CRE is a complex area, trying to identify the user or customer in the decisions we make is not always simple. The most obvious users of a workplace environment are the employees that sit there. However, the reality is that it is designed based on the theories to increase productivity based on business definitions. The employees aren’t actually the customers of the design even though they are the ones who occupy it.
Similarly to building location decisions. One would think that the location is determined based on the employees who will occupy it, but here again, the business is the actual customer as they are trying to target a pool of potential labor. The commute of any given employee is a byproduct of the business’ selection rather than something that is being optimized for.
This may sound a bit anti-employee but in reality, it’s about balancing the needs of the many. The target user isn’t actually any given individual, it’s the ideal target which may be a combination of several different types of people.
Now, designing for the average and not the actual comes with many drawbacks. No one will ever have that “perfect” commute in. No one will ever find every aspect of their workstation right for them. No one has ever gotten everything they wanted from a system. The goal is to actually fit the needs, requirements, and wishlist of most while creating a degree of flexibility to allow as many as possible to make it work.
The user experience in real estate isn’t simple or straightforward. It takes a lot of thought and balancing of needs.