SAN DIEGO—CBRE has unveiled two new offices in San Diego County as part of its global Workplace360 initiative.

The so-called free address offices incorporate leading-edge workspaces designed to support the way employees work today and in the future through enhanced flexibility, mobility, technology, wellness and productivity. The San Diego offices are among more than two dozen CBRE offices globally that will transition to a “Workplace360” model in 2014.

The commercial real estate services firm opened its new 6,500 square foot office in Downtown San Diego, located at 350 Tenth Avenue, on May 5, followed by a 5,500 square foot office located at 5780 Fleet Street in Carlsbad on May 12.  Both offices are 100% free-address and paperless environments with no assigned workstations. 

“CBRE is ahead of the curve bringing our extensive experience in new workplace strategy to the San Diego market,” said Paul Komadina, managing director for the San Diego Region. “With the help of our firm's Workplace Strategy team, we will implement many of the same strategies and technologies that have been successful in several other CBRE offices around the world, including our corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, which will allow us to enhance the way we work and deliver services to our clients in San Diego.”

Based in part on research that shows that office workers spend approximately 50 percent of their time working with others and the other half spent working alone, CBRE's Workplace360 initiative provides a flexible way of working and a system of places, technologies, and protocols that allow for choice based on an employee's changing needs and preferences throughout the day.

“CBRE is taking a bold step in creating a more efficient space, while also providing many different ways of working within the space for employees to choose from,” said Emily Neff, who managed the implementation of these projects for CBRE's Workplace Strategy team.

The Carlsbad and Downtown San Diego offices both offer a variety of work settings – a balance of both collaborative and private spaces including collaboration rooms, sit/stand desks, and offices for a day as well as focus rooms for when privacy is required. Enhanced technology that supports this mobile way of working is a core element of these offices. Private and collaborative spaces can be reserved with a phone app, while “plug and play” work stations are equipped with dual monitors and “follow me” phones.  In addition, the paperless office allows employees to access their files digitally from anywhere, print from any printer with “follow me” printing, and promotes a greener environment. 

“By changing employee work processes through digitization and technology training, San Diego and Carlsbad were able to reduce their combined file storage by more than 1,000 square feet,” said Casey Craig, also with the CBRE Workplace Strategy team. “We were then able to reallocate that square footage to provide additional collaborative and private workspaces for our employees.”

The new offices both also emphasize health and wellness, with a variety of wellness features offered including sit/stand desks that can be height-adjusted electronically for comfort, antimicrobial coating on all surfaces, as well as healthy snacks and yoga mats.

“In addition to our two new San Diego offices, CBRE will open almost two dozen Workplace360 offices around the globe before the end of the year. As a professional services and investment firm, our most important asset is our people, so providing a workplace environment that improves the way we work today, while enhancing our overall health and well-being, is a top priority,” said Laura O'Brien, CBRE's global head of human resources and workplace strategy.  

“Our new offices in San Diego epitomize a leading workplace platform and serve as a real world example for our corporate clients in the region.  Because we are living this model ourselves, we are able to provide our clients with greater insights and counsel as they think about and reimagine their own work environments,” said John Frager, executive managing director for CBRE's San Diego Region.

CBRE's Workplace Strategy team led the implementation of the new space, along with a team that includes designer Gensler Architects and CBRE's in-house Project Management team, which oversaw the construction process.