By Francois Raulier, Head of Moscow Representative Office of RBTT Consultants Ltd.

Theme: What should you expect from a Class A building in shell-and-core state?
The article was published in CRE Россия #17 (100) 01-15.09.2008

Moscow is a city where standards and terminologies that apply in other parts of the world often appear
virtually unrecognisable. The term “Class A Office Building” is a prime example.
To someone unfamiliar with the Moscow real estate market, for example the manager of a company
looking for new office premises, this term could be expected to conjure up the image of a prime property.
Our manager would, we can safely assume, associate the term with buildings that are in a good location,
properly constructed, with a reasonably efficient floor plate, adequately supplied with engineering utilities
and professionally managed.
In Moscow, however, our unfortunate manager could find himself sadly let down. The Class A term has
been applied so liberally that he could be presented with a portfolio of widely differing properties. These
could range from crumbling facilities with insufficient technical infrastructure to pristine new developments
that can meet all his requirements. Another term, Class A+, has been introduced recently in an attempt to
refocus the definition of what is meant by a high quality building in Moscow. Unfortunately, this term is
already showing similar signs of abuse and is soon likely to become equally meaningless.
So, leaving aside these labels, what should our intrepid manager be looking for when venturing into the
Moscow office market in search of suitable premises for his company? Here are a few guidelines:
Floor Plate
Most occupiers of offices are looking to minimise the area they lease while maximising the number of
people they can accommodate.
Unusually shaped floor plates create space planning difficulties. For example, sharp angles in the
external façade restrict the options available for an efficient furniture layout. Imaginative architects and
interior designers can sometimes overcome this by using these awkward spaces for meeting rooms,
breakout areas, top management offices etc. However, too many of these will reduce the space available
for normal workstations.
An irregular or obtrusive column grid can also cause problems. Columns in the middle of a nice open
area will disrupt the efficiency of the furniture layout. Again, this can be mitigated through clever design,
but usually not without some other compromises being made.
The key is not to rely exclusively on how many people the landlord says can be accommodated. This
typically has more to do with some of the engineering system allowances and is not necessarily a guide
to how many people really can, in practice, be accommodated on a floor.
Have some test fits prepared. Most architects will happily give some initial advice on this, either for a
nominal fee or for free. You should end up averaging 10 m2/person of usable area for a typical mix of
cellular and open plan offices, meeting rooms, circulation spaces and ancillary areas.
Raised Floors
Most modern offices use a raised floor for the distribution of electrical power and structured cabling to
individual workstations. Check that the installation of a raised floor has been allowed for as part of the
shell-and-core design. An easy way of doing this is to look at the relative floor levels between finished lift
lobbies and staircases and unfinished areas. There should be a difference of at least 150 mm.
Floor to Ceiling Height
Lofty ceilings dramatically enhance the appearance of a finished space. However, the impression gained
from visiting an unfinished, shell-and-core, space can be misleading.

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In most modern offices, all the engineering systems are distributed either through the raised floor void or
above the false ceiling. The position of the false ceiling line will depend on how many services have to be
installed above it. A good rule of thumb is to allow a minimum of 500 mm below the slab of the floor
above.
Look out also for elements of the building’s structure that intrude into the ceiling void space. Engineering
services will have to cross those and that could push the line of the false ceiling down. Reckon on a
minimum of 300-400 mm being required below the lowest structural element and see where that puts the
ceiling line.
While 2.7 m is the minimum finished floor to finished ceiling height allowed by Russian regulations, most
architects will advise that 2.8 m is the minimum acceptable if a sense of space is to be retained. The
larger the finished space, the more important this becomes.
Engineering Systems
Modern offices require a sophisticated engineering infrastructure in order to operate. Just how
sophisticated will depend on the specific requirements of the business being accommodated. There are,
however, some minimum requirements that are common to most modern offices.
The ability to provided enough electricity to run the occupier’s office is the most critical hurdle that all
buildings must pass. Many, unfortunately, fail. Based on typical population densities and historical data,
it is relatively straightforward to come up with an electrical supply requirement. In most cases, a user’s
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maximum demand load falls within the range of 70 VA/m to 90 VA/m of usable space. Any allowance
that is significantly less that this will likely result in unacceptable restrictions being imposed on the use of
the premises.
Minimum fresh air requirements in offices are also stipulated by Russian regulations. These are
60 m3/hour/person for permanent occupants and 20 m3/hour/person for temporary occupants (e.g. people
in meeting rooms). These requirements can, in theory, be reduced if windows can be opened. However,
most modern offices have sealed windows.
The capacity of the cooling system is another area where many buildings fail. Cooling is required to
offset the heat gains from sunlight, people, artificial lights and office equipment. The capacity required
from this system will depend on a number of specific parameters, not least of which is the size and type of
the windows and the building orientation. However, the allowance available from the shell-and-core
systems should typically fall within the range of 90 W/m2 to 120 W/m2 of usable space.
Modern offices require year-round cooling, even in Russia. Don’t let anyone tell you that, because Russia
has cold winters, you won’t need cooling outside the summer months. This is normally achieved by
incorporating a “free cooling” feature into the base building chilled water system that operates when the
outside temperature is low.
The general cooling system in many buildings only operates during normal working hours. However,
server rooms in modern offices operate 24/7 and require cooling on the same basis. This means that
these areas should be provided with separate cooling arrangements, either in the form of space for
additional external equipment, or in the form of a dedicated system.
Although a winter cooling facility is undoubtedly a must for modern offices, proper heating installations are
also required – different areas will require different treatment at different times of the day. For this, the
installation of perimeter heating to combat heat loss and downdrafts from windows is always better than
an “all air” solution.
Fire alarm, hosereel and smoke extract provisions must be made in every office building in Russia.
Although Russian fire codes do not require a sprinkler system to be installed in all buildings, most
occupants of quality building will require one. The provision of a shell-and core sprinkler system should
therefore be verified.

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In addition, assumptions made during the design of the smoke extract system are particularly important to
the building’s occupiers as these can have a dramatic impact on the final layout of the occupied spaces.
These assumptions should be defined clearly and their implications fully understood before the suitability
of a space can be properly determined.
Availability of Technical Information
Nothing can be built properly without decent technical information. This means that proper shell-and-core
drawings, material specifications, equipment data sheets, testing and commissioning results (if
appropriate), building Technical Conditions, etc. should always be available. Be suspicious if they are
not.
In summary, the key to assessing whether a building meets that initial, intuitive, expectation of what a
Class A space should be is to look at the space objectively. It is also worth remembering that the
decision to lease a space in a particular building constitutes an expensive and long term commitment. It
is vital therefore to seek some professional advice on the suitability of premises before becoming
irrevocably committed.