Many factors determine design of ultimate trading floor.

Every time the principals and managers of financial operations with trading floors enter the real estate market, they have to face a challenging fact of life: It's always a brave new world out there. Technology, which is the backbone of any modem financial business, changes so rapidly it's almost impossible to keep pace when you're busy running a corporation. And, in the time between the traditional 10-year to 15-year lease, there's a lot to keep up with.

Based on the need to accommodate changing technology, the process of relocation for financial companies has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. And, since we've directed the programming, interior design and relocation of numerous financial companies and trading floors since the early 1980s, we have developed a road-map of sorts, based on experience, that is intended to ease the relocation journey for financial companies facing the brave new world of real estate and technology.

Getting a Head Start

Lease expirations have a tendency to sneak up on a manager who is busy - justifiably - focusing on business at hand. Though expirations loom large on the horizon, they may actually be too close for comfort when still 18 months away. In a perfect world, financial organizations would begin the process of programming and relocation two years before they had to move. In reality, many companies end up behind the gun, with limited time to identify potential sites and negotiate favorable terms.

But let's get back to that "perfect world," when a company begins the relocation process 18 to 24 months in advance of a move-in date. The first step is to assemble the relocation team. Chances are, this team will be at least twice the size it was the last time a relocation was considered. Today's sophisticated financial organizations recognize that they have one chance in 10 years to got things just right, and the number of variables have ballooned. Where the relocation team of the 1980s may have included an architect, broker, and telephone and computer specialists, today's teams almost always bring together specialists from the worlds of real estate, project management, architecture and interior design, communications, lighting, acoustics, mechanical, electrical and fire protection engineering, audio-visual and construction management. The various members of the team may not all need to begin at the same time or point, but it's important to recognize the contributions these specialists can make to the development of the installation and begin early the process of assembling the right team for the job.

With the core team members assembled, the "programming" process begins. Programming - the process of determining exactly what the company needs and how it functions - ideally takes place before a company enters the real estate market. Vital information is gathered during programming, information that directs a company's search for the space that best suits its needs.

When it comes to financial companies with trading floors and the ancillary support areas, information gathered during programming defines both the physical and the psychological/cultural needs of the user. On the physical side, programming sets guidelines for square footage, ceiling height, electric/air conditioning requirements, column spacing, and core-to-perimeter dimensions. On the other end, understanding a company's culture helps the designer set additional standards for the space search that relate to layout, location and amenities each site affords.

Technology Rules the Day

Technology plays a major role in the programming process, especially when setting the standards for a trading floor. In particular, the trading desk size must be determined up front. The trading desk footprint is established considering recommendations from the communications consultants, based on the size of the equipment, such as turrets (telephone systems), intercom systems and market data screens needed. Once determined, the trading desk footprint sets the gauge for the layout of the trading room. Again, since technology changes so quickly and since most financial firms need to think of maintaining the cutting edge for 10 to 15 years, the desk and its ability to accommodate changing technology must be considered carefully.

Technology applied to and incorporated in the desk can change, but the footprint of the desk remains the same. This is a relatively new consideration for office managers, since up until the late 1980's desks were custom designed and not intended to keep up with changing technology. The footprint of the desk and the layout of the room definitely must be determined before a lease is signed. After all, if the calculations are off by as little as three inches per desk, the trading room might not fit into a given envelope of space.

Power is also a critical programming factor. For a company with a trading operation, the space must provide at least 10 to 15 watts of electric capacity per-square-foot on average, depending on the needs of the trading and computer room areas. Ample air conditioning is another vital concern, since "cool minds" and comfort are important for traders making high-stakes, split-second decisions. Base building air conditioning, normally designed for general office use, is seldom adequate for a trading floor, highly concentrated with bodies and equipment.

When it comes to auxiliary air conditioning, engineers determine the lead anticipated and gauge the availability of condenser water, chilled water, or the need for air cooled units. Auxiliary air conditioning is generally always a must. That's why a company is wise to consider the availability and the extra space it needs for an independent air conditioning system and adequate power to the floor when negotiating a lease.

Other arrangements that need to be made up-front with the landlord might include communications and emergency power requirements. For communications systems, the tenant would like as much control as possible over the security of the riser closets, which hold delicate wiring. In addition, the tenant might need access to a rooftop space to install its own satellite dish.

In the case of emergency power requirements, especially for businesses that cannot afford any down time, an emergency generator is necessary. In some buildings, tenants need to install their own emergency generator. If so, this requirement must be included in the site search, otherwise it will be prohibitively expensive.

Business Culture Sets the Tone

Armed with comprehensive guidelines established by the team during the programming phase of a relocation, the real estate broker and client can now enter the market with confidence. While they narrow a universe of choices using these guidelines and financial, logistical and locational standards, the rest of the team must now begin the preliminary design and layout work.

