The physical workspace is changing, and Arup are leading the way in finding out how. As hybrid working strategies continue to gain momentum, physical workplaces are adjusting. Transforming the traditional office into destination workspaces, these spaces are intentionally designed to prioritise employees’ preferences and needs to be attractive and desirable.

But before investing in more user-centred approaches, management companies must understand the optimal allocation of resources and the most effective strategies for their implementation. This is where Arup can help.

Enjoy-Work approached Arup to improve its user services at Chiswick Park estate, 185,000m² of office space spread across 12 buildings. We undertook a Building Use Studies (BUS) Methodology survey to get a better understanding of occupant satisfaction on the site. We looked at the estate’s green spaces, building image and design, occupant needs, thermal comfort, lighting, noise, health, and productivity and facilities. Our relationship with Chiswick Park spans many years, providing numerous services and drawing on our technical expertise.

The survey gave feedback on each building and the estate. With a focus on occupant satisfaction, it provided insight into access to events and networking opportunities and provided a comparison against our benchmark database. A mix of scale ratings and open comment boxes gave us a rich data set for each building, allowing Enjoy-Work to see where to invest time and money most efficiently to create a more attractive workspace for occupants.

BUS Methodology four-step process diagram
BUS Methodology surveys typically follow a four-step process but are often tailored to each project.

Greater insights from data

As Estate Manager at Chiswick Park, Enjoy-Work wanted to assess and identify specific areas for improvement. Our client wanted to gain insights around occupant satisfaction, and we were appointed to ensure the reliability and validity of the results. 

The BUS Methodology survey provided a 360° multidisciplinary view of a wide range of factors in the building, including thermal comfort, lighting, noise, health, productivity and facilities. For the first time it offered a portfolio overview of the buildings enabling the client to prioritise its future action plans with guest companies.

Benchmarking for success

We provided bespoke benchmark data on buildings across their portfolio to share with investors, operational and asset leasing teams. The BUS Methodology survey, continually refined and consistently applied to more than 850 benchmarked surveys worldwide, was used to collect the occupant satisfaction data. Online survey links were distributed to all occupants at the park, with incentives on offer to improve response rates.

Enjoy-Work offer a range of wellbeing enhancements for their guest companies, and they wanted to know how effective their events, services and communications were across their portfolio together with occupant data on building performance. Once the survey closed, the data was processed and compared against our benchmark data set for UK offices, resulting in a summary report that highlighted key findings and areas for improvement. The feedback provided unique insights into occupant needs to transform Enjoy-Work’s portfolio into destination workplaces.

Results for the Chiswick Park estate:

  • Ranked in the top 5% of our data set. 
  • Included scores at the top of our benchmark data set for overall building design, productivity, and comfort. 
  • Over 98% of occupants recommend working at Chiswick Park.
Chiswick Park
The BUS Methodology survey provided a 360° multidisciplinary view of the building, including thermal comfort, lighting, noise, health, productivity and facilities.
Chiswick Park
The feedback provided unique insights into occupant needs to transform Enjoy-Work’s portfolio into destination workplaces.

Future action plans

The survey captured the views of occupants across different metrics. Feedback from users on summer thermal comfort provided a specific recommendation around raising internal air temperature set points during summer (reducing the cooling load of the buildings). The survey results were shared with the investors and owners of Chiswick Park, informing their improvement plans for the next 1-3 years. These results can be shared with companies looking to join Chiswick Park in the future.

The BUS Methodology

We were chosen to work on the project due to our wealth of experience in conducting occupant satisfaction surveys in buildings. This, combined with our expertise in building performance evaluation, allows us to help our clients create more desirable environments for occupants and reduce environmental impact.