Renovating business premises – what you need to know
Span House after Renovation. Renovation not only enhances the beauty of your commercial structure, but also attracts clients. PHOTO BY TONY MUSHOBOROZI
Renovation is to buildings what physical exercise is to humans. Both have the undisputable capability of preserving the handsomeness of youth. Both are time-consuming and uncomfortable. Both seem unnecessary until complications start to appear.
When it comes to business premises such as shopping malls, office blocks, hotels and such other premises, renovations could even be a matter of life and death. No one wants to have their shop or office in an old, dingy building that attracts no one to it.
And with the consistent appearance of newer, more modern options, the tenants will be forced to follow the customers to newer buildings.
A good example. Around 2001, Garden City was opened in the valley between Kololo hill and Nakasero. It came with all the trimmings of modernity that Kampala dwellers flocked there to ride the escalators, window shop and walk around the flat roof for fun.
Shopping at Garden City gave one the feeling of being a truly modern urban dweller.
The shopkeepers smiled to the bank for years to come. They were not selling better merchandise necessarily but rather, the shoppers were following a trendy, and nice-looking building.
Increased occupancy
The good news is that this kind of migration can happen after a good renovation job. Take the case of Span House in the centre of Kampala. Span House sits right behind the eastern wing of Workers’ House.
Recently, the building received a face-lift with a great paint job. And just like that, the building became more visible. . The seven floor building had been hiding under the shadows of the 22-floor Workers’ House for so long that it became virtually invisible. Then this year, a new paint job helped it emerge from oblivion.
According to the owner Hetal Parikh, the paint job increased the occupancy at a time when tenancy was at an all time low.
“Three years ago, the economy slumped and occupancy started dropping. We tried several interventions like heavily reducing the rent but it was all in vain. We decided to do the renovations and just three months after that, the occupancy has increased by about 20 per cent,” he says.
What to consider
The renovations on Span House were exclusively a paint job. That goes a long way to show you how appearance is everything when it comes to business premises. So what do you consider when thinking of renovations?
Dr Assumpta Nagenda, an Architecture lecturer at Makerere University weighs in on the matter. “First and foremost, the owner should consult an architect,” she says. The expert goes ahead to lay out the general principles and standards of renovation.
“Preservation of the distinctive features and character of a building is very critical. Secondly, renovation is meant to protect and maintain distinctive features in good condition with proper maintenance. Thirdly, whenever possible, repair deteriorated features rather than replacing them. Do not use inappropriate repair techniques including surface cleaning methods, such as sandblasting, which cause damage to older, fragile materials.
“Concerning safety of people during the renovation process, it is important to protect those in and around the ongoing renovations,” she says.
Isaiah Kojwang, the sales director for Holiday Express Hotel, in Kampala, says the first thing to consider in renovating business premises is the passage of time. “All business premises like hotels, malls or office complexes must schedule regular renovations. Buildings get old and damaged with the passing of time.
“Hotels, for instance, have to renovate at least every five years. After some time, the TVs become outdated and the bedrooms will start to look unappealing. The scheduled renovations will help you make the necessary changes on all the hotel facilities without risking embarrassing occurrences,” Kojwang says.
Holiday Express Hotel is currently going through some renovations. Kojwang explains why the renovations were deemed necessary.
“We are only doing partial renovations. There are many new hotels being built, so for us to stay in the business, we have to keep up with the quality and modernity of facilities. Other than repairing the walls, we are replacing the old bathrooms with modern sanitary fittings. We also added air conditioning to the rooms that didn’t have it, to keep up with the modern times.
“Renovations can help you keep your premises relevant even as more competition comes up,” he says.
He adds that other non-hotel premises can be scheduled to be renovated every 10 or 15 years.
Colour combinations
Hetal, says considerations for renovations are not rocket science. “What do the tenants want right now? How old is your building and what are the tenants missing out by being in your building as opposed to the newer competitions? Times keep changing and the needs of the tenants keep changing.”
