BUCHAREST REAL ESTATE CLUB

The recent pandemic context has brutally exposed the vulnerabilities of the medical systems around the world, while recent fire accidents in Romanian hospitals in cities such as Bucharest or Piatra Neamt have only worsened the situation, underlining the lack of both responsibility and investments in public hospital infrastructure.

Many more hospital vulnerabilities will continue to surface in the next period, given the pandemic and especially the intensive care units – ICU (ATI) are highly exposed, says Raluca Soaita, founder of Tesseract Architecture, the single architecture company specialized in the healthcare sector and one of the few that operate in CEE.

“Many of the Romanian hospital buildings were not initially designed for this purpose,” added Raluca, also saying that most of the local hospitals are forced to function with electrical and gas installations that were improvised as additions to the initial structure of the buildings. “All these improvisations expose the buildings and patients to a high fire and epidemiological risk. Many of the public hospitals are deteriorated and more problems will appear in the near future.” the architect ads.

With the recent pandemic having put high pressure on the public  hospitals` capacity to treat other affections than Covid-19, the private health system remains the patients` single alternative. With the new young urban generation opting more and more for private healthcare services, due to their improved quality and patient quality treatment, this sector will continue to generate high demand, says Raluca Soaita. “The existing private health clinics keep on sustained rhythm of growth in the recent years  – our client Medlife announced 8% business growth in Q3 2020) and we believe that the need for medical infrastructure will keep growing in the next years, considering the still limited offer on the market,” says the architect.

Tesseract Architecture is a multi-disciplinary studio of architects operating across three divisions: medical architecture, commercial architecture and 3D animation. The healthcare architecture division of Tesseract is specialized in creating patient – centric designs for clinics and hospitals, with important projects in their portfolio, such as the Modular Hospital in Brasov, Sibiu County Hospital, the Modulal Hospital for Covid – 19 pandemic at Elias Hospital in Bucharest or the extension of the Children Clinical Emergency Hospital Marie Curie /Daruieste Viata.

One of few healthcare specialized studios that operate in CEE, Tesseract Medical has delivered creative concepts for both very large and smaller facilities and involves an extensive multi-disciplinary team in approaching a medical project, such as sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, epidemiologists to name just a few.

The post-pandemic world is preparing to return to office life with the advancement of the vaccination campaign and art can be one of the most powerful tool, “a marketing gold” for real estate owners and developers, says Andrei Breahna, co-founder of GAEP contemporary art gallery in Bucharest that totally sparkled the modern cultural landscape of Bucharest in the recent years.

And this is because real estate owners know that art can make a statement about the quality and the uniqueness of their projects, Andrei says in the most recent dialogue with BUCHAREST REAL ESTATE CLUB:

Relation between Art and Employees` Mental Wellbeing  

The positive impact of art on employees’ wellbeing is pretty well documented. For instance, an extensive survey by the British Council for Offices and International Art Consultants shows that 61% of employees believe art and artists inspire them to think and work more creatively and 93% of them agree that art makes spaces more welcoming for both staff and visitors.

Furthermore, there is growing evidence that an appealing workplace can increase productivity. The key, however, is to make employees part of the process, not just hang some artworks on the walls. In a study by Identity Realization, a research group based at the University of Exeter, the researchers created three types of working environments: a “lean” office, with minimal decoration; an “enriched” office, with plants and art; and an “empowered” office, in which the staff could decide what they displayed and how. The results were persuasive. People in the enriched office worked about 15% faster than those in the lean office. Productivity and wellbeing increased even further – by around 30% – in the empowered office.

Why Art & Real Estate 

Traditionally, art has been used as a high-end amenity to attract clients. ”Art can be marketing gold” is something of a leitmotif, especially for luxury real-estate developers in the US and Asia. That’s because they know art can make a statement about the quality and the uniqueness of their project. And with the right artworks, either acquired and commissioned, it is a powerful statement.

What excites me when travelling abroad is to see that art is more than an island in these premium buildings. It is an integral part of the fabric of the city. In New York, any major new civic space or public infrastructure project has some public art. Hospitals help patients heal with the power of art. The numerous museums, galleries and artist-run spaces are creative hubs full of energy.

