Office of the Future Begins With Old Buildings

Office development might begin soon in Orange County, so the rush is on to buy and reposition before the wave hits. IA Interior Architects managing principal Brian Koshley tells us why investors are so eager to reinvent older space. (It's not just nostalgia.)

Many of Brian's OC clients are investors who buy older buildings to upgrade them, racing to get offices of the future (a term he prefers to creative space) to market. These renovations can be ready in six to nine months ahead of the anticipated ground-up, new office development, which might be as much as two years from leasing, he says.

New office space is about attracting and keeping intellectual capital, Brian says. No daylight and no collaboration isn’t going to fly—that's a given now—but the office of the future represents an even more fundamental change. The design has to be the right balance of open space, multi-function space, areas for collaboration, and private space to support an organization’s culture, Brian explains. 

Here's the game room of 15440 Laguna Canyon in Irvine that the company did for the Irvine Co. It has interactive games, vending service, and a bar and lounge for collaboration and small events. Most of IA’s work in Orange County is with 5,000 to 15k SF clients; since partner Lisa Kelley joined three years ago, the firm has grown its landlord and developer services biz. After 16 years as an interior architect, Brian came to IA in 2002 to run the firm's Orange County office. Outside of work, the father of four hits the road on his bicycle whenever possible.