Technology and smart buildings – the role of employee experience in helping buildings be more sustainable

The workplace is changing, and occupiers are rightfully being more rigorous in assessing the building they occupy. This trend accelerated due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent rise of home and hybrid working, but it was always on the cards. Buildings now need to meet the highest ESG standards and offer the flexibility to provide an enhanced experience, accommodating a range of multi-use and flex spaces that cater for everything from privacy to relaxation and collaboration. Buildings also need that intangible but all-important human touch to bring everything together by instilling a feeling of belonging and community, within an environment that supports employee wellbeing, prioritising biodiversity and access to nature as part of the design. These are all essential features of the modern workplace, backed up by Smart technology, and go a long way towards attracting employees not just to the company brand but to the office space as well. Businesses today have undergone a radical and long overdue awakening. Old workplace practices and a stagnant office culture will simply not do as office workers are now much more environmentally conscious, and unprepared to compromise on their social responsibility and wellbeing standards. They now demand and expect to be able to work in a well-designed, sustainable, future-proof, healthy and supportive environment, where they can create connections. What’s also noteworthy here is that workplaces that have been designed with high sustainability standards from the start actively encourage environmentally conscious behaviours, enhanced by technology that can monitor performance in real-time and industry initiatives like the CUBE competition, which bridge the gap between landlords and occupiers to drive down energy use. Quadrum’s redevelopment of 11 Belgrave Road sought to achieve the highest standards, set an example to others and become one of the most sustainable buildings in London. When it completes in Q4 2023 it will provide 108,000 sq. ft of net zero carbon office accommodation and 14,000 sq. ft of communal spaces and best-in-class facilities, including a café and a gym. It also has 13,000 sq. ft of green space with a garden at ground floor and multiple terraces. Every decision from the design stage to completion had to be carefully considered with the aim of creating a building that is not just net zero compliant in its design and construction, but also operationally for its whole lifecycle. A significant milestone for us was targeting a NABERS UK certification for the scheme, which focused on the operational performance of the building and indeed the property became the first in the UK to achieve a 5.5-star rating for design and building efficiency. To achieve this, all of our modelling was aligned within the UKGBC net zero and RICS whole life carbon building frameworks. To ensure it is operated as designed, the building has best-in-class connectivity, achieving WiredScore Platinum and is a smart building targeting SmartScore Platinum. With office space standards and practices undergoing their most radical changes in decades, it is important that we as an industry continue to share our experiences and best practices in the spirit of creating better buildings for everyone’s benefit. We also need to accept that occupiers’ priorities have shifted and respond positively. The now widespread awareness around the climate crisis and the need for urgent action to meet the UK’s net zero targets by 2050 is now front and centre in decisions around workplace environments they are willing to consider. Investors too are putting sustainability front and centre of their decision-making process, and developers and owners are increasingly aware that to maximise the longevity and value of real estate assets they need to be more climate conscious, and that simple rhetoric will no longer suffice, but to attract and retain talent they need to demonstrate actual value. There’s a commercial logic to this as well. 11 Belgrave will not only serve its occupiers well, it will have a higher asset value, because of its better performance and because it’s better future proofed for any anticipated and potential regulatory changes. A personal career highlight for me, I hope this project can act as a case study at the forefront of the drive towards better environmental and social value standards and bring positive impact for years to come.

Technology and smart buildings – the role of employee experience in helping buildings be more sustainable

By Ilyas Aslam, chief operating officer at Quadrum

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