View From Within: Entrance Tells the Tale

In prime office complexes the lobby also plays a role of the main entrance and reception hall of the building. The interior design and appearance of the entrance hall depend largely on the budget of the project, but most developers prefer to economize on other things.

Modern office buildings differ greatly from administrative developments of 20 to 30 years ago. Entrance halls in those featureless poorly designed concrete boxes were reminiscent of a covered courtyard with a small room for a door-keeper and a cloakroom, creating an impression that designers had gone all out to make sure that employees do not loiter in the lobby but hurry to their work desks. Spacious entrance halls adorned with stucco details were built in the 19th – early 20th century or during the Stalin era to house ministries and other government agencies that were considered worthy of such lodgings in those times.

In modern market conditions every successful firm seeks to have a good office. An entrance hall is an important component of class A and partially also class B business centers. In some buildings, the lobby is remarkable for functionality, sophisticated equipment and convenient layout. Others are notable for large size, luxurious decorations, original design solutions and hi-tech features.

Basic Parameters

The lobby of a business center is designed so as to provide space for all maintenance services and visitors. “The space of the lobby should correlate with the total size of the building, and with the number of employees,” says Vitaly Vilensky, deputy general director at KV Engineering. Those are basic parameters used by designers. Although experienced developers may change the size of the entrance hall, depending on their future tenants’ preferences.

Irina Alexandrova, head of commercial real estate at KomStrin, noted that office buildings developed by the company on Bolshaya Dorogomilovskaya Street (1,700sqm) and Bolshaya Kommunisticheskaya (2,500sqm), entrance halls measure 80sqm each. A business center in Posledny Side-street, measuring a total of 7,000sqm, features a reception area of only some 20 to 30sqm as companies holding leases there do not have many visitors.

Office developers targeting respectable clients try to make entrance halls more spacious, adorned with unique decorations. To that end they resort to radical design solutions and use expensive materials, seeking not only to create a cozy atmosphere for future tenants and their business partners, but also to surprise them. Property analysts praise design solutions of the entrance halls at Legion (Legion Development), Baltschug Plaza (ST Group and CMI Development), mixed-use complexes under construction within City – Gorod Stolits by Capital Group, Severnaya Bashnya by the developer of the same name, and others.

“There are no standards determining the size and fit-out of the entrance hall in an office building,” says Konstantin Kovalyov, managing partner at Blackwood. “Nevertheless, the class of the building depends on the quality of service, and, hence, the size of the entrance area where those services are to be seated.” Alyona Brigadnova, head of urban department at Tweed, agrees. The lobby plays a far more important role in a class A business center than in a prime apartment house and quite often occupies the entire first floor. Such entrance areas often feature atriums. “The more expensive is the business center the larger is the entrance hall and the more expensive is fit-out,” she says.

Milena Morozova, deputy general director at Santa Real Estate, has pointed out to the difference between design and interior of entrance halls in office buildings developed by foreigners and domestic operators. Foreigners are thriftier, she says, their lobbies are smaller, and they seek to make use of every square meter of its space. In those buildings entrance areas measure 70 to 150sqm, depending on the total size of the building. Importance is attached to engineering equipment, fit-out and furnishing. Examples are Enka’s Riverside Towers, Paveletskaya Plaza, etc.

Russian developers of class A office complexes, try to make entrance halls more impressive and pompous, spacious and expensively designed and decorated. Janna Bullock, president of RIGroup, says that such buildings often feature galleries, spacious halls and atriums. In some buildings up to 40 percent of space is reserved for common use. For example, the entrance hall at Usadba in Voznesensky Side-street occupies 40 percent of the total size of the building. The lobby is an atrium with escalators, waterfalls and a winter garden. The Severnoye Siyaniye business center on Pravda Street features an entrance area measuring nearly 1,000sqm.

The entrance hall at Legion (Bolshaya Ordynka) measures 1,100sqm. An enormous hall with panoramic glass lifts and an atrium will impress visitors of the mixed-use office center of premium class Severnaya Bashnya, under construction within Moskva City. Although, says Milena Morozova, the size of the entrance hall is not the key factor that determines the class of the building. Far more important are location, engineering facilities, fit-out and interior design, availability of parking spaces, etc.

But Sergei Lobkaryov, head of commercial real estate at MIAN, disagrees. “The higher is the class of the building the better thought-out is its concept and the larger is the common use area, which is necessary to optimize all the operations taking place there,” he says. The size of the lobby also depends on the number of entrances to the business center, he says. Where the building has only one central entrance, vestibules, passages and elevators should be made more spacious so as to ensure convenient access to offices and normal operation of security services.

