PLANNING FOR PURPOSE

When a food and beverage company is developing a new site or redeveloping an existing site, the initial focus on layout is always centered on the manufacturing and warehouse functions, followed by truck and worker movements around the site. This is usually followed by debate as to where the office should go and whether it should be one storey or two. Clearly, the office location should be in a prominent position, project the image of the company is looking for, be expandable and located for good and efficient interaction with operations.  The debate over which configuration is better involves another set of considerations.

For illustrative purposes, let’s assume we are choosing between the following two options:

Option A: two storeys—400m² floor area each, total area of 800m²
Option B: a single storey on the ground—floor area of 800m²

The common thought is that the roof area will save cost, but does it?

At a Glance—Option B is more cost effective

There are published cost guides that can be a great starting point to get a feel for the potential costs you may be facing.  Generally these determine that two storey office buildings are around 15% more expensive per square metre than their single storey counterparts.

There are savings but these may be outweighed by additional costs as shown below:

Savings	Added costs
·       Less footings	·       Larger footings
·       Less ground floor slab	·       More expensive suspended upper floor
·       Reduced roof area	·       Columns to support upper floor
	·       Stairs to service upper floor
	·       Additional wall areas
	·       Additional services costs (plumbing, elec)

OPTION A—TWO STOREYS

Functionality versus flexibility

Apart from actual materials costs, there are the added construction costs of lifting materials to heights, and undertaking construction work (scaffold, platforms, etc) at height rather than on the ground. 

The following factors are also important to consider:

• Site area—on a tight site it may be the best option to maximise site cover.  If the land has a high value and actual land area can be saved, then this should be considered in the calculation and evaluation.  It may change the balance so that the two storey option is actually the lower cost as well as provide more flexibility.
• Site conditions—sites that have steep or difficult circumstances may mean a reduced footprint where the two-storey option could reduce site preparation costs.
• Office functionality—look at how your office functions and whether splitting this function over two levels means compromises in functionality and communication between staff. Very large offices are likely to benefit from two storeys because a one floor plan would be too spread out for efficient functionality.
• Disabled access—building codes require that disabled persons have access to work areas.  This can add cost for disabled access to upper floors.
• Office expansions—consider how the office will be expanded in the future.
• Building maintenance—at some stage windows need to be cleaned and the external façade maintained depending on the materials used. Remember that the upper level will involve people working at height, introducing safety issues and added maintenance costs.
• It is cheaper to heat and cool the upper levels because of less roof through which heat can escape. But there are added installation and ongoing maintenance costs to cater for these services.
• Upper stories are less affected by street and factory noise pollution, odours and dirt.

OPTION B—ONE STOREY

All under one roof

Beyond the obvious advantage of reduced cost, single storey offices can also unify your work force and the flow of their tasks increasing both functionality and flexibility.

The following factors are important to consider:

• The most significant factor for this solution is space.  Do you have enough to support the balance you need between factory and office function?
• Flexibility—the offset to the point above is that it would be easier to adapt your space for future demand and retool or move areas around if necessary.
• Functionality—people who work in a single story building come into contact with one another more often, which leads to collaboration and, possibly increased productivity and innovation.
• Some manufacturing companies consider it ideal to build their offices above the docks and production areas.  This can be economical use of building volume and give good viewing into work areas but will bring its own unique set of issues:
• Docks below—consider the office floor height and the height under for trucks.  A 5m difference in height is a reasonable set of stairs to climb frequently.
• Columns—columns will be required to support the floor.  Large spans without columns are more expensive than small spans.  Columns will not be desirable in truck manoeuvring areas or in production spaces below and they limit future flexibility.
• Without good sound proofing, the office could suffer from noise, odour and dirt pollution from the work carried out beneath it.

SO WHAT IS THE BEST OPTION?

Though this article has focused on comparing the two options by way of costs to your company, this should by no means be your initial or sole factor when choosing which option is best. The primary drivers are more likely to be site area, site value, functionality and flexibility.

Single storey offices will be the lower cost option with greater flexibility where there is an abundance of site area available.  Two storey offices will be the better option where there is limited site area and the land value is high. The positioning should also be based on a master plan for the site, which will make allowances for how long term expansion on the site will be achieved.

Your office will house some of the people key to your success as a company, considering their needs and how the office layout will affect them is crucial. Along with functionality and future flexibility, these issues will prove to be far more important in your planning and design thinking than simply the short term cost. 

About the author
Andrew Newby is the Business Development Director at Wiley and can be contacted on:
1300 385 988 or email connect@wiley.com.au.