View From Within: Zones of Business Activity
According to Michael Assefa, senior adviser of the department of office real estate at Paul's Yard, the conference room carries out representative functions (making an impression), and also as an introduction (to let know the client understand where he is). Often a company forms a marketing project in the area, decorating it with received diplomas and awards. This way the client receives additional information on the company and its business achievements.
Armen Shavarshyan, an expert in the office real estate department at Penny Lane Realty, thinks that the conference room should be moderately businesslike, but should be in keeping with the rest of the office.
In large class A business centers some tenants, often locate conference rooms on each floor and can be rented out by any company, which works in the business center on an hourly basis. For example, Regus business center located on Smolensky passazh and Aurora Business Park, specialize in renting office premises, conference rooms and halls for short term periods.
But even with such opportunities companies prefer to have their own conference rooms, Alla Glazkova, head of the management of commercial real estate at Blackwood says. For example, Concept's office in Avrora Business Park has two conference rooms. Both of them are intended for meetings with partners, and for carrying out internal meetings. The larger accommodates 8-12 people and the smaller, 4-5 people. "Conference rooms, as a rule, are not only used for meetings with partners, but also for intracorporate meetings," Nikolai Volchkov, general director of Torgoviy Kvartal added. According to Alla Borodkina, assistant to the general director at Facilicom, many large companies create a complex of conference rooms: "There can be five, 10 or 15, depending on the needs of the company." DeltaCredit on Mokhovy has 13 conference rooms, says Olga Bazanova, director for marketing at the bank "For firms aimed at B2B-business, there is a different format: a small conference room, capable of holding up to 15 people," adds Elina Zanina, deputy director of Miele.
Oleg Serebrennikov, vice president of Advantage Group (ADG), referring to the experience of the company, notes that the need to rent larger rooms to carry out business meetings arises if there are a significant number of people invited, for example, to press events, conferences, buffets and others. "It is often necessary to rent a conference room if on a business trip, and also for external meetings," says Anna Kim, head of the PR and promotion department at MT-Development.
Modern hotels actively participate in the business life of the capital. Premises for carrying out business meetings and conferences are an integral attribute to the success of their functioning. For example, Akademicheskaya Hotel on the junction between Kaluzhskaya ploshchad and the garden ring, is close to a conference hall that has two rooms for meetings and an auditorium that can seat from eight to 110 people. The business complex at the Renaissance Hotel, not far from prospekt Mira, has a fully equipped business center, numerous halls for holding conferences, and also 11 conference rooms that measure from 37 sq.m. "It is possible, for example, to rent premises in the Metropolya business center for a few hours and conduct negotiations with a view of the Kremlin," Natalia Vetlugina, head of analytical services at Novy Gorod, says.
Where is their place?
Svetlana Snitkovskaya, deputy head of the department for the management of real estate at MIAN-Development thinks that the placement and size of conference rooms depends on many factors: from the type of activity of the company, to its size, and the frequency of dialogue with external clients, etc. More often conference rooms are in the center of office premises. "Tenants try to use areas that have maximum light for the accommodation of employees, and conference rooms in less light areas," she explains. Zanina also thinks it is most effective to allocate conference rooms on the borders of offices or zones without windows. "Though to create a well disposed atmosphere in such premises it is more difficult than in a space with more windows," she adds.
But it is quite possible to compensate for an absence of windows. In the Light Design Center they consider the quality of the light an important element of the creation of a comfortable environment for a business meeting. The best color rendition is provided with white light, therefore special luminescent lamps are used to light the room. Colored lights are used to illuminate the architectural features of the interior of a conference room - bays, columns, etc, and basically serve to make the room cozy. It is not recommended to use blinding light sources, or to have them so that they reflect off a smooth surface and thus create discomfort.
Glazkova thinks positively about the placement of conference rooms closer to the main entrance of an office. "Then clients do not have to walk through the whole office," she explains. If a company has more than 2 conference halls it is usual for interviews with candidates of employment to be held in a smaller one for 2-3 people. "A usual conference room seats 6-8 people," says Volchkov. "If the company has more spacious premises, capable of housing a 20-seat conference room, then it will have a combined function of a conference hall where it is possible to conduct presentations, seminars, and also personnel training."
