13 Tips For Designing A LowMaintenance Commercial Property
When designing commercial buildings nowadays, a greater emphasis is placed on proposing a plan that
improves customer experience and employee productivity. In addition, the interiors and materials you
choose can also affect the public’s perception of your business. A great architectural and structural design
is prioritized to ensure that your commercial building doesn’t constantly need maintenance from time to
time. After all, the goal of having a commercial property is to generate as much revenue as possible, and
this can only be accomplished if you cut down maintenance and repair expenses. Therefore, you should
follow a design strategy that would result in a low-maintenance commercial property.
Tips to Consider
If you’re searching for ideas on designing a low-maintenance commercial property, look no further. Here’s
an overview of some tips that can help you achieve it.
1. Consider The Shape And Size Of Your Property
You should always factor in the shape and size of your commercial building before deciding on a suitable
floor plan. This is vital because the size and shape of your property determine how much space is available
to use.
It’s only after understanding this that you can proceed to design the interior spaces of your commercial
building as you know of the boundaries in place. Having a better grasp of the space in your commercial
building also helps you figure out where the different access points and rooms should be positioned.
Therefore, you need to first familiarize yourself with how much space is available to work with and then
design the floor plan. This way, you can also determine how much you need for annual maintenance.
2. Consider Multi-Purpose Spaces
Before proceeding with designing your commercial property, you need to assess the available space
carefully. After that, you should consider whether having multi-purpose spaces in your commercial
building would be more beneficial.
It’s best to consider this because multi-purpose spaces do an excellent job of minimizing how much wasted
space there is in your commercial property. Aside from that, you won’t be spending more on walls or
establishing partitions.
For example, if you’re in the business of selling various types of food products and produce, it might be
wise to use one large space for displaying goods and keeping inventory. With more spaces to be used for
other functions, some of the spaces can be converted into offices, bathrooms, or spare areas for future
expansions. Multi-purpose spaces are also easier and less costly to maintain since they don’t necessarily
have special needs or specifications.
3. Create Open Spaces
Unlike in the past where enclosed cubicles and offices were the go-to design to ensure employees are
divided, an open plan layout is the ideal choice of this age. These open spaces are great regardless of
whether your commercial space would be large or small. To create an open space layout, you’re required
to change the desk layout or demolish individual cubes.
Nowadays, many modern offices have an open floor plan as this allows employees to work well in
communal spaces. This promotes collaboration among employees, thereby boosting their productivity and
efficiency thanks to the additional space and freedom to coordinate and communicate.
In addition, it makes the office feel a lot bigger. It’s best to work with your property management
company if you want to create an open-plan layout to ensure the office spaces in your building are not only
beautiful but functional and practical as well.
4. Eliminate Redundant Spaces
During the design of the interior spaces of your commercial building, it’s essential that you first consider
what you need and want. By doing this, you’ll be able to tell what’s the most efficient way to use every
area. This will involve carefully examining whether all the sections and spaces need to be added to the
building’s floor plan. If some of these spaces serve identical functions, then consider removing them to
avoid redundancy.
For instance, there’s no point when different departments are given separate office spaces, even though
they can be combined into one office space where they can collaborate better. Doing this saves up floor
space that can be used for other purposes, thereby making operations a lot more efficient. And of course,
this eliminates the need for additional maintenance expenses.
5. Add Inspiration
It’s a known fact through color psychology that different hues can evoke different emotions. This is
because hues do a great job of spreading happiness, inviting calm and peace, promoting good conversation,
and arousing energy. For example, most commercial buildings use neutral colors such as brown or grey in
public spaces as they stir feelings of civility, calmness, transparency, and comfort.
The use of shades of rustic orange, ocean blue, or vibrant green is also believed to promote employee
productivity. For private spaces such as conference or breakout rooms, bolder colors are more preferred to
promote personal motivation and creativity. By using innovative ideas, you don’t need to invest in lighting
to try and further boost your building’s appeal. As a result, you can further reduce electricity bills.
6. Introduce More Natural Light
When designing your commercial property, you want it to be open to more natural light as possible. After
all, customers and employees don’t enjoy walking into a dark building, more so during the daylight hours.
This is because lighting determines how interior spaces in your building will be perceived. Because of this,
you should aim to have as much natural light as possible inside your building.
To ensure that enough natural light finds its way into your commercial property, make sure to remove
some blinds or shades, especially in common areas. With more natural light finding its way into office
spaces, employees working in the building will feel more productive and motivated. This is brought about
by the natural light, making them feel more comfortable and happier as they carry out their daily duties.
In addition, office spaces filled with natural light are easier to work in. This is due to the broader color
spectrum, making it easier to do basic duties and see details. As a result, this helps boost an employee’s
productivity.
There are various techniques that can get more natural light into your commercial property. This includes:
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Using glass walls
Switching to an open environment by getting rid of interior walls
Using bench desks in place of workstations
By opting for a design that allows enough natural light into the building, you also cut down the need for
artificial lighting. This helps reduce energy bills, leaving spare cash that can be used for other purposes.
