Simon Laird Associates was commissioned by Aviva, owners of Quartermile One, in late 2009 to undertake a comparative assessment of six new Grade A office buildings in Edinburgh. On the basis of a floor plate size of at least 10,000 sq ft, the selected buildings are as follows:

Quartermile One
Exchange Place 1
Exchange Place 2
Westport 102
The Cube
Waverley Gate

The purpose of the exercise was to provide a direct comparison of the effectiveness with which the requirements common to larger occupiers can be met in these buildings, all of which are effectively competing in the same market.

The buildings were assessed against a range of occupier criteria as listed on the attached chart. In addition to this, a detailed space planning exercise was carried out for a typical floor of each building. The floors were planned on consistent principles (same desk sizes, same spacing, similar provision of ancillary and support spaces) to provide direct comparisons between each. A high density and a low density layout was prepared for each building, and the resultant density measured; all the buildings were planned on a "typical floor" basis - i.e. no reception area was included in the working floor.

The results were as follows:

High density layout

Quartermile One		85.2 sq ft/person
Exchange Place 1		95.9 sq ft/person		(12.6% more space required for same accommodation)
Exchange Place 2		95.0 sq ft/person		(11.5% more space required for same accommodation)
Westport 102		97.5 sq ft/person		(14.4% more space required for same accommodation)
The Cube		96.8 sq ft/person		(13.6% more space required for same accommodation)
Waverley Gate		91.6 sq ft/person		(7.5% more space required for same accommodation)
Waverley Gate*		106.5 sq ft/person		(25.0% more space required for same accommodation)

*Note: The only building with very deep space is Waverley Gate; if workplaces more than 9m from perimeter/atrium edge are discounted (this does not happen in any of the other buildings), the space required at Waverley Gate changes to 106.5 sq ft/person, 25.0% more than the figure for Quartermile One.

Low density layout

Quartermile One		121.2 sq ft/person
Exchange Place 1		134.2 sq ft/person		(10.7% more space required for same accommodation)
Exchange Place 2		146.5 sq ft/person		(20.9% more space required for same accommodation)
Westport 102		138.5 sq ft/person		(14.3% more space required for same accommodation)
The Cube		145.2 sq ft/person		(19.8% more space required for same accommodation)
Waverley Gate		135.1 sq ft/person		(11.5% more space required for same accommodation)

The test layouts are based on a consistent set of generic briefing criteria, designed to allow comparisons to be drawn in a fair and reasonable way. In a real-life space planning process there is inevitably an element of subjectivity, and if the buildings were being planned for real clients there might be different priorities in terms of the provision of shared facilities. Simon Laird Associates would be happy to carry out a test planning exercise based on the specific requirements of a potential tenant.

November 2009