QDP has been involved with many Tenant Fitouts over the last few years, and has worked with numerous Clients, and interior designers in that time. It is always a challenge to make sure we understand the Client’s brief upfront, and still deliver on the promise from the designer’s side.
Getting a clear directive is the key driver of a successful project. Once we have that, we then have to make sure we understand the rules and regulations of the existing building as most tenant fit-outs are done in older buildings, or buildings that are already built by the time the tenant takes the space.
Existing equipment, or new equipment has to work within the old and the new spaces.
Good engineering practices together with cost management are needed to deliver both a quality product as well as one that works within the client’s budget (not always an easy task as reality vs expectations are often vastly different!)
The lighting in the different areas needs to be considered when doing the lighting design component of the fit-out. For example, the workstations often require higher light levels, but without the glare, for users to have enough lighting when working. In meeting rooms, the designers and clients look for higher-spec lighting that covers intimate meetings or visual presentations, but then also needs to be sufficient to act as a workstation environment should the need arise. Dimmers and multiple lighting types are often used here to cover all the needs of such an important space. The reception areas and areas where clients, as well as staff, might sit casually would need to have a warmer, more inviting look and feel. Pendants or floor-standing lamps are often used with warm white light sources in order to add to the softer furniture design. Canteens are often an area where you can have a bit of fun in the design. Colourful pendants, or even a more haphazard placement of fittings can add a great deal to the energy of the space, leaving staff more upbeat when returning to their workstations.
We only use LED lighting in all our designs, and by playing with the colour temperature and the output of the lighting, we can often use the same-looking fittings to achieve many different outcomes or looks. This helps the designers keep the design simple, but still achieve a sense of ‘difference’ as you walk through the spaces.
Not to be forgotten is the very important aspect of reducing operational costs. For us, this is mainly focused on reducing electrical usage in the space as far as possible. As mentioned, we only design with LED fittings, but further to that, we design with sensors in areas that are occupied only occasionally, as well as timers or photocells so lighting is only on when it is dark (if external garden/courtyard lighting), or during certain hours of the day. This works well for accent lighting not needed in the early hours of the morning, but needed when Clients or staff arrive during work hours.
General power and reticulation are not interesting to look at, but just as important as good lighting design. Powerskirting is a great way to reticulate to desks in an open-plan office, however, the designers like to have free-standing units in an open-plan office where floor boxes are not allowed. Power poles or slinkies can be looked at in these situations, but often it is best to ask the designer to create a ‘hollow’ structure that ties into the design of the space. Planters, or similar can be created at these locations so that the wiring is hidden, and the office look is not diminished by having a lot of aluminium posts dropping from the ceiling to desks.
Lately, of course, the word we all hate hearing is LOADSHEDDING. In order to negate this, we have to design backup solutions for almost all our tenant fit-outs. Often the building owner will have backup generators, but not all buildings have them, and not all buildings allow tenants to install their own, so Inverter or UPS solutions have to be considered. The right size backup system is essential and while ongoing operational costs need to be considered, the most important thing to know is what the client wants on backup, and for how long.
As long as you stick to the above guidelines you should be able to deliver on the expectations, however, managing those expectations might just be the hardest part of all.
-Sango Mtotywa
