People-first offices work smarter

Office buildings that better serve people, performance and purpose and which have intrinsic flexibility to adapt to changing work styles are emerging as spaces to be reckoned with.

Real estate is strategically supporting organisational culture, productivity, and talent attraction, says Bayleys’ national head of occupier strategy and solutions, Steve Rendall.

“Occupiers are being challenged to go beyond footprint optimisation to consider the workplace as a more holistic driver of organisational success.

“Bayleys’ global real estate partner Knight Frank explores the concept of reframing the workplace as a platform for engagement, innovation, and belonging in its latest (Y)our Space report.

“Researchers found that office buildings are becoming more experiential, more responsive, more human and critically – more functional, rather than being viewed as just cost centres.”

This idea is explored in the latest edition of Bayleys’ Total Property portfolio where the architecturally-impressive and award-winning Bayleys Remuera office is showcased as a best-in-class example of a contemporary workplace that goes beyond service provision. It cleverly intersects with the local community with the café on the ground floor effectively welcoming the public into the workplace, while adaptable zones on the upper level accommodate the busy and growing high-performing team.

Architects Fearon Hay, Platform Consulting Group, and interior design firm Maken, collaborated to realise Bayleys’ founding director, John Bayley’s vision for the site.

Fearon Hay took out the Commercial award in the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects 2025 Auckland Architecture Awards for the project, while Platform picked up the Bronze award in the Workplace Environments category of the 2025 Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Awards.

Managing director of Platform Consulting Group, Jeff Cowan says the building is a strong reflection of the Bayleys business and profile.

“There’s transparent activation to the street with the public café on the ground floor essentially an invitation to come into the Bayleys space. At street level, the building needed to function as a multi-purpose destination to support its high flyer teams, optimise client engagement, host local events, and showcase weekly live auctions – all within an inviting and timeless setting.

“This outward looking approach has created a community-connected workplace that elevates Bayleys as an attraction brand, acts as a recruitment and retention tool, and will enable long-term business growth.”

On the first floor office level, an open-plan environment balances productivity and wellbeing, offering a variety of settings for collaborative, social, and focused work.

Cowan says by focusing the design on the three core pillars of connection, people, and productivity, the Bayleys’ building is a physical representation of Bayleys’ values and culture, and redefines what a real estate office can be.

Scott Kirk, general manager Bayleys Remuera says the last year has been a prosperous one for the team, and credits the new building and the acquisition of the UP Real Estate business for the significant uptick in deals done, and values achieved.

“Staff productivity has increased, the café allows us to interact with a wide range of people, including past, current and prospective clients, and auctions are held in the open space giving a transparent window into the sales’ process.

“We’ve also held a number of client and community events here, and will continue to do so as the space just lends itself to hospitality.”

Cowan says workplace design has evolved significantly from the siloed individual office model of 15-20 years ago to the agile, more interactive template preferred today, and it will continue to flex.

“Work styles, technology, and purpose are not static so office spaces will naturally change in response to external and internal drivers.”

He says the increasing adoption of AI is already reducing staff headcounts across many business sectors, in turn changing up space requirements, and impacting office design.

“With many operational processes being automated, the workplace is morphing to accommodate those functions that remain human-driven. The purpose of the office is changing to emphasise in-person meetings, collaborative project-based tasks, presentations, and events so the space needs to be fluid.

“Office footprints need to be flexible enough to adapt to these demands in the short term, but also within the lifespan of an occupier’s lease. How a business works in 5-10 years’ time could look quite different as technology pushes forward.”