Micael Costa, co-founder of BMA Group, and Fabian Medeiros, head of the BE Architecture division, had the pleasure of appearing on the “Ecosystem” program on the B SMART channel presented by Thomas Hugues.

During this interview, they were able to discuss various topics around our proffesions. You can discover this interview on the bsmart.fr

The health crisis has turned the world of work upside down. Teleworking is booming, and other, more hybrid and more flexible ways are also emerging. This trend is reflected in the layout of offices within companies.

Micael Costa co-founder of BMA Group Paris answers Jean-Marc Sylvestre’s questions for the Business Inside show on Forbes TV. We can find the interview directly on the Forbes website.

Its brightness, resistance, easy cleaning, hygiene, transparency and enormous capacity to respond to different formats are some of the characteristics that define these partitions, which carry great benefits in their use.

Glass partition walls have been an element increasingly used in buildings and refurbishments, both for their versatility and for the modernist character they design in the environments, they can respond to completely multipurpose and distinct uses, convincing and solving the present architectural constraints.

In Offices it has been a good strategy, allowing all spaces to receive natural light and giving a spacious and light character to the space, also attributing a comfortable and welcoming aspect.

The intention is also to expand the space and the glass has this characteristic of provoking the sensation of transparency, which, in turn, provides the sensation of continuity and lightness.

Crédit photos : Alexis Paoli

The Covid-19 pandemics changed the paradigm of office occupancy and, consequently, the requirements that corporate real estate leaders must consider when evaluating long-term and short-term business decisions. A new market report by CBRE explores the approaches that will lead priorities and strategic outcomes for 2021 and beyond.

CBRE experts highlight eight core truths, divided into four main areas – Talent, Location, Occupancy, Design & Experience – that will guide the future of work.

In the Talent field, CBRE states that as teams start returning to the office, their desire for flexibility and freedom of choice, will originate new behaviours, specially in the way people relate with the office space and when they decide to do it (truth 1). Future corporate real estate strategies will not focus entirely on remote work or entirely on office-based work. In fact, they will emphasize the employee’s choice regarding experiences and actions that will allow them to reach a positive work-life balance. This will result in lower office utilisation; however, it does not mean the end of the office. On the contrary, it means a new start that will allow companies to reimagine the office role and its functionality. Additionally, CBRE also states that the workplace will have to be reconsidered according to an hybrid workstyle and more distributed teams (truth 2).

Regarding the Location field, CBRE experts identify that office decentralisation strategies are emerging as a tool to support current employees and attract new ones (truth 3). Office-based employees will choose spaces located in urban centres when they would need to interact with colleagues in an environment that offers them all the amenities and technology necessary to their productivity and collaboration with others. In the remaining times, they will take advantage of a network of locations, especially the ones that are closer to their home. Consequently, the migration to lower-cost locations with better quality-of-life will continue, and in Portugal is very well positioned (truth 4).
In the Occupation area, the new CBRE market report states that, even in an uncertainty environment, companies with good planning skills will stay ahead of their competitors in the current real estate market (truth 5). Additionally, flexibility solutions will allow companies to easily adapt their space utilisation strategies and employees’ feeling towards the flexible office space is growing more and more positive (truth 6). In fact, many occupiers are already using flexible office spaces as a part of a corporate strategy that allows them to maximise their long-term commitments and, at the same time, minimise the risk of having too much, or too little, office space as headcount fluctuates. The implementation of flexible approaches allows companies to stay agile, towards the current economic context and new working methods.

Finally, in the Design & Experience field, CBRE study identifies the new workspace a key factor to ensure the well-being, productivity, and commitment of employees, that will be more geographically dispersed (truth 7). Therefore, companies will need to manage change and drive innovation, to serve the needs of a more flexible workforce, at the same time supporting the achievement of strategic goals. This means the alignment between design & experience and the requirements of a flexible workforce. In addition, digital technologies will create smarter and more efficient buildings and, at the same time, improve employees’ experience, mainly through the creation of more safe and healthy workplaces (truth 8). Consequently, measurement, monitorisation and visualisation of information about health and safety is a crucial factor when considering the return to the office. Some digital applications that allow, for example, the scheduling of health screenings, booking spaces or contactless experiences, are growing in relevance and sophistication and are being considered as an essential part of the employees’ experience.

In conclusion, CBRE report reinforces that commercial real estate’s contributions to strategic business outcomes will be more evident and essential than ever before.