Traditionally you wouldn’t see much commercial architecture in neighbourhoods. Likely there’d only be a small selection of retail spaces, restaurants, cafes, and pubs. Generally you would not find any offices at all. They would typically be in clusters in urban centres. However, attitudes towards workplaces, especially where we work, have changed a lot in the last few years. So, offices are now a vital part of mixed place living.

What you need to look at here is how you can create neighbourhoods that allow a better work/life balance. A crucial thing is keeping the offices closer to where people live. This saves on things like commuting and can therefore leave more time for leisure. Close to home working can be fantastic for many people.

What to consider?

There are a number of factors to consider here to create a well worked neighbourhood. Let’s go over them.

Firstly, it is important to think about integration. The best buildings should have a seamless transition into the public realm. There shouldn’t be any barriers to restrict access and movement.

Secondly, buildings should be active. The best high streets are busy centres of activity. Instead of an office that is only occupied for working hours, you should choose mixed use spaces that make them a hard working part of the neighbourhood. For example, you could have a gym or restaurant.

Next, you should design commercial architecture with spaces that are fluid. They should flow nicely, making for an accessible, multi-user experience.

It is also a really good idea to make sure you configure spaces effectively. This should help to motivate people to be active and make use of the facilities.

A major problem with old offices is they did not think about the future. There was no diversity in the design. You should be focusing on this with all new workplace designs. Ensure you support different types of work and remove technical barriers.

Finally, you should look at scalability. One issue that results in empty buildings is they simply can’t scale to suit businesses as they grow or refine their services. So, you should design with that in mind, making it easier to add or reduce space to suit the business.

Do you need help with commercial architecture?

Coffey Architects appreciates that workspace is a more important part of a neighbourhood today. It is vital to design buildings that can fit in and deliver the work/life balance people want. We can work to do that for clients, ensuring the neighbourhoods are well worked.

So, speak to us today about commercial architecture, housing, and more. We’d love to help you design spaces that can be the perfect piece of a neighbourhood.