As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, people’s working patterns, office occupation and configuration are evolving. Whilst working from home has been a phenomenon for many businesses, there are many sectors such as tech, which have been well set up for remote working for years. Interestingly, these businesses have been leading the way in office innovation, investing more than ever in effective workplaces. Their decision to do so explains why we believe the office is a key component to business success.

There is no doubt that the office is key for innovation and collaboration within a business. The energy that comes from getting together and experiencing ‘water cooler‘ moments is crucial to maintaining a strong business culture. Offices are a place to build a brand and an identity, as well as providing new recruits and junior members of staff a place to learn from more experienced members of the team along with other role models.

For the immediate future, businesses are having to think about how to reduce virus transmission, which makes the prospect of returning to the office a tricky dilemma, especially when balanced against the social, psychological and productive benefits. Being in control of your own workplace could, therefore, be more appealing than ever.

With this in mind, Lantern provides a brand new, 19,000 sq ft self-contained building, perfect for a business looking to re-organise how they work without having to share their space. With the ability to monitor who is entering and leaving their building, an occupier will also be able to a build a safe community to allow their business to grow.

During Lantern’s development, extensive thought was given to various office trends which have only been accelerated as a result of Covid-19. Wellness, for example, was at the heart of Lantern’s human-centred design process. With floor to ceiling glazing on both aspects of every office floor this has led to an abundance of natural light, which has proven to make staff happier, reduce absenteeism, lower stress levels and decrease sickness, as well as improving employee alertness and productivity.

The building has also incorporated the highest quality materials, allowing optimum and flexible usage of the floor plates for space to encourage collaboration and innovation. The building features two wide stairwells, which are a welcome feature for staff who may now prefer to use these over a lift, and even allow the occupier to create an effective one-way movement system.

What’s more, overlooking Kidwells Park, Lantern also provides access to nature allowing staff to easily undertake physical exercise. This is also catered to with on-site cycle storage with high quality showers and lockers to ease the transition from bike to desk.

With the essentials for the right working environment covered, occupiers have the perfect starting point to create the safest, most productive and comfortable atmosphere for their eployees and business to thrive as they return to the workplace.

Source: Savills