Buildings With Personality

Enhancing a building personality is about bringing the full building experience to occupants and visitors. It does not always have to include spending a great deal of capital on major improvements.

Start with answering these questions:
How would someone best describe the building experience?
Who are the occupants and who will be occupants in the future?
What’s the impression and mood people have of the building?
How does the building engage its occupants revealing its personality? 

Answers to these questions will lead to where to prioritize and bring resources.  Working with many property owners, it’s surprising to see so many simple things overlooked or could be done to bring positive impact to a buildings personality. A building should have personality that aligns with what’s important to the occupants and connection to the surrounding. Let’s face it, we spend a large amount of time in the workplace. Why not make it something that’s pleasing to occupants and memorable to anyone visiting. Improving the building potential will bring market presence and brand awareness. Increasing marketability is not only about having nice space and amenities. A social building delivers a sense of community with its occupants that can bring good will and retention. There is a movement in architecture today to create design for pleasing the senses. This directly relates to how a building is perceived and the mood it projects to occupants. Visual, sounds, smells, and touch all play into the personality and mood of the building experience.

Source: Tony Casalena, CCIM