Technical support during floor space viewings

A viewing commits decisions worth several million euros based on clues rarely examined in the heat of the moment. Six points determine the feasibility of an office program:

• Usable ceiling height: 2.50 m minimum under the suspended ceiling under the regulatory obligations applicable to workplaces (article R4214-22), 2.70 m structural recommended to integrate the air handling unit, sprinklers and cable trays.
• Facade grid: 1.35 m or 1.50 m determine the division into enclosed offices and the depth of meeting rooms.
• Floor space depth: beyond 18 m, the first ring of natural daylight no longer covers the workstation, which weighs on the energy class and visual comfort.
• Air handling unit capacity: 25 to 30 m³/h per occupant in French office space, a usual target value to compare against the departmental health regulation applicable to the site.
• ERP (public-access building) compliance or workplace regime: building classification, stairwell, smoke extraction, accessibility for people with reduced mobility in the airlock.
• DTA and asbestos: an incomplete Asbestos Technical File blocks any partitioning works (Public Health Code, articles R1334-14 and following).

Kytom’s position, contrary to common practice among several advisors: the raw under-slab height shown in the landlord’s DTI is a misleading clue. What determines the program is the clear height under networks after the air handling unit, sprinklers and cable trays pass through, i.e. 30 to 40 cm less. Reading the height on the DTI without sounding the suspended ceiling leads to selling floor space at an apparent 2.70 m that will deliver 2.35 m usable, below the R4214-22 threshold.

When this support is NOT justified: on floor spaces below 400 m² delivered in working condition with a complete landlord technical file and reusable fit-out, the viewing audit does not generate enough value against the mobilisation cost. The same applies to lease renewals on floor space already occupied by the tenant for more than 3 years: in-house operational knowledge is sufficient. The relevance threshold lies beyond 600 m² or as soon as a programmatic transformation is contemplated (densification, additional enclosed rooms, on-site catering).

For the prescribing broker: turning the viewing into a sourced decision, without risking the mandate

The broker’s job is not to read an air handling unit or interpret a DTA, it is to secure the transaction and the tenant relationship. A Kytom architect or project manager attends the viewing, equipped with the technical file provided by the landlord when it exists, a laser measure and a 6-point reading grid refined since 2006. The assignment takes 60 to 90 minutes on site and covers 4 technical actions:

1. Reading the plans: comparing the marketed areas (SUBL) against the actual usable areas (SUN), identifying structural columns, wastewater drops and usable technical ducts.
2. Sounding the suspended ceilings when the landlord allows it, to validate the clear height, the condition of the networks and the possible presence of asbestos-containing insulation.
3. Testing the tenant’s program against the reality of the floor space: target ratio 8 to 12 m²/workstation depending on density (usual office benchmark), acoustically enclosed rooms (in open space, the high-performance level targets a spatial decay of 3 dB(A) per doubling of distance for volumes above 250 m³), catering area, server room.
4. Flash regulatory check: ERP classification, Labour Code, IGH (high-rise) where applicable, smoke extraction, accessibility for people with reduced mobility.

Each point receives a binary reading, manageable or blocking, with a budget order of magnitude if tenant works are to be expected. For the broker, the value is not the technical diagnosis in itself: it is being able to put to the landlord, during the viewing, the 6 questions that avoid a late renegotiation or a tenant withdrawal after the LOI. The summary report follows within 48 hours, calibrated for a tenant investment committee: 2 to 4 pages covering program feasibility, lease points of attention, regulatory compliance (ERP, built-environment RGAA, DTA, RE2020 if heavy renovation), fit-out budget in EUR/m² SUBL and an indicative 12-week schedule.

A methodological limitation to acknowledge: sounding the suspended ceilings during the viewing is non-destructive and remains a clue, not a diagnosis. Definitive asbestos validation requires a pre-works survey carried out by a certified operator, and verifying floor load-bearing capacity requires a calculation note from the landlord’s structural engineering office. The Kytom report flags these zones of residual uncertainty without masking them.

Commercial framework for advisors: mobilisation within 48 to 72 hours, 24 hours in Paris and Lyon

Brokers, asset managers and commercial real estate advisors call on Kytom to turn a viewing into a sourced decision. Three collaboration formats are available:

• Half-day presence billed per unit, for a one-off file on a premium asset.
• Annual package including a volume of supported viewings, reports and a phone hotline 8am-6pm for the advisor.
• Extended assignment when, after the viewing, the tenant requests a detailed programming study before signing.

The mobilisation lead time is 48 to 72 working hours in most locations, shortened to 24 hours in Paris and Lyon for an urgent viewing. The partnership is framed by a short 2-page agreement specifying rates, confidentiality, exclusivity per operation and a commitment to commercial neutrality towards the tenant. Our reading differs from the dominant practice of space design firms that support broker viewings: Kytom does not sell the fit-out assignment at this stage. The reading remains neutral, the tenant then chooses their project manager, which protects the prescribing broker’s stance and avoids any conflict of interest on the transaction mandate. This stance costs short-term revenue, but it is the condition for a broker to renew the collaboration on subsequent operations.