Operational performance, safety, and sustainability are all vital for commercial properties. At the same time, it is important to ensure that occupants have a fantastic experience. Great designs are vital, from the broader strokes of the commercial architecture to tiny design elements. However, don’t just focus on front-of-house spaces. Make sure you think carefully about back-of-house areas and give them the attention they deserve.

Facilitating operations

The main thing to keep in mind here is, while front-of-house spaces may get the most attention, if there are problems in the back-of-house, it can bring everything toppling down. In fact, it could result in serious issues like fire safety, delivery delays, more expensive maintenance, and much more.

There are a number of key things to think about. The most significant include service corridors, storage and utility areas, and service rooms. You need to look at the positioning and accessibility. Are they easy to reach? Are they sufficient for the needs of the building, both now and in the future?

What you need to focus on is how people will use the back-of-house areas in real world conditions. The goal should be to allow everybody to do jobs as efficiently and safely as possible. This will keep the building operating smoothly. Crucially, it will reduce the operating costs. That is a big win for all kinds of commercial architecture, from hotels to office blocks and retail or leisure developments.

The lifecycle

Going back to thinking about the building’s needs now and in the future, it’s a good idea to think of it in terms of the full lifecycle. This is the key to sustainability.

The main objective here should be to design back-of-house areas to achieve long-term economics. For example, ensure accessibility so it is cheaper to maintain services. Invest in high quality, durable finishes, especially for service corridor floors and other surfaces that will take a beating. Where possible, keep layouts as simple as you can; people shouldn’t have to navigate a maze of corridors and rooms to find their way around. In fact, this can be dangerous in huge buildings, raising the chance of people getting lost if they accidentally enter service corridors.

What tools are available?

It’s also important to consider how technology can improve back-of-house spaces in commercial architecture. There are lots of useful tools, including systems for tracking the levels of supplies, monitoring solutions to track equipment performance, and more. Crucially though, if you use them you still need to ensure you design the spaces themselves properly.

Separation adds value

Finally, always remember that front-of-house and back-of-house spaces should be separate. This benefits both sides, reducing the chance of bottlenecks and disruption. For example, keep routes for waste removal and disposal separate from main corridors and entrances. It will help to maximise safety, hygiene, efficiency, and the experience.

Discuss commercial architecture with us

As you can see, it’s just as important to think about back-of-house spaces as it is front-of-house. In fact, in some situations it is even more important. It has a direct impact on maintenance and management, so if you get it right, you can make buildings last longer. Plus, you can also save costs.

If you’re thinking about designing commercial architecture or want to make changes to a current property, we’d love to help. Coffey Architects is an award winning company with a fantastic design ethos; we create light, comfortable buildings that benefit the occupants. So, speak to us today.