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www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 2, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 11 Some questioned scenarios that were observed in the study, and others say fewer walls means less cost. Clients, architectural experts say, reg- ularly share those positive viewpoints after moving into their new open spaces, which typically also offer enclosed flex- ible areas to preserve privacy. Hartford's Crosskey Architects is one of many local firms that has tested an open- plan concept at its own headquarters. In 2016, Crosskey relocated from a traditional office to an open space in downtown's Stark Building at 750 Main St. Laura Crosskey, an architectural designer for Crosskey, said the firm en- courages clients to tour their down- town space so they can experience the functionality of open floor plans. Crosskey said the firm's move to an open office has been well-received by its 25-member staff, who more regularly collabo- rate due to a lack of barriers between desks. "The 'open office' term is used as if it's one thing," she said. "We have learned that it's really important to have those alternative working spaces that are enclosed." Infinity Group, an office designer with 20 employees, recently moved into a renovated space in downtown's Stilts Building at 20 Church St. The firm, which helps clients navigate architectural, engineering and construc- tion planning in office redesigns, and has satellite offices in Austin, San Fran- cisco and New York City, was previously headquartered in a smaller traditional 2,500-square-foot office in Bloomfield flanked by panel-based workstations, con- ference rooms and private meeting areas. Infinity has dubbed its downtown Hartford office "the studio," given that the newly renovated, 3,500-square-foot space is open to daylight, has scattered, unassigned seating and a mixture of private and open work areas. Liz Martland, Infinity's creative mar- keting manager, says the firm now works "more fluidly" together and is better equipped to brainstorm on projects and have additional access to technology. And the relocation and rebuild wasn't done hastily, said Blake Leon- ard, Infinity's vice president of archi- tectural design and project delivery. Infinity, founded in Manchester more than a decade ago, dedicates about 70 percent of its work to office redesigns. "We wanted to design an environ- ment that fits our workstyle, which has changed a lit- tle," Leonard said. "Based on the work we do, it has been enhanced given the environment we have here." Finding balance Area designers and sociological pun- dits widely agree that open work areas drive social ties, therefore increasing information exchange and collaboration. But the first-of-its-kind study funded by Harvard considers that humans have "functionally-determined zones 'partitioned' by spatial boundaries," which likely cause people to add bound- aries to constrain their interactions. Productivity also diminishes in the face of open office architecture, the study found, because some people are fearful of interacting in front of a large audience of peers. Those employees may just look up and see that a person is at his or her desk, and send an email. "Such negative psychological effects of open offices conceivably may lead to less, not more, interaction between those within them, reducing collaboration and collective intelligence," the study says. Still, to the displeasure of Harvard researchers, open-plan offices are the new norm for an increasing number of companies, experts say. Balance, though, is the linchpin. Customary in the planning phase, firms like Hartford's Amenta Emma Architects meet at length with clients before launching an office rebuild. Rob Adams, Amenta Emma's associate principal, said clients typically come to the planning table with open floor plans in mind. But that idea is defined differ- ently for every office and employer. Within a single office, Amenta Emma designs space fitting the demands of each department, Adams said. For example, accounting, finance and human resources departments require enclosed workstations, and teams that build off collaboration are situated in open-floor plans. Private phone or "huddle" rooms are then used as a barrier between the two. Furniture distributors are also leaning into the trend, according to Adams, who said the industry leads the way in office design. "We find that most clients today want a middle ground between a full-blown open office and a more traditional open office," said Nayef Mudwar, an architect for Amenta Emma. "All the offices we de- sign have a segregation of open spaces. There is a degree of openness, but you can feel intimacy within your own team that you can relate to." QA+M Architecture encourages its clients seeking a new space to visit furniture dealer showrooms and other open offices, including its own in Farmington, to better understand the new wave of workstation setups. In 2017, the firm relocated its 30-member staff to a new office on Scott Swamp Road that almost doubled its capacity with 10,000 square feet. In developing the larger open office, QA+M polled its staff and developed a list of needs and concerns. The responses generated a flexible open office plan showcasing meeting rooms, a cafe, open kitchen and dining area, private spaces and an assort- ment of sit-or-stand adjustable desks. Those planning exercises should be replicated by all companies looking for a change, said Rebecca Sarkosi, an associate and director of interior design at QA+M. "It's about giving people choices where to work," Sarkosi said. "It's definitely a case-by-case basis, as long as it makes sense for a firm or company." FOCUS and it only applies to certain properties. Because the definition of 'establishment' is so broad, many low-risk properties are pulled into the Act, regardless of whether there is a known issue. Furthermore, because the Act re- quires a sale, many owners of high-risk or contaminated properties simply mothball the property to avoid the Act and avoid investigation and cleanup. Lastly, the requirements for the investigation to determine whether a spill has happened are extensive and entail investigating all areas of a parcel where a spill may have hap- pened, regardless of whether there is evidence of a spill or not. The fact that the costs for investigat- ing and remediating can be significant, and are often unknown at the time of the sale, is a significant disincentive to buying these properties. Q. State lawmakers agreed to sev- eral reforms of the Transfer Act this year. What are they and how will they impact the commercial real estate market? A. Public Act 19-95 created several new exceptions to the definition of 'es- tablishment.' The generation of waste solely as a result of tenant cleaning out the premises, or someone shutting down a business is exempt. In addi- tion, a single instance of generating more than 100 kilograms of hazardous waste is also exempt. These changes will eliminate the need to comply with the Act for many low-risk properties. These were not businesses that generated hazardous waste on a regular basis but were doing the right thing by properly disposing of materials when no longer needed. The goal is to remove a disincentive to investing in commercial property in Connecticut, by removing the burdens of investigating a low-risk site to prove that no spills have ever occurred. Q. Prior to this new law, how often did commercial real estate deals get impacted by the Transfer Act? A. All the time. If the property is an establishment, the effort to investi- gate is extensive and time-consuming. Lenders are concerned about loan- ing on property that is perceived as environmentally challenged. Even if it turns out that the property was not an 'establishment,' the exercise of investi- gating the history of the property can derail a transaction and discourage buyers or lenders. Q. Do these changes go far enough in reforming the law in the eyes of the real estate community? A. Not yet. There are still issues to be addressed, like the definition of 'trans- fer,' which is convoluted. It is defined as 'any change in ownership,' with 28 exceptions. In addition, on large multi- occupant sites where only one tenant is an 'establishment,' the entire property is now subject to the Act. Q. Do you expect the law to face fur- ther reforms in the next few years? A. Yes. PA 19-95 required the Gen- eral Assembly to create a task force to suggest further changes before the next session; it is led by the chairs of the Commerce Committee, Sen. Joan Hartley and Rep. Caroline Simmons. The task force has already met and begun discussions on next steps, but would welcome suggestions from those impacted by the Act. BY THE NUMBERS A recent study by Harvard researchers found that open office spaces with limited boundaries actually decreased face-to-face interactions, and increased virtual interac- tion via email and instant messenger. The study tracked two Fortune 500 companies. Here's what they found from monitoring participants working in more open areas. 56% The percentage increase in emails participants sent. 72% The percent decrease in time participants spent interacting face- to-face with theirs colleagues. 67% The percent increase in instant messaging by participants. Source: Ethan S. Bernstein and Stephen Turban; "The impact of the 'open' workspace on human collaboration" Office designer Infinity Group's open floor plan in downtown Hartford.