In Pictures: Tenants and landlords in Dubai reimagine the office space of the post-pandemic future

The offices of the future are already opening in Dubai. The post-pandemic future to be precise, where the tenants want more creative use of floor spaces within less area. On their part, landlords are more than willing to offer what tenants want.

Dubai's office landlords and tenants are working on new ways to make best use of space.

Don’t forget that the new offices will also have to accommodate that new model – to stick with hybrid-working.

The law firm Al Tamimi and Co. sure has got the memo. For its brand new office in DIFC’s Central Towers, the company decided to drop its initial requirement for 100,000 square feet of prime space to 60,000 square feet. All of its Dubai operations are now consolidated out of this address.

“Our new hybrid-work model was the main factor in us having a space of this size and location,” said Samer Qudah, Managing Partner at Al Tamimi & Company. “It had to accommodate a new working culture - one that enables colleagues to work from the office, home or from anywhere in the world. The pandemic played its part in us designing a working model that can accommodate a more agile style of working.”

That is the point – businesses here and everywhere else are now required to be flexible in how they let their employees do the hours. (Sure, there are some sectors that are immune to COVID-19 created change – manufacturing, for instance.)

“We can actually accommodate all staff at any one time [at the new office], but this would require us to use the open spaces,” said Qudah. “We can accommodate around 180 people in the enclosed rooms, and at least a further 120 in the various open spaces.”

At some point, COVID-19 will become a distant memory and not an everyday precaution one has to take. But the pandemic’s impact will be felt long in the employers and employees interact.

“We created the space with a fundamental value at its core – collaboration,” said Qudah. “The office has a completely flexi-desk approach where colleagues book their desks and rooms online. We have created “neighbourhoods” across the office that act as hubs for teams to work in an open-plan environment.”

In the middle of the two floors that the company occupies, there is a “large collaboration area” with a digital screen and break out pods. This area is meant to create an “inspiring” environment for staff and offers a “more dynamic way of working”. (Silicon Valley inspired office culture is going mainstream.)

In fact, demand for office space - Grade A ones, mind you - is showing significant improvement, not just from new businesses wanting a new prime address in the city but also from those seeking relocation and consolidation.

"The Dubai office market is witness to a considerable amount of leasing activity since Q1-2021, particularly in the sub-3,000 square feet range," said Prathyusha Gurappu, Head of Research at the property consultancy Core. "While there is oversupply in the overall office market, the flight-to-quality trend has resulted in the absorption of most of the prime 2,000-4,000 square feet size office stock."

Whichever way one looks at it, the office property market in Dubai is shaking off the COVID-19 blues much earlier than was initially thought. Addresses such as the ICD Brookfield Place, pictured here, and Central Park Towers sure will vouch for that.