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Cost-Effective: The high-performance office should be evaluated using life-cycle economic and material evaluation models. In some cases, owners need to appreciate that optimizing building performance will require a willingness to invest more initially to save on long-term operations and maintenance.
Functional/Operational: This includes their desired image, degree of public access, operating hours, growth demands, security issues and vulnerability assessment results, organization and group sizes, growth potential, long-term consistency of need, group assembly requirements, electronic equipment and technology requirements, acoustical requirements.
Flexibility: The high-performance office must easily and economically accommodate frequent renovation and alteration, sometimes referred to as "churn." Features such as raised floors to allow for easy access to cabling and power distribution, plug-and-play floor boxes for power, data, voice and fiber, modular and harnessed wiring and buses, and conferencing hubs allow for daily flexibility at work as well as future reorganization of office workstations.
Building code: Office buildings are often impacted by urban planning and municipal zoning, which attempt to promote compatible land use and vibrant neighborhoods. Consideration of the municipal resources should include housing costs and availability, traffic congestion, availability of educated labor, crime rate and law enforcement, and civic infrastructure capacity such as water, waste water and waste processing.
Productive: The health, safety, and comfort of employees in a high-performance office are of paramount concern in office environments. Strategies such as acoustical environment, increased fresh air ventilation rates, the specification of non-toxic and low-polluting materials and systems, and indoor air quality monitoring preferably with individualized climate control. Access to windows and view, opportunities for interaction, and control of one's immediate environment are some of the factors that contribute to improved workplace satisfaction.
Technical Connectivity: It is an indispensable tool for business, industry, and education. During the planning stage, identify all necessary technological systems e.g., voice/cable/data systems such as audio/visual systems, speaker systems, Internet access, and Local Area Networks [LAN] / Wide-Area Networks [WAN] / Wireless Fidelity [WI-FI]), and provide adequate equipment rooms and conduit runs for them.
Secure / Safe: To prevent intruders, consider entrances that do not face uncontrolled vantage points with direct lines of sight to the entrance. Utilize site barriers and setbacks, perimeter barriers and blast resistances, access control and intrusion detection, entrance screening, package screening and control, open areas that allow for easy visual detection by occupants, and minimized glazing.
Sustainable: Energy Efficiency—Depending on the office's size, local climate, use profile, and utility rates, strategies for minimizing energy consumption involve: reducing the energy consumption load; correctly sizing the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems; and installing high-efficiency equipment, lighting, and appliances; and consideration to renewable energy systems such as solar thermal systems that produce hot water or space conditioning, or to improve HVAC system performance.
The designer specializing in the interior design of office spaces may be involved in designing spaces as grand and complex as a corporate headquarters for an international manufacturer, an office for a local real estate agency, or a humble home office. Regardless of the size of the project, the interior designer is challenged to meet the functional needs of the occupants, meet the budget needs of the owners, and provide the aesthetic elements that the business's clients may expect.
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