If the project provides several entrances the size of the lobby at each of them will be smaller than the central entrance area. In comparatively small office complexes “side entrance areas ma be small, below 20sqm,” Konstantin Kovalyov adds. Landmark projects underway within Moskva City are quite another matter. For example, each functional zone at the Gorod Stolits office complex provides for a separate spacious entrance hall. The Severnaya Bashnya business center comprises three blocks each featuring an entrance of its own.

The entrance group at one of the blocks (19-3) has two parts, one of which is situated on the first floor, while the other – on the tenth floor – is the main vestibule as office facilities are situated on the 11th floor and above. The luxurious lobby offers a breathtaking view of the atrium and panoramic lifts. The business center Pollars by Mirax Group comprises three buildings 5, 6 and 15 stories high. Each building has its own entrance hall, notable for business-like design of the area, decorated with glass stonework.

Konstantin Losyukov, head of office real estate at Knight Frank, believes developers should exercise individual approach when deciding on the size and appearance of the entrance hall. The key criterion is the budget and the opinion of the architect. “The parameters and concept of the entrance hall are set at the design stage,” he notes.

“The key task of the architect here is to emphasize characteristic features of the building and make visitors and tenants feel comfortable,” says Lyudmila Omelchenko, general director at Severnaya Bashnya.

Andrei Vozzhov, project architect at Forum Properties, says that the vestibule costs the developer a lot, given expensive fittings and the size of office space allocated for the purpose. Nevertheless, the key task set by developers at design stages deals with the development of the appearance and structure of the building and the interior design of the entrance hall.

Luxury in the Foreground

An entrance hall in a business center or an office mansion is expected to highlight its advantages, Milena Morozova says. The quality of layout and decorations makes it possible to judge on the financial situations in companies who hold leases there. Andrei Vozzhov adds that the interior design in many respects depends on the status and location of the property. Quite often developers whose projects face large city thoroughfares and who claim leading positions on the market have to design unusual entrance halls. But “it is especially important to make a good impression on a would-be tenants or their guests where a location is not quite favorable. Then a unique design solution and quality of fittings play a key role,” says Konstantin Kovalyov.

But, Vitaly Vilensky says, elements of luxury are not compulsory for prime office centers. Most likely, luxurious fit-out is due to developers’ or anchors’ personal preferences. By the choice of an office building alone it is possible to say whether the tenant attaches importance to a business-like atmosphere or an outward display of grandeur. A vivid example of a luxuriously decorated business center is Central City Tower on Ovchinnikovskaya Embankment. That project is one of the most expensive and prestigious class A business centers in Moscow where offices are rented by successful foreign and Russian firms, Konstantin Losyukov says.

The tenants attach importance to the image of the building where they rent office space. Taking into account their clients’ requirements, the developer poured considerable funds into the exterior of the building and decoration of common use areas. The entrance hall in Central City Tower is adorned with marble, chandeliers, revolving doors, etc. The entrance hall in Baltschug Plaza on Sadovnicheskaya Embankment features panoramic glazing, with a view of historic center of Moscow and the Kremlin. The central lobby is a space surrounded with marble columns, lit with a cascade chandelier.

The main vestibule of the Gorod Stolits office complex is designed by NBBJ will be decorated with woodwork and marble. The hall will feature a television screen broadcasting business news bulletins of the world’s leading networks. Waiting areas within the lobby may be used for business meetings and talks. The lobby at Tupolev Plaza on Tupolev Embankment features a winter garden and a fireplace, and is furnished with cozy sofas and a piano. Yauza Tower on Radio Street has one of the most luxurious entrance halls among class B office centers. It consists of two rooms – a reception area and a hall with a fountain, a fireplace, expensive leather furniture, cascade chandeliers, and marble floors.

The atrium hall at Legion features a piano where professional musicians perform classical music throughout the day. Decorative plants in designer flower pots hanging under the ceiling of the lobby catch the sight of visitors. Spiral staircases lead from the first to the second floor. The large size of Legion’s entrance hall makes it possible to use the area as a venue for mass events. For example, the In Style magazine held a presentation on Legion’s premises. “Of course, Legion’s tenants pay maintenance and cleaning costs, but image considerations prevail,” says Vitaly Vilensky.

