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SUSTAINABLE OFFICE PARADIGM SHIFT IN THE O


MARKET FOR OFFICE SPACE – LESS ROOM, MORE INNOVATION.


ver the past 15 years, changes in the 14 cities that top the table for office space in Europe have pointed in one direction


only: up. Availability, demand and the number of people working in offices all saw constant growth – as did levels of unoccupied floorspace. However, what are the reasons behind this turnaround, and what are its implications for today’s market?


Vacancy levels will increase and new strategies will become more attractive


Even during periods of dynamic growth, such as 2000–2001, 2005–2007 and 2012–2014, it was virtually impossible to change the fate of unoccupied office space and repurpose it for thirdparty usage. In short this means that the lifespan of office space is growing ever shorter, in both economic and technological terms.


Securing long-term tenants for purpose-built offices is becoming increasingly difficult, regardless of how much demand there is on the market. And there certainly is demand: following the relative decline in construction rates over recent years, businesses are currently having trouble locating modern facilities in their immediate surroundings, as the properties on offer no longer meet the companies’ changing requirements. At Catella Research, we believe that structurally induced vacancy rates in major towns and cities will continue to climb as the number of outdated office complexes that are no longer marketable increases space. Structural changes will also affect demand for office space, with principle reasons including cost-cutting pressures, temporary uses, and the transition to modern forms of working at companies.


These developments will trigger the following changes.


• •


Empty office blocks will be repurposed as residen tial units: the latent shortage of homes in Europe’s cities will contribute to this process. Creation of new plans for office space, such as mixed usage and “work landscapes”: proposals aiming to reflect the future nature of work, i.e. central locations, mixed-use character, temporary occupation of workspaces


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PSS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015


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