The Science of Office Floor Plates: How to Increase Tenant Demand and Leasing ROI
Step-by-step strategies to align your office building with tenant needs and market trends.
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Floor plates are the heart of any office building. They represent the product that investors and developers are bringing to the market. Yet, despite their importance, the design and optimization of floor plates are often overlooked, with critical decisions left entirely to the design team.
For investors, the floor plate generates long-term income, while for tenants, it’s the foundation of their workplace experience.
Getting it right can mean the difference between a building that struggles to lease and one that commands premium rents. By focusing on the right metrics, you can ensure that your floor plates are designed to meet the needs of today’s occupiers.
In this newsletter, we’ll explore:
How to score floor plates early using key KPIs tenants care about most.
How to prioritize design improvements to create spaces tenants want to lease.
How to use floor plate scores in marketing to differentiate your building and drive ROI.
Now let’s dive in.
1. Score Your Floor Plate Early in the Design Process Using Key KPIs Tenants Value Most
Scoring your floor plate early in the design process ensures you’re tailoring each square foot to the precise needs of your target occupiers.
First, identify key KPIs that resonate with tenants in your competitive market:
Tenant Efficiency
Floor Plate Continuity
Regularity
Depth of Space
Sub-divisibility
Next, evaluate how your building measures up in each category.
For example:
A high Tenant Efficiency ratio signals minimal wasted space.
Strong Floor Plate Continuity ensures fewer obstructions that impede flexible layouts.
Regularity supports straightforward furniture planning.
Better Depth of Space enhances natural light penetration, both of which influence employee well-being.
Sub-divisibility indicates how easily you can partition a floor to attract multiple tenants or adapt to future demands.
Once you’ve assigned scores, compile them into a clear, easy-to-understand overview. This transparency helps prospective tenants see exactly where your building excels, building trust and showcasing thoughtful design.
As a result, you’ll not only stand out from less-optimised competitors but also validate premium leasing rates, as tenants appreciate a data-driven approach that meets their business needs.
By taking these steps early, you lay the groundwork for a floor plate designed to deliver ROI, right from the start of your project.
2. Prioritise Design Improvements That Appeal Most to Occupiers
To make your office floor plate stand out and maximise its appeal, prioritise design improvements that align with the KPIs tenants value most.
Start by analysing the data from your floor plate scoring process and identifying areas where thoughtful adjustments can have the greatest impact.
Focus on three key elements:
The Core
Structural Grid
Façade Layout
First, optimize the building’s core by minimising penetrations through the perimeter wall, apart from essential access points like lift lobbies, washrooms, and fire exits. This "clean-skin" design allows tenants to efficiently place meeting rooms right up to the core, maximising usable space.
Next, refine the structural grid to balance engineering and tenant efficiency. Aim for a module with a multiple of 1.5 meters, ensuring seamless integration with the building’s planning grid. This setup simplifies furniture placement and promotes flexibility for tenants.
Finally, align the façade modules with the same 1.5-meter planning grid. This coordination makes it easier for tenants to align office partition walls with façade mullions, which improves acoustic performance and creates a more functional space.
By addressing these key design features, you deliver a floor plate that’s functional and tailored to tenant needs, resulting in stronger interest, faster lease-up, and higher long-term ROI.
3. Leverage Your Floor Plate Scores in Marketing to Highlight Competitive Advantages
To maximize the appeal of your office building and secure tenants faster, leverage your floor plate score as a key component of your marketing and leasing materials. By showcasing data-driven insights, you can highlight your building’s unique strengths and demonstrate how it outperforms competitors.
Start by emphasising the standout metrics of your floor plate, such as tenant efficiency, flexibility, and daylight penetration. These features are priorities for tenants due to their impact on productivity and workplace experience. Use visual aids like infographics or diagrams in your marketing materials to make these advantages clear and compelling.
Next, back up your claims with real-world examples or case studies.
For instance, consider 100 Bishopsgate in London, where the building was marketed to compete against larger, more cost-efficient floor plates in Canary Wharf.
The leasing team used floor plate analysis to demonstrate that 100 Bishopsgate offered the most efficient floor plates in the City of London.
This data-driven narrative helped tenants see the building’s superior value despite higher rental rates.
Finally, use tangible results to build credibility. At 100 Bishopsgate, this approach led to the pre-leasing of 70% of the floor space within six months, proving the power of floor plate analysis in driving leasing success and maximising ROI.
In Summary
Floor plate analysis is a powerful tool to set your office building apart and ensure it meets tenant needs while maximising ROI.
Here are the key takeaways from today’s newsletter:
Score your floor plate early to align with tenant priorities like efficiency, flexibility, and natural light.
Prioritize impactful design improvements by optimizing the core, structural grid, and façade layout.
Leverage your floor plate scores in marketing materials to highlight competitive advantages and validate premium rents.
By implementing these strategies, you’ll position your building for leasing success and stand out in a competitive market.
That’s all for today.
See you next week.
— Carlo
Founder and Managing Director Benigni
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This post is sponsored by Benigni a specialist development manager working with international investors to realise long-term value through optimised development strategies. To learn more click this link to our website.
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