Corporate

Atlassian, a leading Australian software development company, is planning to construct a 40-story headquarters tower in Sydney. Anchoring a new technology precinct, the project is expected to be the tallest hybrid timber building in the world when it opens in 2025. Designed by SHoP Architects and BVN Architecture, the zero-emission facility will utilize only renewable energy and is targeting a 50 percent reduction in embodied carbon and energy consumption as compared to a conventional structure.

Trammell Crow Company will break ground in July of 2020 on Fulton Labs in Chicago. Providing wet and dry research environments, the 16-story, 423,454-sf life science facility will offer column-free and long-span layouts as well as a dedicated innovation floor for early-stage companies. Designed for maximum flexibility and scalability, the 16-story structure will integrate advanced mechanical infrastructure to support advanced R&D enterprises, with all labs meeting VC-A vibration criteria to ensure reproducible research results.

Trinity College’s new Innovation Center, located on the third floor of One Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford, Conn., across from the school’s Liberal Arts Action Lab, is home to the academic/corporate partnership with InfoSys, a Digital Health CT accelerator, and new innovation and entrepreneurship programs for students. The open, flexible floor plan of the Common Area, which is open to all members of the Trinity community, gives occupants the freedom to reconfigure the space however they’d like. Other spaces include technology-enabled team huddle areas; an interactive work café with a variety of seating options, digital display, and writeable surfaces; enclosed meeting spaces; and small design studios.

The International WELL Building Institute launched the WELL Health-Safety Rating for all building and facility types in June of 2020. The evidence-based, third-party-verified rating system focuses on operational policies, maintenance protocols, and design strategies for the post-COVID-19 environment.

Global technology company Tencent is planning to build the 320-acre Net City in Shenzhen, China. The sustainable, self-contained development is being designed by NBBJ as a fully integrated 'city of the future' sited on 21 million sf of land. Terraced structures up to 30 stories tall will be nestled in abundant green spaces connected by pedestrian and cycle routes. Rooftop photovoltaic arrays will be mounted on most facilities.

Access to quick, reliable, and repeated testing has been one of the greatest challenges for businesses, institutions, and individuals during the SARS-CoV-2 crisis. HOK has partnered with Germfree Laboratories to design a mobile testing lab that will help large organizations to meet this urgent need. These self-contained biocontainment facilities can provide advanced, onsite capabilities for any setting.

Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, is enabling companies to re-open for business with the highest health and safety standards in place through its innovative Protek program. Protek harnesses science-based processes and protocols to mitigate environmental health risks in facilities, from existing buildings to new construction projects.

Morgan Stanley will resume trading at its New York headquarters by late June of 2020. Leveraging insights from the experience of reopening its offices in Asia, the company is implementing pre-entry temperature checks and incorporating signage for walking routes that maintain appropriate social distancing. Welcome kits will be provided that include hand sanitizer and masks, which will be worn whenever employees are away from their desks. The corporate cafeteria will offer boxed meals that can be ordered via app, with meeting rooms remaining closed for the present.

Gensler has published the results of its U.S. Work from Home Survey. The study explored the current experience of working from home during the pandemic and how this is influencing people’s expectations for the future workplace. The survey was conducted to help provide greater insight into the work-from-home experience and how the workplace will be designed in the post-COVID world. As a result, Gensler is building a better understanding of how to address pre-pandemic workplace issues, including the need for more space, less desk sharing, and more autonomy.

FM:Systems is offering a webcast that will enable facilities managers to connect data with effective decision making to drive strategic organizational change in response to SARS-CoV-2. "Understanding COVID's Impact on Your Organization's Space Utilization & Metrics" will air at 11:30 AM EST on June 10, 2020.

Siemens is offering a three-part webinar series: "Winning Projects Requiring Complex Building Technologies." Join David Weaver, Director of Smart Infrastructure at Siemens, for one, two, or all three half-hour sessions to learn how you can meet your clients' expectations and win new projects that require ever more complex and far-reaching technologies. Leveraging these innovative solutions can create the ideal user experience and enhance your reputation as a smart building contractor. Registration includes access to all three events. 

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) released the Re-occupancy Assessment Tool in May of 2020 to provide strategies for limiting exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in buildings. Offering a framework of strategies and general mitigation measures, the tool was developed by AIA’s Disaster Assistance Committee to provide public officials, businesses, and architects with practices that protect occupant health, safety, and welfare. 

At some point, we will power down our makeshift home offices and return to the workplace. What that will look like is the subject of much discussion, but many agree that office space will undergo a substantial post-pandemic redesign. Communal tables and benches might become a thing of the past, while the face shields we’ve come to see at the supermarket could take the form of plexiglass dividers between desks. It won’t be the end of collaboration, but it might be the end of the bustling, densely packed “collaboration spaces.”

Boston Real Estate COVID Consortium is creating a toolkit of strategies for workplace design, construction, and management in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The mission of the consortium is to share knowledge relating to current industry best practices, due diligence, and adapting to changes in codes and regulatory amendments for the post-pandemic working environment.

Exicure, a clinical-stage biotechnology firm, has leased 30,000 sf in The Labs in Chicago. Accommodating headquarters and research operations relocated from Skokie, Ill., the facility will accelerate the creation of innovative therapies for genetic disorders, inflammatory diseases, and cancer.