Corporate culture again plays an important role in the process, especially when it comes to designing a company's trading floor. The key ingredient for a designer to understand (and for a trading floor manager to communicate) is how the individual company trades. For instance, we recently designed a 200-position trading floor where the style of management made one senior executive, the trading room manager, the focal point of the trading floor. The room is tiered and laid out in such a way as to provide a clear line of vision from 199 people to this trading room manager, and, more importantly, from the manager to each and every one of the floor's trading positions.

Another major financial company with a 200-person trading floor has a different way of doing business. This operation has multiple focal points, so we designed the room again with tiers - to have all positions in a regimented fashion facing inward toward the lowest level in the room. The head traders are all in the heart of the room, where traders from all sides can get an equal view.

Interviewing a firm's head traders and managers provides a designer with a feel for how the firm's traders work. A company should never let the interior designer dictate the flow of business, but rather should provide as clear a cultural blueprint as possible for the architect and designer to follow.

While the trading floor sets many of the guidelines for the selection and layout of a space, executive offices and ancillary, support areas must also be taken into consideration when setting guidelines for the balance of the space. Some general rules of thumb include the idea that one not design any permanent installation adjacent to the trading room. Designers should plan for meeting rooms or offices near the trading room to allow for future growth and greater flexibility of the trading room.

Another idea is to examine carefully the bathroom capabilities; trading rooms hold many people and standard bathroom installations may not be adequate. Voice and data rooms need to be accounted for and installed with an eye toward efficiency and security of wiring and mechanical systems.

Additionally, given the density of people in a trading room, the architect might need to verify and/or amend the certificate of occupancy for the trading floor if necessary.

Narrowing the Field, Expanding the Details

Armed with information about every possible space requirement, the real estate broker and client are able to narrow the field of potential relocation sites considerably. While the architect and the rest of the team can provide help in evaluating and weighing the pros and cons of each finalist, the tenant has the facts and knowledge to make an intelligent, comfortable decision. There may be times when the economics of a deal are so good that a tenant might throw caution to the wind, but in most cases these days, the technological needs are so sophisticated and potentially expensive that many factors beyond price-per-square-foot are taken into consideration.

Once the lease is signed, the design team and consultants begin the design development phase of the relocation. In the case of operations with trading floors, special consideration must be taken to ensure the comfort of traders. Selecting the right chair alone could take hours of research and custom testing. This is also the point when consultants in acoustics, lighting and air conditioning earn their mettle.

A trading floor, where shouting is the natural or necessary form of communication, acoustical engineering can make a real difference to the environment. Many firms take special pains and costs to install acoustical ceiling treatment (coffered/vaulted ceilings) and fabric wrapped acoustical panels, in addition to intercom systems which serve to lower the noise level.

Lighting consultants are also an integral part of the design process, trying to maximize visibility while minimizing glare on computer screens. The ideal trading room is an interior environment where sun glare can be controlled. But it's not often you'll find a trading floor in a basement. Rather, trading floors are often proudly displayed in windowed areas with views. And, while natural light is a commodity in any office environment, window treatments are necessary to control the sunlight and glare it casts. When not focused on sunlight, lighting designers must also research indirect electrical light alternatives that increase visibility with the least amount of harshness and glare.

Air conditioning, especially in a setting flooded with natural light and the heat it generates, must also be controlled meticulously. The ideal trading floor is equipped with not only the proper amount of cooling, but also the right number of temperature controls. The goal is to strive for conformity in temperature. The more zones an area can be broken down into, the better. But also, the more zones, the greater the expense.

In each of these situations and countless others, consultants and the designer must educate the tenant on the numerous options and costs connected to each selection. In this way, the client can weigh costs against comfort up front and make intelligent, informed decisions that will provide flexibility and serve the company well for as long as possible within the established budget.

Finish Line In Sight

The homework, on the part of the designers, consultants and client, is up front. Once the decisions are made, it's time for the architect and engineers to move into the contract document phase. Every aspect of the design is included in the contract documents in great detail by creating both plans and specifications. Upon completion of the contract documents, they are sent to the construction manager for actual pricing. In an ideal situation, actual prices will match up with the budget estimates. If, in an even more ideal situation, the prices come in low enough, the client and designer may choose to add luxuries that were left out of the original plans.

Construction is the final phase of any relocation, during which the designer administers the project. The idea is to make sure the project is being built exactly per the project's plans and specifications. With careful programming and pre-construction work and the assembly of a talented team, this phase should go off without a hitch. When it comes time to physically move, the space should be up and running in time for the opening bell to sound and the frenzy of a normal trading day to take place unimpeded.

As one might imagine, this process is exhausting and complicated. Luckily, a relocation need only take place every 10 to 15 years. With careful planning, attention to changing modern technology, and thoughtfulness about the needs and comfort of the business and its employees, a trading facility can serve a business for at least the term of a traditional lease and perhaps be flexible enough to last well into the future.