The real estate sector is facing a multitude of disruptive trends from emerging technologies, climate change, demographic changes, and now COVID-19. While we cannot precisely describe the direction and timing of these changes, we can work with clients and other professionals to understand possible and plausible futures. The next decade of design will focus on site plans and blueprints that work well under a variety of future scenarios.

Initially, a new building may be designed as 80% retail space and 20% warehousing and distribution, while allowing enough flexibility to reverse these roles over time.

The initial design flexibility accommodates immediate needs (such as loading docks and storage space), while also easily and cost-effectively permitting necessary shifts with the emergence of new delivery vehicle types (including autonomous vehicles and drones), and changes to inbound- and outbound-delivery patterns as e-commerce evolves.

Residential and commercial development can also benefit from Flex Design. With e-commerce’s rapid growth, residential and commercial building managers will need the space to accommodate parcel and food deliveries, as well as passenger-loading zones. Flex Design allows owners to determine how much delivery drop-off space is required now, and how much is likely to be required over time, all while promoting flexibility to meet curb demand. For example, anticipating future parking reductions and what to do with excess property in suburban retail.