On average, conference rooms vary from 6-30 sq.m. For example, the conference rooms at DeltaCredit measure 6-20 sq.m. For significant negotiating processes of large companies the area can be 50-150 sq.m, Assef says. As a rule, larger halls are rented by companies in business centers or hotels though with modern offices, companies try to solve this problem on their own territory.
In light of the optimization of office space, larger conference rooms are not built, smaller rooms that can be divided by movable walls are preferred.
"Multipurpose conference rooms that can be modified depending on the various needs of the client - from negotiations with foreign partners to corporate training or a buffet, meet the requirements of tenants to the greatest degree," Alexander Novikov, director of management of office real estate at Prime City Properties agrees.
According to Zanina, in buildings where there is only one company located there are also VIP conference rooms, which are located next to the general director. "Although frequently the office of the head of the organization often serves as the VIP conference room," he specifies.
Christmas trees on the ceiling
Alla Glazkova says that the furniture, arrangement and design of a premises frequently serves as a guarantee for successful negotiations. "It is in fact important for the client to not only have somewhere to sit but to a also feel comfortable," she says.
According to Snitkovskaya, western companies more reserved in designing their conference rooms. In Russian firms the design of an office as a whole and the conference room depends in many respects on the activity of the company and the taste of its head.
Anna Kuznetsova, a PR expert at PR Partner says that in their company they have one quite small conference room, but with a high ceiling so that it feels spacious. It is designed in minimalist style. In the room there are chairs and a small table on which daily press is spread out, and writing materials are laid. There is nothing in the conference room that could irritate the visitor, only two pictures hang on the wall. The room has good sound insulation, so that other work going on in the office does not distract the conversation.
More often expensive interiors can be found in financial organizations and energy resource companies. "Legal and lawyers offices are traditionally expensive and the conference rooms are designed in classic style," says Snitkovskaya. Magnificent conference rooms can be found in companies connected with luxury goods. "Luxury is understandable at offices of companies concerning the club or show business, and, possibly, in the studios of clothes designers," adds Basanova.
In banking organizations whether it is Russian or Western, conference rooms follow a strict official style. In recent times one of the distinctive attributes of the internal furniture of Russian banks is the use of monuments and impressiveness emphasizing status. The interior of a bank demonstrates its success and stability. An attempt to fool would probably not be appreciated here.
According to Bazanova, all the conference rooms in Moscow such as DeltaCredit's, and in St. Petersburg, Samara and Nizhny Novgorod are designed in identical calm and official style. In the room there will be a table, chairs, writing materials, paper, a phone and a computer connected to the Internet. In large conference rooms a projector and a board are also present. The arrangement is practical, and two rooms can be formed by a mobile partition. Each of the two small conference rooms has glass walls, which can be covered by Venetian blinds if necessary. "Such a design is used because banks do not have a closed office system, but so-called open space," she explains.
Alpha-Bank's office has six conference rooms measuring from 10 up to 15 sq.m. The walls of the rooms are glass with Venetian blinds, and during negotiations it is possible to make the area either transparent, or completely closed.
Borodkina describes how conference rooms in a large industrial company are organized. A separate wing of the building is allocated for them. A secretary works at a reception where the conference room is located and keeps track of the schedule of the conference room. An employee at the office helps to connect equipment (projectors, laptops), so that things are quickly put in order in the breaks between meetings. "A conference room in a wing of a building creates a special zone allowing people who arrive a little early, to not stand in the corridor, but to sit down, have a drink coffee, relax or communicate," adds Borodkina.
In Volchkov's opinion, creative organizations prefer a more free style where dialog can proceed not so officially. The purpose here is to raise interest and surprise.
For example, at new year one advertising agency decorated Christmas trees, and placed them not on the floor, but on the ceiling, with the tops facing downwards. It looked unusual and was amazing for all its clients. As a consequence, the clients no longer doubted that the work offered by this agency was in the least trivial. Another company that produces educational films hung figures of children on the walls of its conference room. Clients immediately started to consider them, and easy conversation followed. "As a result clients are in a good mood and are softened, and the business meeting is conducted with a nice atmosphere," says Khokholova.
So that you don't hear
A modern conference room is inconceivable without technical equipment. According to Novikov, for class A business centers, conference rooms and conference halls, telecommunication systems including equipment for carrying out of presentations, video conferencing and other digital video services are characteristic. This is due to the level of companies that focus on an international standard of business dealings and have various needs for communication facilities and the transfer of information.