Across the globe upscale office developments often feature galleries, spacious vestibules, atriums, where arts exhibitions are held regularly, experts report. “This gives tenants and visitors a chance to get acquainted with works of art, catches public attention,” notes Janna Bullock. Office centers on Park Avenue in New York and in the City of London regular host exhibitions of contemporary artists. “Our company plans to open an art gallery on the premises of a class A office building on the Myakinino floodplains (of the Moscow River outside the capital),” says Janna Bullock. “In Serpukhov, one of the conditions set by the local government, enthusiastically accepted by RIGroup, was the development of an art gallery as part of the common use area, where works of local artists and photographers could be exhibited.”

Irina Zharova-Right, managing partner at Nordblom Group, notes that the quality of fittings in the entrance hall and public areas should correspond to the class of the building. Would-be buyers and tenants attach special attention to decorations and fit-out of the lobby. New owners often fully redesign their offices but stairwells and the entrance hall remain unchanged, she says.

Extra Services

Space in modern office complexes is used differently. Some landlords leave more space free, others use it to provide tenants with necessary public amenities. Konstantin Kovalyov notes that the entrance area should house offices of administrative support staff and auxiliary facilities. The key requirement class A business centers must meet is the presence of the central reception desk and the facilities for office and building security services, equipped with automated systems of office access control. Where spare space is available management companies in charge try to use it for launching public amenities. Andrei Vozzhov says that as a rule, the decision is made proceeding from the management company’s experience and on the basis of a marketing survey of tenants’ preferences.

Konstantin Losyukov notes that common use areas may house cafes, restaurants, and other companies offering extra services to tenants, such as beauty parlors, bank branches and cash machines. “The larger is the size of the building the wider is the range of services it can offer,” he says. For example, the Severnaya Bashnya business center will feature cafes and restaurants. Sergei Kolegov, general director at Prime City Properties, says the lay-out plan of the lobby depends on the profile of services companies who lease space there. At any rate any business center would only benefit if it houses a newspaper stand, a photo shop or an ATM.

Office and retail centers usually provide shopping arcades on lower floors with brand shops offering clothes, souvenirs, mobile phones, etc. That is why it is scarcely necessary to open extra retail outlets in the lobby. The only thing that the landlord has to take care of is to make sure that shoppers and office visitors do not meet. Example is the mixed-use Lotte Plaza center, currently under construction.

But, Irina Zharova-Right says, management companies commit a mistake by renting out first floor space in office buildings to small shops, in hope for higher returns, which is especially common among owners of Soviet-era research institutes and factory administration buildings upgraded to class B and B- office centers. The shops offer a wide range of goods at affordable prices. “On the one hand, that’s convenient but on the other retail outlets ruin the appearance of the entrance area,” she says. “That is why I think that the number of services should be reduced to a minimum, so as to enhance the image of the building, instead of destroying it.”

Cost of Luxury

“An important factor by determining the space of the entrance hall is the economic effectiveness of using those properties,” says Sergei Kollegov. “As that space is no useful rentable space charges are distributed among tenants in the form of what is referred to as a corridor quotient. A large entrance area means higher rental charges. That is why the developer has to observe the balance between the size of the lobby and the class of the building. Perhaps, his target audience attaches more importance to the amount of rentals, than to the size of the lobby.”

“The easiest way to calculate direct losses with the help of the quotient of rentable space occupied by tenants,” says Vladimir Zubrilin, board chairman at Forum Properties. “If it stands at less than 85 to 88 percent, clients are unlikely to be willing to pay for common use area if its size exceeds 12 to 15 percent. Thus, the investor will receive no returns on development of such areas.” Yelena Alpatova, leading office real estate consultant at Cushman & Wakefield / Stiles & Riabokobylko, confirms that the large is the common use area, which includes the entrance hall, the higher are the rental charges. Although companies seeking space for their head offices do not consider extra charges a critical factor, she adds.

Irina Zharova-Right says that major corporations often opt for class A buildings with impressive, even pompous entrance halls where they equip spacious conference rooms while rank and file employees sit upstairs in offices that are really cramped. Thus, they seek to create an impression of a successful company with high income.

A large entrance area may serve as an extra source of rental revenues. First floor areas are often used to house public amenities, services and shops catering for office tenants. Rentals paid by banks who run their branch offices on the first floors of business centers are nearly twice as high as the rent paid by office tenants, says Yelena Alpatova. Florist’s shops, small cafes and restaurants are charged the same as office tenants.

Most commercial property developers are thrifty and if they spend more on something they know well in advance to secure return on investment and make profit. “A professional developer looks for anchors to take up first floor areas already at the drawing-board stage, so as to secure maximum possible returns,” says Vitaly Vilensky.