Focus
Posted on 12:59 PM, May 21, 2015
By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
The HQ of the future: Green, tech-savvy, and millennial-friendly
MILLENNIALS, or those born between 1980s and the 1990s, are the future of today’s work force. Actually they’re already around us, beginning with yours truly. But according to Gensler Design Forecast 2015, they will soon dominate offices -- as earlier generations had done. “Approaching 78 million in the US and soon to be the largest cohort in India and China, Gen-Yers (or the Millennials) stand out as the most urban, multicultural, and transient of all generations… they will become the majority in the work force.”
ARTIST’S rendering of The Finance Centre. Image courtesy of Geiser Mclang.
You don’t have to be a genius to foresee that labor trend. But its implications are significant to an American design and architecture firm like Gensler, which has positioned itself as one of the leading designers of the (headquarters) HQs of the future. Among many of its iconic designs -- evidently with the millennials in mind -- are Facebook, Uniqlo, and Airnb, and one of the world’s best and iconic airports, Incheon International Airport.
According to the Design Forecast, modern HQs shun cubicles and instead favor the concept of working “under one room,” or one big, open office, because “companies maximize interactions, foster collaboration and innovation, and promote a sense of community.”
Facebook’s California HQ, widely regarded as one of the coolest offices in the world, has game rooms and is adorned with Internet memes and graffiti arts on the wall.
“Millennials are looking for the right kind of ‘vibe’ when choosing a workplace. What is important is how the workplace is created to support daily work, how it can adapt to different modes of work -- collaboration, focus, learning, and socializing -- and if there are amenities to support the space,” Gensler design director Sasha Zeljic said in an interview at the sidelines of a news conference recently.
Open spaces, Mr. Zeljic said, inspire creativity and collaboration. “These days, we have phones, laptops, and other gadgets. What we’re trying is to look at where the people will be located in a building, if they will need different kinds of spaces. There now comes a need to design a building that allows them to accommodate all other spaces where they can do productive collaborative work. It’s like when you give a space for a table, you provide a space for productivity,” he said.
WORK AND PLAY
The Philippines is slowly embracing the global design trends. Thanks to our growing economy, the country is ready to join the fast-evolving workplace revolution as it welcomes more multinational companies and global brand HQs. The office makeover transforms traditional offices into “green, technology-friendly, and collaborative workspaces.” These revolutions are more evident in business districts such as Bonifacio Global City (BGC).
Gensler cited in its Design Forecast its own project with Daiichi Properties -- The Finance Centre at BGC, which is scheduled to be completed by next year. The 44-story mixed-use office will house retail spaces, health and wellness amenities, food and beverage outfits, and executive HQs. Daiichi aims to promote this new standard in building commercial spaces and thus hired Gensler to design the building.
“The world is embracing mixed-use [offices],” Gensler said in its Design Forecast report.
Millennial professionals need diversion and socializing, Mr. Zeljic said. Mixed-use offices are perfect not only for young professionals but also for the community around them. The report said mixed-use buildings stay “fresh by curating the offerings and 24/7 events. The goal is to attract the best tenants by creating amenity-rich, transit-served destinations.”
Besides The Finance Centre, Daichii Properties had also partnered with Gensler to design the One World Place mixed-use building also at BGC, which has been cited for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications. As a green building, One World Place is recognized as the first building in Southeast Asia to feature “monsoon windows,” an innovative concept that uses natural ventilation. Each window has a screen to filter the air which can be used when the weather is too cold. The building also features an enhanced structural design for earthquake.
Eric Manuel, Daiichi’s VP for business development, said developers should take full advantage of the country’s growth as fueled by global companies eyeing the Philippines for its economic potential. “How will we compete if our offices spaces aren’t of global standards? We are partnering with a firm that studies world trends in office design with the idea of creating a building that meets or exceeds international standards and is relevant 50 years from now,” he said.
According to the Design Forecast, modern HQs shun cubicles and instead favor the concept of working “under one room,” or one big, open office, because “companies maximize interactions, foster collaboration and innovation, and promote a sense of community.”
Facebook’s California HQ, widely regarded as one of the coolest offices in the world, has game rooms and is adorned with Internet memes and graffiti arts on the wall.
“Millennials are looking for the right kind of ‘vibe’ when choosing a workplace. What is important is how the workplace is created to support daily work, how it can adapt to different modes of work -- collaboration, focus, learning, and socializing -- and if there are amenities to support the space,” Gensler design director Sasha Zeljic said in an interview at the sidelines of a news conference recently.
Open spaces, Mr. Zeljic said, inspire creativity and collaboration. “These days, we have phones, laptops, and other gadgets. What we’re trying is to look at where the people will be located in a building, if they will need different kinds of spaces. There now comes a need to design a building that allows them to accommodate all other spaces where they can do productive collaborative work. It’s like when you give a space for a table, you provide a space for productivity,” he said.
WORK AND PLAY
The Philippines is slowly embracing the global design trends. Thanks to our growing economy, the country is ready to join the fast-evolving workplace revolution as it welcomes more multinational companies and global brand HQs. The office makeover transforms traditional offices into “green, technology-friendly, and collaborative workspaces.” These revolutions are more evident in business districts such as Bonifacio Global City (BGC).
Gensler cited in its Design Forecast its own project with Daiichi Properties -- The Finance Centre at BGC, which is scheduled to be completed by next year. The 44-story mixed-use office will house retail spaces, health and wellness amenities, food and beverage outfits, and executive HQs. Daiichi aims to promote this new standard in building commercial spaces and thus hired Gensler to design the building.
“The world is embracing mixed-use [offices],” Gensler said in its Design Forecast report.
Millennial professionals need diversion and socializing, Mr. Zeljic said. Mixed-use offices are perfect not only for young professionals but also for the community around them. The report said mixed-use buildings stay “fresh by curating the offerings and 24/7 events. The goal is to attract the best tenants by creating amenity-rich, transit-served destinations.”
Besides The Finance Centre, Daichii Properties had also partnered with Gensler to design the One World Place mixed-use building also at BGC, which has been cited for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications. As a green building, One World Place is recognized as the first building in Southeast Asia to feature “monsoon windows,” an innovative concept that uses natural ventilation. Each window has a screen to filter the air which can be used when the weather is too cold. The building also features an enhanced structural design for earthquake.
Eric Manuel, Daiichi’s VP for business development, said developers should take full advantage of the country’s growth as fueled by global companies eyeing the Philippines for its economic potential. “How will we compete if our offices spaces aren’t of global standards? We are partnering with a firm that studies world trends in office design with the idea of creating a building that meets or exceeds international standards and is relevant 50 years from now,” he said.
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