7. Make Commercial Property Inclusive And Accessible
The design of your commercial property should be inclusive and/or accessible to everyone. This is vital
because you might have employees or clients living with disabilities. So, inaccessibility to your
commercial property may be difficult for them. To avoid such situations from happening, work with a
skilled architect right from the start who can develop an architectural design that doesn’t discriminate
against anyone. With their expertise and skills, they’ll create a universal and inclusive design that makes
everybody feel wanted and comfortable.
Ignoring this means your commercial property won’t be accessible to everyone. Therefore, you might later
need to do some adjustments to the building’s overall architecture. Such renovation will cost you a
substantial sum of money and this eats into the profits of your business.
To avert such issues, you should go for a universal design that aims to anticipate possible issues. You
should therefore resolve them by designing an interior space that meets everybody’s needs. For example,
make sure the commercial property comes with power management and underfloor cables as this makes
navigation for persons on the wheelchair a lot simpler. They do this by reducing the chances of disabled
persons getting tripped and injuring themselves in the process.
Likewise, make sure the office space is equipped with flexible technology and furniture. Great examples of
these include height-adjustable desks, accessible plugs, and adjustable monitor arms.
An additional feature that you need to put in place to boost the accessibility of your building is the
installation of elevators and ramps. Thanks to these, older or disabled persons will have a much simpler
time moving from one floor to another. These additional features or fixtures may need additional planning
and costs in terms of labor and installation. However, they are rather easy to maintain and will not need
regular fixes or touch-ups as the years go by. Most of all, it makes your property convenient for
everyone—especially for frail and disabled persons.
8. Ensure Structures Are Versatile
Another creative technique to embrace is versatility. As a result, it becomes simpler to make adaptations
and conversations to the interior space with ease. Primarily, this includes the use of temporary walls in
large open spaces. This is an excellent strategy as it allows you to re-conceive and restructures interior
spaces as the company goes through different growth stages.
To ensure the interior space is flexible, you should consult a professional contractor. With their skills and
expertise, they’ll design flexible interior spaces that meet your specific needs. You can do this by dividing
interior spaces into zones that can easily undergo modifications with changing business needs without
necessarily spending on costly renovations or refurbishments.
9. Design An Appealing And Noticeable Entrance
The entrance of your commercial property speaks volumes to clients on what they should expect from the
interior spaces of your building. Therefore, you should do your best to ensure that your building has a
spectacular entrance. This must be prioritized for commercial properties that are intended to be used as
automobile showrooms or retail outlets.
You can put different ideas in place to enhance the exterior appeal of your building’s entrance. Some of
these ideas include using effective lighting and adding rugs or plants. All these options make your property
look warmer and more welcoming. Also, it would be best if you considered installing entrance seating for
your guest to lounge while they are waiting to attend.
Because the entrance to your commercial building speaks volumes to potential clients and guests, you
don’t need to spend additional money on advertising. Your property can speak for itself. Therefore, there’s
no need to make a lot of noise on social media or the public airwaves.
10. Bring Colors Together Exquisitely
The colors you choose to apply to your building’s exterior should either reflect your brand’s image or your
individual preference. If you’re risk-averse, the best thing to do would be to go with two colors with
completely different shades. This is because it gives an element of contrast. You can also go for bold
colors which will help your commercial property stand out from the rest.
With the perfect combination of colors, you’ll spend less money on constantly changing the exterior design
of your building to try and boost its appeal. This further reduces your maintenance or renovation costs.
11. Minimize The Need For Storage Spaces
Obviously, there needs to be enough storage in your commercial building. This assertion is especially true
if your target market is from the retail sector. With that said, you shouldn’t design storage spaces as this
only overloads the available space. Instead, you should combine unnecessary duplicate spaces to free up
space that you can use for more important business needs and keep maintenance needs low.
12. Keep Your Commercial Building Eco-Friendly
With the increasing problem of global warming, it’s everyone’s mandate to play their part to try and lessen
its dire effects on the environment. As a commercial building owner, you need to embrace this as well.
There are various ways you can get your commercial property to have an eco-friendly design. You can
achieve this with the help of a qualified architect. Some interior design ideas include the use of
photovoltaic glasses with solar cells fixed in the window surface or the installation of regular glasses.
Through these simple designs, the interior space of your building will be beautiful. Also, it will
simultaneously generate green energy, helping you cut down on utility bills in the process.
13. Pick A Suitable Façade Material
When customers, visitors, and clients see your commercial building, the first thing they’ll notice is its
façade. Therefore, it’s clear that the façade is very important, and you must consider it when designing
your commercial property. For your façade to have the desired look, you should select a sturdy exterior
covering material that will also be pivotal in boosting its resistance against external weather elements.
Most architects and commercial property owners opt for HPL exterior cladding. It is not only attractive but
has antibacterial properties as well. Aside from that, it can withstand ultraviolet rays and is fire and waterresistant. This does not just offer aesthetics to your building, but it lessens maintenance and repair costs.
The reason being that your exteriors can withstand harsh outdoor elements.
Takeaway
The design of your commercial property plays an integral role in attracting targeted clients and guests.
However, you should still opt for a design that doesn’t eat up your revenue. This is because of the costly
maintenance and repairs that your building needs from time to time. If you’re looking for ways to reduce
future renovation and maintenance costs for your commercial property, knowing how to use every area and
creating a versatile space are crucial. Most of all, don’t forget to take note of the tips above.