DLF sees offices shift towards experiential spaces, Grade A buidings

DLF, a leading office spaces provider with a portfolio of over 32 million sq.ft, expects office spaces to see a major pick-up from the second quarter of 2021 even as a shift to experiential spaces gathers momentum post the pandemic experience.

Amit Grover, Executive Director, DLF Offices, said, “the year 2020 is likely to end at 50-60 per cent of the year 2019 in terms of overall office space development. But from the second quarter of 2021, we expect to see the office space demand pick up, driven by IT and other services segments.”

“The pandemic has brought about a change in the way people look at office spaces. They are now keen to have experiential offices that provide work environment flexibility. And the upcoming buildings are likely to go that way. Significantly, we may also see some of the occupants in the Grade B buildings upgrade to Grade A experiential office space,” he told BusinessLine.

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“We are looking at stepping up our presence in the Southern market covering Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Apart from the project in Chennai, we are in the process of finalising plans for another project at the existing SEZ in Hyderabad,” he said.

“Currently, DLF has a pipeline of development of about 8 million sq.ft in Chennai and Gurugram. In the first phase, about 2 million sq.ft will be developed in Chennai phase II project and commissioned by the third quarter of 2022 and another 1.25 million sq.ft is being taken up in Gurugram,” he said.

“Following the Covid pandemic lockdown and work from home, the percentage of people working from offices has come down. We believe by January a third of them will be back at work and this will go up progressively,” he said.

Focus on safety in offices

Referring to the growing focus on safety in the offices space, he said that DLF has taken a number of initiatives to make offices safe by deploying Global Safety Assurances norms and MERV-4 air filters. DLF is one of the first developers to upgrade air-filtration technology to MERV 14 technology and the only Indian real estate company to be listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2020.

The company has secured safety rating from International WELL Building Institute and British Safety Council. DLF’s sustainability efforts are further testified to by its Green Star Rating in the Global ESG Benchmark for Real Estates (GRESB), Grover said.

Indoor air quality filtration boosts cognitive functions and helps in facilitating a safer, healthier workplace for the physical and mental well-being of employees.

MERV-14 range of air-filtration technology can help purify the air in office, thus making it safer for occupants across office portfolio for safe re-entry in a post-Covid-19 environment. It is recommended by American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).