If you go back a few years, you’ll remember that office cubicles were all the rage. Then the open office concept grew in popularity. Now, with the concerns about social distancing, we could see a shift back to workstations with physical separation. The question becomes whether the open concept will remain popular or leave center stage, and if it does, will it return to popularity in the future?
The good news is that when designing a new building, you may not need to put as much thought into this as you think. For the most part, the structural aspect of office building construction doesn’t change much based on the build-out style. Each floor of your office building will support the weight whether it is all open or there are cubicles involved.
There are other considerations, however, that can be influenced by which floor plan is most likely to be popular. For example, the HVAC system may need to be installed differently. Keep in mind, however, that retrofits are possible down the road, so you needn’t worry about your office building becoming unusable even if you plan one style and another becomes the favored option.
Keeping this in mind, one way you can hedge your bets during office building construction is to utilize value engineering to get the most from your investment dollars. By controlling costs in a proper manner, you’ll could keep funds in reserve for modifying your building down the road if you chose incorrectly. You can also strike a balance between the two. For example, you can easily opt for a balance of open collaboration spaces and distanced workstations with the ability to open the floorplan back up at a later time.
At Z Construction, LLC, we have years of experience in value engineering to help you achieve the most logical and cost-effective office building construction project results possible. If you are looking for a construction company that has a team with more than 100 years of combined experience and will deliver exceptional quality from start to finish, reach out to us today to schedule a consultation.