"Developers are spending money on the creation of well equipped conference rooms and halls to achieve additional competitive advantage in attracting high quality tenants, and also to justify high rental rates," Novikov explains. In class B business centers, conference rooms, as a rule, do not have complex hi-tech equipment as it is not really demanded by tenants and makes no returns," he adds.
Oleg Serebrennikov thinks that in an overwhelming majority of conference rooms special equipment is not required. Therefore different types of equipment are not obligatory. For example, ADG recommends the installation of LAN Internet connection, computers connected to LAN, projectors for presentations with a screen or plasma panel and a speaker system for carrying out conference calls
Yuri Medvedev, leading light designer at the Light Design Center says it is important to provide a control system, which allows to set a mode of lighting suitable for the negotiations taking place. For example, when a using a projector or plasma screen the lights can be turned down, but then when it is necessary to work with documents, the lights can be made brighter.
"Additional equipment makes new demands on furniture: the technology should blend harmoniously with an interior, and the electric and information communications should not interfere with the appearance of the conference room," Maria Chubareva, the marketing manager at Concept, says.
Zanina pays attention to the importance of ventilation. It is impossible to be in a cozy and competently arranged room for long if it is stuffy. There is also often a lack of sound insulation in conference rooms. Especially if it is a business center with several conference rooms. When partitions don't reach the ceiling everything that is said in the next room is audible. "Less successful conference rooms can be found in business centers in the Turgenevskaya metro station area," Zanina says, specifically because of the reason outlined above.
Office furniture
"The furniture of conference rooms in most cases corresponds to the general style of the office," says Alexander Kadchenko, deputy head of the department of research and analysis at Praedium. "However there are exceptions: an office, for example, can be decorated in hi-tech style, while the conference room may be in the style of an office-library."
According to Maria Chubareva, it is difficult to allocate any one characteristic to the trend of furniture in modern conference rooms. The main thing is that the individuality, the corporate values and the character of the company are reflected in there.
The style selected for the design and furniture of an office, does not always directly correspond to the size of the company. For example, a huge office with many conference rooms of a leading international company may look, in accordance with the general corporate standards, rather democratic. And on the contrary, rather small firms in size may focus on the creation of a conference room in which each piece of furniture, each accessory testifies to the high status of the firm.
And besides, just because the interior of a conference room looks democratic, it doesn't necessarily have to mean it is was created with the use of poor-quality, cheap furniture. "Minimalism, precise strict lines and openness are leading tendencies in design of modern office furniture," says Chubareva.
Knoll is considered a successful producer of modern office furniture. According to Chubareva, the company is actually the pioneer in creating individual designed office furniture and its portfolio includes the work of such known designers, as Miss Van Der Rose, Marseilles Braille, Harry Verteiler, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll and many others.
For example, Concept used Pascal tables and other items by Florence Knoll and Reff. Conference tables by Plateau are particulary popular. A Saarinen marble-top table gives a special elegance and refinement to a conference room.
In Concept's conference room white is the main color and is combined with light grey-beige shades. Short forms and straight lines are emphasized by furniture from the Knoll Studio collection. Around the white, marble-top Saarinen round table sit white Tulip aemchairs by Saarinen. Along one of the walls there is a low white Florence Knoll Crendeza cabinet with a marble top. Above it is a black-and-white poster with a photo of the founders of the company, Hans and Florence Knoll
"We try to make our conference rooms spacious, to select light comfortable furniture, avoiding sharp corners both in our furniture, and in negotiations, and this is reflected in the round tables and soft chairs," Ilya Zibarev, head of the mortgaging credit block at Alpha-bank, says.
Yekaterina Khokhlova notes that for a company that doesn't carry out many negotiations one conference room can be equipped with a large table and chairs for conversations in formal conditions and signings of contracts, and another can be equipped with soft sofas and armchairs for watching presentations on a big screen. It would be desirable to have a table that has rounded edges. "This unites participants and does not allocate among them a leader," Glazkova explains.
Assef thinks that from the form of a table it is possible to draw some conclusions about a company. Round and oval tables testify most likely to equality of all participants in negotiations, and T-shaped tables emphasize the opposite; a hierarchical structure to the company. You can also tell something about a company from the material from which the table is made. To emphasize the status of a firm, tables from expensive kinds of wood are used. More democratic companies prefer tables with glass tops or laminate.
