinking their open spaces. The redesigned Chesterfield Towne Center in Virginia evokes local state parks by the inclusion of a fire pit and water features to create comfortable camp-like settings.

By infusing these unique amenity spaces in their stores, Yeti, Restoration Hardware and others have pivoted from the idea that a store is a place for shopping to a new reality where the shop serves as a multi-dimensional entertainment hub.

Corporate buildings are dealing with a very similar challenge. As technology makes it easier for nearly every employee to work from anywhere, real estate leaders are adapting their buildings and spaces to foster brand experiences, human interaction, collaboration and culture.

Chesterfield Towne Center

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Leveraging Public Art

Michigan Plaza and its central chandelier is one of several examples around the country of corporate buildings advancing their lobbies as art and exhibit. This focus on infusing public spaces with art that can engage passersby, offer spaces for reflection or pause, and ultimately enhance the environment for users and public has also taken hold in other industries.

One interesting example is the Center hopitalier de l’universite de Montreal (CHUM). The largest current healthcare project in North America, CHUM dedicated $2 million CAD to integrate 13 large-scale works of art into the building design. The pieces include a dynamic bridge between two buildings that shines as a lantern, sound installations, a massive mural on the exterior glass, and the preservation of portions of heritage buildings in the city including Church of Saint-Sauveur and the Maison Garth House. On a smaller scale, Place Bell, a new multi-event center outside Montreal, offers two suspended sculptural pieces (one near the arena’s main entrance and one near a public stair) to delight and engage visitors. In both cases, the artwork is purposely integrated into the building design.

There’s no singular solution for how corporate building should integrate art into their lobbies and public spaces. From a dynamic central piece like a central chandelier to a more comprehensive art program like CHUM, the opportunities are vast. Owners, developers and designers should seek unique creative art solutions that continue to blur historic precedents and engage users and tenants in exciting new ways.

As the adage goes, if you want new results, you need to try new things. This rings true for corporate real estate leaders looking to rethink their lobbies and public spaces. The solutions for how best to attract and retain top tenants may not be in the traditional places we’re accustomed to finding them.

Michigan Plaza (left); Center hopitalier de l’universite de Montreal (right)

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About CannonDesign CannonDesign is an integrated, global design firm that unites a dynamic team of strategists, futurists, researchers, architects, engineers and industry specialists, driven by a singular goal — to help solve our client’s and society’s greatest challenges.

Contact Information For more information please visit cannondesign.com.

For More Information

Michigan Plazahttps://chicago.curbed.com/2017/5/26/15680230/chicago-architecture-office-lobby-michigan-avenue

Community Collegeshttp://www.aacc.nche.edu/AboutCC/Documents/Facts14_Data_R3.pdf

https://www.fastcompany.com/3057909/how-design-can-help-community-colleges-promote-community

Malcolm X Collegehttps://www.cannondesign.com/our-work/work/malcolm-x-college-school-of-health-sciences/

University of Utah, Lassonde Studioshttps://www.fastcodesign.com/3068500/a-45-million-experiment-to-turn-dorms-into-incubators

Minnesota Health Clinics & Surgery Centerhttps://www.statnews.com/2016/04/27/minneapolis-health-clinic-apple-store/

Northwestern Medicine Lavin Family Pavilion https://www.cannondesign.com/our-work/work/northwestern-medicine-northwestern-memorial-hospital-outpatient-care-pavilionchicago-il/

Yeti Flagship Storehttp://yeti.com/flagship

Restoration Hardware Storehttps://www.restorationhardware.com/content/page.jsp?id=chicago

Chesterfield Towne Centerhttps://www.cannondesign.com/our-work/work/chesterfield-towne-center-bon-air/

Center hopitalier de l’universite de Montrealhttps://nextcity.org/daily/entry/chum-new-montreal-hospital-public-art-collection

Place Bellhttps://cite.placebell.ca/en/about/works-of-art/