September 4, 2002—Building on its BoSmart (Live Smart) concept, construction and services company Skanska and furniture manufacturer IKEA have collaborated yet again to create ArbetaSmart (Work Smart), offering SME businesses high-quality offices at low cost.
The idea behind the ArbetaSmart concept is to provide tenants with modern and flexible offices, including fixed furnishing and fittings, at a much lower cost than traditional premises. According to the two Swedish companies they can reduce rental costs by 40% per workplace.
“With ArbetaSmart, we want to repeat the highly appreciated BoKlok concept, but in an office version,” said Mats Fryxell, project and concept manager at Skanska. “Without compromising quality, ArbetaSmart does away with all unnecessary items that cost a lot without contributing a great deal. Thus, the cost can also be reduced by 40%. Instead we create other values, such as light, flexible, open offices with a favorable indoor climate.”
Skanska and IKEA will promote the concept together, targeting small and medium seized companies with 10 to 50 employees which need flexibility but dont necessarily need to be based in a central location.
Project manager at IKEA, Marie Arvidsson, added that ArbetaSmart will provide free advice regarding the fit-out of the offices using IKEA furniture. Although tenants also have the option of keeping their own furniture when they move into their new office.
So far, an ArbetaSmart office has been opened in Lund in the south of Sweden but new projects are planned in ten other cities across the country where Skanska has identified suitable locations.
“We will start building as soon as we have signed agreements with property companies who wish to own and rent out the offices according to the concept,” said Mats Fryxell.
To save money and time the offices will be built as components, which can be built in advance and then assembled at the location. The finished product will have eight walls and seven open plan floors with the top floor serving as a meeting room for all the tenants in the building.
Although BoSmart has been launched in Norway and Finland, there are no plans to introduce the ArbetaSmart concept outside of Sweden, at least not for now.
—Jessica Jarlvi
Reprinted with permission; copyright 2002 i-FM
