The importance of outdoor space in London offices

Offices that can provide easy access to outdoor space have always attracted a premium, with floors boasting their own roof terraces achieving higher rents than those without. However, these private terraces have often been used for client entertainment, whereas occupiers today want proximity to outdoor space to achieve their wellbeing initiatives. In response, developers are prioritising a greater number of communal and private terraces, roof gardens and street level public realm. This has grown to become the defining feature of development in London. Likewise occupiers are increasingly finding different ways to use these spaces, such as outdoor meetings, yoga classes or cinema screenings.

Innovative use of office’s outdoor space

We are seeing some more innovative use of outdoor space in London property. For example, rooftop running tracks to encourage occupants to exercise, such as the below example at Royal Eden Docks development by Mount Anvil. We have also seen edible rooftop gardens, where occupiers are encouraged to grow their own vegetables and herbs, such as at Bloom Clerkenwell by HB Reavis. Flexible seating and screening is becoming common place, as clients seek to maximise the potential uses of their outdoor space by use of different configurations.