Offices will survive but the market has to change - Samuel Lawson Johnston

Covid-19 has turned the world upside down and, as much as we all want to return to normal, significant aspects of business and the office will change – forever. In the short term, we are sheltering at home, some working from idyllic surroundings but many working in stressful surroundings.

In the longer term, most of us will return to an office that will be markedly different from the one we knew before this virus struck.

As socially responsible real estate investors, who specialise in creating attractive and inspiring offices for the 21st century, these questions about the design and character of the post-Covid office are particularly pertinent for us.

The pre-Covid corporate-style office is obsolete, not just because of the need for social distancing and more personal space, but also because the expectations for our workplace have been transformed, positively.

At Kinrise we look at the world through four lenses: human, social, environmental and financial. It is our aim to inspire and enable everyone who works in our offices in Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham in all these areas, making their working life as enjoyable, as collaborative and as productive as we possibly can.

In the middle of a global pandemic, which is taking a significant toll on our businesses, our families and on our mental health, this aim is more vital than ever before. The pandemic has forced us to adapt to a new way of thinking. We must embrace this.

This philosophy underpins our flagship development in Leeds, 34 Boar Lane. Behind its original façade, this historic building has been reinvented as a bright and cheerful, environmentally friendly workplace. It is a space designed to encourage local businesses and organisations to work and grow alongside one another, for the solo entrepreneur taking a desk through to the global company taking a whole office floor.

So let’s look a little more closely at those four lenses, all driven by the desire to ensure that commercial real estate must do more than merely adapt to coronavirus, it must learn some absolutely crucial lessons.

Human is the first lens. Human is not a word normally associated with the once-impersonal office. But, if this dreadful pandemic has taught us anything, it is the importance of looking after our mental health – and that means being happy at work.

We took a recent step by hosting Andy’s Man Club, a weekly peer-to-peer support group for men. Founder Andrew Greenway joined tenants, virtually of course, to discuss mental health, his personal story and the reasons behind the success of this growing movement.

Social is the next lens – work, however stressful or isolated it can sometimes feel, is ultimately a social activity.

The environmental lens is equally important. We believe Leeds is on track to be one of the UK’s top cycle cities. With lockdown and the tier system leaving our roads clearer, air quality on the up and Leeds City Council rolling out 100 kilometres of new cycle paths, it’s never been a better time to get peddling.

And finally, the financial lens. We believe in providing our occupiers with the environment, the space, the ambience and the culture to thrive. And there’s no doubt that cities like Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham, where the quality of life is far higher than in London, are ready to act as incubators for start-ups, and catalysts for established companies, to flourish.

Seeing work and life through these four lenses means that we have already embarked on a transformational approach to reinventing office space.

Samuel Lawson Johnston is co-founder of real estate investment company Kinrise

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