Written by Tracy Lea Neff

Over the last year, the construction industry, like many other industries, has faced various impacts from the pandemic. One of the largest hurdles it has had to overcome is the lack of access to job sites. Around the world, safety restrictions have been instituted, ranging from international lockdowns to limiting just two people to each freight elevator, which a little over a year ago were shuttling dozens of construction workers at once. This has required construction managers to find innovative solutions to move projects forward without incurring additional risks or delays.

Whether you are a developer looking to acquire a property or an existing building owner considering upgrading or flipping an asset, the facility-condition assessment (FCA) can be the keystone to your success.

Written by David Callan, Julia Ingersoll, Kurt Holloway and Mike Lodge

Completed prior to the facility’s purchase, sale, or upgrade, the results from a well-done FCA can be used to help lower operating costs, facilitate prioritization in decision-making, increase productivity of occupants, and mitigate risk.

But not all FCAs are created equal.

Written by Rakesh Kishan and Stuart Langdon

This article will highlight the ways in which corporate real estate (CRE) leaders can develop a sustainable strategy for success, requiring fundamental rethinking of five key workplace elements: people safety, people productivity, portfolio flexibility, technology-driven workplaces, and stewardship of sustainability. Real estate leaders will have to work with peers across IT, HR, and procurement finance, and with C-Suite/division heads, to reinvent the workplace in a post-pandemic world. Nevertheless, in constructing new workplace norms and protocols, not only does real estate have a seat at the table, real estate figures prominently at its head.

Author: Christian Schlicht

Resulting from current market and industry developments in the existing world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity (or, VUCA), and given increasing innovation pressure, as well as the associated necessity to productively provide FM services, there is a growing need in corporate real estate management/facilities management (CREM/FM) for business-practice-oriented measuring instruments that reflect the added value (AV) of FM performance results for all stakeholder groups. Against this background, this article will illustrate how and in which manner CREM/ FM can create a measurable AV and how the developed model can be transferred into business practice for generating competitive advantages.

Written by: Sandra Panara

Data collection within an organization is occurring, but not always through smart technologies. Systems like security access controls and Wi-Fi, for example, capture employee information “as it happens.” Other systems like a room-reservation or calendar system capture employee intent. By observing these independent data sources together, we can confirm the opportunities for successful change.

Written by Kirsty Shearer

With European high streets well-and-truly open for business once more, businesses the world over continue to reassess their interior design configurations. Whether it’s overhauling a traditional liner retail store layout or re-evaluating a close-quarters café culture – the design of places where people cross paths is now under constant review.

So, in the months to come, what changes can we expect as we continue to embrace the concept of a ‘new normal’?

Written by Michael Kaiser

The design of The Beck Group's new headquarters needed to reflect not only the firm’s storied history, but also project the firm’s commitment to innovation. Their roots are in construction and its original headquarter office was comprised of primarily private offices.

Understanding the importance of diversification, firm leadership began adding other service offerings, such as design and real estate development and, in 1999, merged with Urban Architecture and moved into its second corporate headquarters space on Ross Avenue on the outskirts of downtown Dallas, an area that later became known as the Arts District.

Authors: Jacob Arlein and Christina Weber

A confluence of circumstances over recent years has catapulted ESG to become the strategic business imperative for the C-suite. Global acceptance of climate science and the material risks it poses for business operations, and humanity at large, has accelerated corporate climate targets and environmental data reporting. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical need for prioritizing human health and instilling new levels of resilience into global operations. The rise of the Black Lives Matter movement catalyzed international action toward social equity and justice, and reinvigorated diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the corporate agenda.

Author: Amy Malmstrom

The idea of sustainability has been around long enough for it to become institutionalized. As such, many of the elective metrics used by companies to differentiate themselves in the workplace have become part of the basic regulations needed to complete any new project, particularly in states like California, Washington, and New York. This reality, coupled with the imperative to get employees out of their houses and back to the workplace, has created a need for new guidelines that go beyond the original concept of sustainability – ones that incorporate the health and well-being of employees and exceed the traditional sustainability needs directed by laws and regulations. Going beyond sustainability will give real estate companies back the competitive edge that has been diminishing with conventional sustainability compliance.

Author:

Linda MacLeod Fannon

After collectively holding their breath since the early months of 2020, company leaders are breathing a sigh of relief. Employees are returning to the office, eager to be with their colleagues in the community that we’ve all been missing in our remote cyber bubbles. During the pandemic, businesses learned just how important that in-person community is – while individual productivity went up, innovation suffered significantly without the creative collaborations that research shows rarely happen without physical proximity. We know that innovation is the lifeblood of business, so there is good reason to be relieved. But hold on. No one’s going back to business as usual. Things are not the same as they were before the pandemic. The biggest shift? Hybrid working.