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Actiu showroom in Barcelona, headquarters of the conference on Workplace Strategy: Facility Management

Actiu showroom in Barcelona, headquarters of the conference on Workplace Strategy: Facility Management

MAY 2016 | 4 minutes

Actiu showroom in Barcelona hosted the first edition, organized by Grupo Vía, on Workplace Strategy: Facility Management. More than one hundred professionals gathered together to hear the analysis carried out by ten experts about the change that is occurring in the ways of working in organisations and their direct impact on both the distribution and design of workspaces, as well as  the fundamental role of the Facility Manager (FM), the architect and the interior designer in adapting the changes in an appropriate way to the needs of each company.

The host entrusted with opening the conference with a talk was Carmen Berbegal, Project Manager, who explained how Actiu carried out the adaptation to these new ways of understanding work based on the concept of Cool Working by Actiu which encompasses the whole new philosophy in the relationships of the company. Cool represents the emotional and creative part motivationally linked to welfare ... while working is the industrial process and productivity. Both link hands and learn to work together. The new social centres are a meeting point which favour mobility, welfare and collaboration amongst their employees and in which technology and space are a tool to reach the end.

Afterwards, ten experts in Facility Management, architecture, interior design and consulting demonstrated their role in respect to the design, efficiency and maintenance of workspaces, and they shared the keys, trends and success stories in the sector.

From Cushman & Wakefield, Eusebi Carles, an associate of Capital Markets Business Space, presented the report about the market of offices carried out by Cushman & Wakefield in which one can appreciate the increase in prices of rental offices, while the spaces available are dwindling, a fact which, together with the forecast of an increase in new projects for 2017-2020 can bring "a fight among investors to find useful square meters in the area".

Sebastià Roger, member of the Catalan Association of Facility Management explained the importance of FM in the planning of strategic spaces. Joan Miró, business partner and General director of TBK, shared the work carried out for the AIE in its headquarters in Madrid in which thanks to the FM now has a single interlocutor, long-term vision, integration of services, proactivity, separate management provisioning, consolidated reporting and equipment on site, as well as, help to achieve energy certification

The head of maintenance and works of the UIC, Barcelona, Chema Díez, detailed the first BIM project for Facility Management that applied in university. Thanks to the parametric design which BIM offers one has been able to improve asset management, spaces and occupation.

From YLAB Arquitectos, Yolanda Yuste, analysed the great opportunities which the African market presented for office design. Yuste showed the work carried out for the Inaugurate Hospitality African group in Barcelona as well as the work for the BNDE Bank in Dakar (Senegal), amongst others. Also in the international field, during the conference  Miquel Àngel Julià, the architect and director of design at Nuklee, explained how the difficulties involved in the new offices of Sabadell Bank in London were resolved, through the combination of open space areas along with other private spaces.

For her part, Paula Valverde, delegate in Madrid from ZigZag dissected. The new demands of customers for the design of workspaces based on the experiences of recent work and which opted for open spaces, flexibility in the areas work, sustainability and efficiency based on better lighting, friendly environments, energy savings and improved air conditioning. The architect Josep Miàs (Miàs Architects) defended the value of "worthless spaces" in office projects, spaces such as patios, atriums or interior streets in buildings which give quality to work spaces and favour the sense of belonging (togetherness).

Eduard Albors, Project Director / Account Manager from GAC 3000 described the process of office design in which he seeks to size spaces depending on different variables such as type (working, meeting, break or specialty), number of workers or the profile of the team, always trying to keep the open space area towards the front and enclosed spaces in the middle, favouring circulation, flexibility, maximum enjoyment of natural light, sound control, sustainability and efficiency.

Finally, Joaquín Marco, director of Projects from 3G Office opened the reflection on the evolution of ways of working and how these affect the design of offices. These changes along with the incorporation of the Millennials (which in 2020 will be half the active population) and will make a multitask life in 2020 "Work is flexible in location, time and variety of choice and new corporate spaces will work as catalysts, as meeting points to foster a sense of belonging and creative exchange".

All the talks were complementary leading up to an interesting final debate between all the speakers on more flexible buildings and more decentralised ways of working, the upturn in activity and the changes in customer needs, the transformation of work environments and its equipment, the keys to motivate staff and prevent deconcentration, as well as, the step of designing projects which enhance increased creativity or the retention of talent.