1. Working Space u s m a r t d e s i g n f o r t h e W o r k p l a c e
Birkhoff contacted Jim Avery, a personal
Flex Space friend and vice president of sales for Sprung
Instant Structures, of Calgary, Alberta. They
formed an exclusive partnership to create a
customized call center concept using Sprung
With new faster-to-market custom call center technology. They also consulted with Herman
solutions, colliers International and Sprung Instant Miller to create a modular furniture design for
Structures are making sure companies don’t get the interiors. The result is the Colliers CCSG
Rapid Deployment Facility Solution (RDFS).
put on hold. The business process outsourcing (BPO)
industry is one of the largest users of call center
By kerry ale x ander
space. According to Birkhoff, the top 10 BPO
firms occupy more than 40 million square
R a l ph Bi R k h o ff h a s seen the future…of call centers. feet globally. Averaged out, it’s approximately
This vision came to Birkhoff, a commercial real estate broker, in 2002 when he was working with 4 million in each portfolio, with a footprint of
a client in Toronto. Virtually no vacant real estate was available for the operation his client was around 50,000 square feet.
looking to open. He thought a solution might be to erect a Sprung structure—a semi-permanent “Sprung structures are remarkably efficient
building constructed from stressed membrane technology—while a conventional building was for this use. You have this wide-open space
being built. During the planning phase, an existing property came on the market, so the idea unhindered by columns or other obstructions. ph otos co urt esy o f sprung ins ta n t s t ruc t ures
never came to fruition. But for Birkhoff, a business model began to take shape. We found we could achieve a 1 to 88 square-
When he came to Colliers International in 2006 to head up the commercial real estate company’s foot ratio in our 40,000-square-foot template,
global Call Center Services Group (CCSG), Birkhoff brought his “instant” call center concept which is nearly 500 seats. This told us right
with him. away that we could achieve the numbers BPOs
“Our clients are looking at expanding into emerging markets like South America, Central are looking for. Traditional building ratios are
America and Asia. The labor conditions are ideal, but the real estate market is immature and typically 1 to 100 and generic office space runs
underdeveloped, with little vacancy and limited conversion options. Under these conditions, even at 1 to 250 square feet, so there’s a significant
a 12- to 14-month construction timeline is unacceptable. These companies cannot wait that long advantage,” says Birkhoff.
to start operating.” As a result, adds Birkhoff, companies are forced to look at sub-tier locations, The cost of a Sprung structure is notably less
sometimes their third or fourth choice, before finding space that meets their needs. than a conventional building. “If you factor in
10 | knowledge leader Winter 2008 /2009 knowledge-leader.com

2. the interior, it’s close to half the cost,” say Birk- cient with costs reported to be considerably “We constructed a
hoff. While the price is a plus, it isn’t the key less than traditional buildings. They are also
selling point, says Birkhoff. It’s the time saved. “green,” utilizing reusable materials, flexible church on the southern
“With this solution, we can put a customized
call center on any serviced site in the world in
space plans and natural light. Then there is the
remarkable durability of these structures. They
tip of Louisiana, right
180 days or less and at about 70 percent of the
cost of a conventional building,” he notes.
can withstand extreme conditions (desert, arc-
tic, jungle) and meet—even exceed—wind
in the path of the eye
But can a tent-like, semi-permanent structure loads for hurricanes and typhoons. And if the of Hurricane Katrina.
really serve the needs of world-class clients? business needs change, you can actually move
Seeing is believing. “You have to step inside the structure to a new location. It was the only building
one of the structures to really get a feel for it.
The first thing you notice is the natural light,
“We’ve built thousands of structures around
the world that have met extreme wind loads,” left standing.”
air and spacious interior. It’s very different says Avery. “We constructed a church on the
from a conventional call center with their rela- southern tip of Louisiana, right in the path of
tively low ceilings and lack of natural light,” the eye of Hurricane Katrina. It was the only
says Birkhoff. building left standing.”
“It does take time for people to get their mind For Birkhoff, call centers are the next big
around it because it’s so different,” admits Sprung market opportunity. “We’ve found a
Avery. “The best way we’ve found is to let solution to a real-world problem,” says Birk-
them see our structures first-hand. Once they hoff. “In this industry, lost time is lost business.
understand the speed of construction, energy We’ve come up with a plan that allows our
and construction savings, as well as long-term clients to get up and operational quickly and
versatility, they’re sold on the benefits.” we’re the first to bring it to market.”
Consider the company’s headquarters in They got their chance to test drive the solu-
Calgary. It’s a shining example of just how tion with Sitel on behalf of a client who needed
sophisticated the structure can be. In addi- a 400-seat facility operational in 150 days in
tion to flexible working space, the building a specific remote location in the Philippines.
features mezzanine offices, conference rooms, Sitel, a contact center provider headquartered
a cafeteria—even a full-size gymnasium and in Nashville, Tenn., had been consulting with
sports den. local developers and contractors, but they
“Our Calgary headquarters showcases what couldn’t meet the rigorous deadline. Sitel
we’ve been doing in the past 10 years and called CCSG and asked if the timeline could
what’s possible with these structures,” says be met with a Sprung structure. “Within 24
Avery. hours, we came back with the proposal, beat-
Originally built as temporary, relocatable ing the timeline,” says Birkhoff. “Sprung
shelters, Sprung structures gained popularity could do it in 130 days—including design,
in Canada with the oil and gas industry and site prep, transportation, erection and interior
were also widely used by the military and avia- finishing—guaranteed.”
tion industry. In the 1990s, Sprung ramped up “We have two million square feet in inventory
their R&D to incorporate features like doors, and can ship almost immediately. We build
windows and insulation into their design. at a rate of about 1000 square feet per day,”
“Now, we put people inside a Sprung structure, adds Avery. “The interior membrane is fully
so we’re going head-to-head with conventional tensioned and finished, so there’s no ‘building
construction,” explains Avery. within a building’; the shell is complete.”
Chances are you’ve been inside a Sprung struc- In addition to the Sitel proposal, the Col-
ture and not even known it. The company has liers International CCSG is currently working
been involved in a variety of creative projects such on proposals to erect Sprung call centers in
as the NASA Shuttle Hangar, the NFL Facility Nicaragua, Peru, China and Morocco. “This
in Kansas City, the Trump Casino in Indiana is a radically new concept,” admits Birkhoff.
and the high-tech Intel office in Costa Rica. But, he believes its time has come. “‘First to
Sprung structures can be found in 90 countries market’ is everything in the BPO world. And
worldwide and include schools, churches and we’ve done it.” k l
correctional facilities, not to mention major cor-
sprung’s Calgary, alberta headquarters (opposite
porate clients like Motorola, Daimler-Chrysler,
page) demonstrates what can be done with their
Marriott and Shell. semi-permanent structures, including (this page,
The structures include an 8-inch fiberglass from top to bottom) office space, bright open inte-
insulation package that is highly energy-effi- rior spaces and artistic elements like arches.
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