Hetal adds that when all is said and done, the appearance of the building is paramount. The building must arrest the imaginations of the shoppers or they will move on to the prettier buildings. When it comes to the appearance of the building, nothing beats great colour combinations.
“You need to spend time thinking about what kind of colours would fit the shape and age of your building.
“The quality of the paint also matters which means you might want to spend more on the right painter and the right paint brands. But the most important is how the several colours you choose combine to bring out a specific picture,” he says.
During renovation
“It is not easy to renovate while the tenants are still occupying the premises therefore communication is paramount during this time because you don’t want to inconvenience the tenants,” Hetal says.
“Signages must be installed to warn of falling debris, slippery surfaces and no-go areas. Most importantly, the works should be very fast otherwise, there is only so much inconvenience a tenant can take before they decide, enough is enough,” says Moses Mukasa, a shopkeeper at Mutaasa Kafeero building in Kampala.
Phiona Kesiime, a shopkeeper at Avemar Mall in Kampala, says: “There is an amount of dust that a tenant can take and not get angry. However, if the works being done create too much dust, they should be allocated the night shift otherwise customers may desert the building,” she says.
The advantage older buildings have over newer ones, is that older ones usually have an established “name”.
If an older building consistently looks great, it will keep attracting new customers on a regular basis.
Some times all it takes is a fresh paint job to keep the building attractive to the shoppers and the tenants alike. The façade of the building is the face of the building, literally, and it should be kept pristine. That is called partial renovation., Comprehensive renovation is where you repair everything from the toilets to the roof.
Preservation
According to Dr Nagenda, quite often, buildings of historic significance have been transformed in the name of renovation.
Little regard has been given to the real essence of “restoration”, a process by which structures are carefully transformed so as to preserve the state of originality that represent significant moments in history making them exemplary as great works of architecture.
“Many have destroyed artefacts (important buildings or works of art) in the name of restoration or conservation. When restoring iconic buildings (or even works of art) several factors are considered,” Dr Nagenda says.
“These include the cultural, economic, political and physical contexts within which the buildings are located. Depending on the type of the building, broader ethical and philosophical considerations, which may be more important than architectural come into play because they express cultural or religious values to ourselves and the world at large and to next generations.”
Other important factors
Over and above renovations, consistent cleanliness of the premises is also important to tenants according to Hetal. But high up on the list of important things is the rent charges.
“If someone pays their rent, they don’t want to hustle paying for utilities on top of that. Parking, water and electricity should all be a part of the rent otherwise the tenants get nervous. The rent should be affordable and charged in local currency. Another important aspect is openness and transparency.”
Kojwang says that overall customer comfort is everything. “One has to keep watching and listening to see what is not working for the customers. Anything that is causing discomfort must be changed as soon as possible. Same case applies to non-hotel business premises.
While for the hotel, must change outdated TVs, and curtains as a must, in a mall or office block, dingy floors and old toilets must be changed too.
Who wants to work in a dilapidated building?
May be for those other premises, renovations could be scheduled at 10 or 15 years but it must be done. Today, people are well-travelled and exposed to modern stuff. You have to keep up of pack up,” he says.
PRESERVATION & RESTORATION
The difference between the two:
Conservators of artefacts follow strict ethical guidelines just like the way doctors treat patients. They follow the rule of “first, do no harm.” They employ methods of reversible stabilisation, meaning that any treatments they perform can be undone with no ill effect to the artifact. Because of their high level of expertise, professional conservators are in high demand.
Restorations on the other hand include the interpretation and retelling of history because they provide a chance to share an often-intergenerational experience (Kroslowitz, 2012).
Restorations involve careful consideration of the ethics, likelihood of achieving success, proposed treatment plan and ultimate intended use of the artefact.
Speaking of preservation, last November, the Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities began a campaign to conserve the Uganda Museum, one of the iconic historic buildings in Uganda. This came after the museum won a conservation grant from the Getty Foundation, USA.