Uncomfortable furniture can leave unpleasant memories of a meeting. "A company that sells tourist equipment was holding negotiations with some Chinese businessmen," a source that wishes to remain unnamed says. "But one of the representatives of the delegation did not want to sit down at the table in the conference room. When asked about it, the Chinese representative answered that fingerprints would be left on the black glossy surface of the table and that it would be uncomfortable for him to spoil the table as the employees of the company would then need to polish it."
In one real estate agency's conference room there was a table made from transparent glass. And when carrying out business meetings an employee of the company and their business partners felt exposed and uncomfortable. The reason for this was that through the transparent table the legs of the employees participating in negotiations were visible, and the women, as is corporate etiquette, were wearing skirts. Under a transparent table it is impossible to hide anything, and it embarrasses many people.
"Armchairs for conference rooms can vary and be anything from a designer collection (for example, the Tulip armchair by Eero Saarinena, or the MR and Brno armchair by Miss Van Der Rose) to modern highly ergonomic models (Life, Chadwick)," lists Chubareva. "The choice of model depends on many factors. For example, the prospective duration of meetings, whether the conference room will be used mostly for internal or external meetings, etc."
At Paul's Yard they say that in some companies' conference rooms there are tribunes. Or, on the contrary, furniture and accessories intended for informal meetings. For example, upholstered furniture and little coffee tables. "It is better not to overload a conference room," advises Assef. "Limiting the number of objects in the field of vision so that people are not distracted."
In Volchkov's opinion, decorative objects, pictures, desktop ornaments are excess. For example, in one conference room there was armor of medieval knights, the style reflected the hobbies of the head of the company. In another the walls were covered with massive gilded photo frames of the family of the owner of the company, and on the table there were silver trays with fruit and food. Artificial colors were used a lot in the interior. Such ostentatious luxury is irritating.
"The exception is elements that reflect the corporate style of the company - posters which convey the mission of the company, show its successful projects, name its purposes and reflect the stages of its development," says Volchkov.
Khokhlova positively rates the presence of an aquarium in a conference room. "As is known, water and small colored fishes calm and create a peaceful mood, reminding us of summer and holidays," she says.
Volchkov discloses details about the arrangement of furniture: if the distance from the table to the wall is less than 1 meter it is uncomfortable for participants of a meeting to get to their place or simply rise, and the exit from the room of one person would disturb everybody else. The distance between seats should not be less than 0.5 meters. "Of course, these nuances do not define the results of a meeting, but it is better not to ignore them," he assured.
In Zanina's opinion, the kind of conference room, the level of decoration, reflects the attitude of the company's management to clients and partners. The amount of money that companies are ready to spend therefore depends on the concept of the organization and starts from $150 per sq.m. "The use of natural wood and stone in furnishings, and also designer furniture will increase the cost of the room," Snitkovskaya says.
Assef thinks that the cost of a conference room ranges from $1,500 to $100,000 and above. Sometimes companies invite psychologists to the organization to create an interior where an invited party would be more compliant and pliable. "This can also increase the cost of the conference room," he argues.
"I don't think that it is necessary to spend more money on the conference room, than on the design of other parts of the office," Borodkin says. "On the one hand, it is the face of the company, but on the other, an office is not valued by its conference room, but on its people, its actives, and the financial results of the company."
Less money is spent on conference rooms that are rented. Especially if negotiations are rare or demand special conditions. Rental rates directly depend on the class of the business center or hotel, and on how long the negotiations last. For example, in the Kosmos hotel for a conference room measuring almost 50 sq.m it is necessary to pay $350, and for a 100-meter hall $800. According to Vetlugina, for $1,500 it is possible to rent a hall at the Metropol for a few hours.
To rent the 22-sq.m VIP-conference room in the Svyaztogor business center on Letnikovskaya Ulitsa for the whole day will cost 7,500 rubles, for four hours - 4,500 rubles, and for one hour from 10.00-18.00 - 2,250 rubles and from 18.00-21.00 - 1,200 rubles. In the Avia-Plaza business center on Aviamotornaya Ulitsa to rent a 14-sq.m conference room costs 2,000 rubles per hour, and for an 8-sq.m room 1,400 rubles.