Abstracts of recent major presentations of the International Development Research Council (IDRC), the world’s preeminent corporate real estate association.
“Technology and the Future Workplace,” IDRC Tennessee World Congress, Oct. 18-19, 1999: Jim Keane, Steelcase vice president of corporate strategy and R&D, provided this workshop audience with an insightful look at the workplace/technology intersection. “Advances in technology are enabling new ways of working, [but] new ways of working are poorly supported by old technology,” he said.
Keane exhaustively reviewed how “work process changes,” “people drivers” and “space drivers” are spurring technological change. He then described how “the emergence of the post-PC era” will alter the workplace through developments like “Internet-based everything” and “ubiquitous computing.”
However, Keane noted, “People who say that the office is dead work in an industry that is defined by place — Silicon Valley. They don’t trust the Internet. They must have physical connection. They’re scared that if they don’t live there, they will miss some important connection. That means space still matters. It’s one of the most powerful forces for change.”
“The Integrated Workplace: A Comprehensive Approach to Developing Work Space,” IDRC Tennessee World Congress, Oct. 19, 1999: Workshop speakers profiled the revolutionary changes in U.S. government real estate management, which in 1999 merited one of IDRC’s coveted Best Practices Awards for Decision Support.
Officials described how the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Public Building Services has become far more lean and market-oriented and now pushes productivity with an “integrated workplace” agenda. As Stanley C. Langfeld, director of the U.S. Real Property Division, said, “Work space is not overhead. It is a tool.”
“Opening and Closing General Session Remarks by IDRC President Roy Dohner,” IDRC Tennessee World Congress, Oct. 18 and 20, 1999: Dohner noted how the profession is changing and how IDRC is responding. “Workplaces are transforming into work-where-you-are locations, and the pace has increased to keep up with this rapidly changing business environment,” he noted. “Current economic growth and global expansions have created more real estate-related work than ever before in the history of our profession. . . . This growth is reflected in IDRC. Membership is up, and members are getting involved.”
“Luncheon Address by Columnist Dave Barry,” IDRC Tennessee World Congress, Oct. 19, 1999: Wacko humor, not real estate, was the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer’s focus. Sample musing: “We’ve got a new slogan in Miami: ‘Come back to Miami. We weren’t shooting at you.’ ”
