Commercial buildings can be put to all sorts of uses by businesses once they have moved into them. Therefore, anyone who is constructing new premises for businesses to rent out — or who is converting an existing structure for commercial use — ought to design in as much versatility as possible. A one-size-fits-all approach simply won't work in the modern Australian economy in which businesses demand a good deal of adaptability.

Furthermore, if you are renting out your property, then ensuring that it is flexible means you are much more likely to find new tenants rapidly should your current ones leave. What are the design considerations you should be thinking about incorporating?

Mixed Industrial and Administrative Spaces

On a typical business park, light industrial units allow for all sorts of work to be done, from metalwork fabrication to catering, but never forget that most commercial organisations of any size also need offices. Ensure that your building incorporates sufficient space for stock keeping and production activities to take place, but always provide offices, too. If needed, office space can be designated as a separate area by using internal walls and dividers, but the key is to make sure that not all of the building is for industrial purposes only.

Fast Moving Goods-In

Industrial units tend to work well for multi-site businesses as distributions centres if stock can be allocated rapidly. In order to achieve this, even smaller commercial structures need to operate like a genuine warehouse building. This means evenly poured concrete floors need to be installed onto which delivery trucks can drive and be unloaded without bumping up and down kerbs. Integrate your interior delivery areas with pallet racking so that items are processed and moved away speedily. This means that delivery drivers can move on and that goods-in operatives are ready for the next incoming truck. Many regional businesses can benefit from a single level approach, like this, just as you find in Australia's largest warehouse operations.

Mezzanine Flooring

To make the most of the footprint you have with a commercial building, installing mezzanine flooring can often be the best option. With a mezzanine floor, none of the external structure of the building is altered. They simply stand in a self-supporting way on a concrete floor base. They can provide additional storage areas, further office space or individual studios that can be let to smaller enterprises and start-up businesses. If the operation on the ground level needs more room, then a mezzanine can be disassembled reasonably easily and re-installed elsewhere, as desired.

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