Circling back to the idea of art being part of people’s lives, I think real-estate projects at all price ranges can employ art to make people feel proud of the places they live or work in. And developers do have a lot of options: buying artworks, commissioning site-specific works, presenting rotating exhibitions, sponsoring on-site art programming, offering different art-related experiences to prospective clients, etc. Where should they start? The first step is simple: start a conversation with a gallery who represents artists and has access to a significant number of artworks. 

Added Value of Art in Office Buildings 

It can definitely be used as an identity and branding tool, especially here, in Bucharest, as the number of office buildings that have incorporated art is quite low. Looking at best practices in other countries, one notices that companies select or commission artworks that embody their values or their organizational spirit.

For organizations with CSR or outreach programmes, art can foster better community relations – for instance, by supporting local artists.

And in the post-pandemic reality, when the office will compete with more relaxed working spaces (home, first of all), it is essential that the office is a place where people like to be in. A destination of choice. Art can contribute to this, as well.

Art and Real Estate Investments  

I see them as complementary investments. If you’ve put your money into real estate, why not enhance the space with art? It will create a more aesthetic environment and it will increase property values.

As for the reasons to invest in art, I noticed a subtle mix of financial and non-financial drivers. Art buyers want to beautify their spaces, to express their tastes and to share their interest in art with friends or social contacts. But they also buy art to diversify their wealth portfolio or as a hedge against inflation. An interesting recent development is that financial motivations tend to decline with age: according to the global survey Art Market Report 2020, three quarters of millennial art collectors regard financial factors as important versus a third or less of people over 55.

About Andrei Breahna & GAEP

Cultural manager, gallerist and collector, Andrei Breahna is the co-founder of GAEP, a contemporary art gallery with a vibrant exhibitions programme featuring the work of established and emerging artists. Since 2014, the gallery has presented more than 30 exhibitions in its elegant space on 50 Plantelor Street, Bucharest and has participated in over 20 international art fairs, including the award-winning participations at ARCOmadrid 2019 and Artissima 2017.

AlProf, one of the most important aluminium extrusion producers in Romania, states that January has been an atypical month in the profile industry, with production capacity having tripled due to the large number of contracts signed this month.

With the European Union having imposed duties of up to 48% on imports of aluminium extrusions from China, the local production boosted, with local producers having to cover the gap generated by the absence of the Chinese supply in Europe.  

At the end of 2020, The European Union announced it will impose duties of up to 48% on imports of aluminium extrusions from China midway through an investigation into whether Chinese producers are selling at unfairly low prices. The European Commission, which coordinates trade policy in the 27-nation European Union, opened an investigation in February 2020 into the product widely used in transport, construction and electronics after a complaint from industry body European Aluminium.

AlProf holds a production capacity in Constanta county and activates in the field of extrusion and production of aluminium components for a range of industries such as construction, automotive, ventilation or the heavy industry.

1.02.2021

As a new post-pandemic life is contouring on the horizon with the vaccination campaign having started worldwide, there is also debate over the new work format after the “work from home” era. While some companies still plan to extend the remote work, a new “hybrid” scenario is profiling, with at least 2 or 3 days per week in the physical office space.

As it is still early to completely foresee the large employers` decisions in the next 12-24 months, BUCHAREST REAL ESTATE CLUB took the opportunity to talk to reputed Romanian psychotherapist Anca Maftei, as to investigate more on the impact that “work from home” format has on people and what would be the effects of not returning, for at least part of the time, in the physical office.

For most people, sudden transit to remote work was a major stress, she adds. Those who had to work from home experienced a lot of anxiety and stress. One of the reasons, Anca Maftei explains, is that they felt insecure and that they lacked the necessary support – and this was mostly felt by the young and lonely people.

“This lack of physical connections with others can impact us deeply, for all of us have the need to belong deeply rooted in our DNAs. At an ancestral level, individual`s survival was deeply connected to the need to belong to a group. Many studies point that this social separation may result into sleep disorders, alteration of the immune system, increase of the inflammation status and increase of the body stress hormones level”,  psychotherapist says.

“Moreover, when we work from home we are tempted to forget about time and work sometimes many extra hours. For those people who don`t have an office or a separated physical space for work, there is no clear delimitation between the professional and personal life. It is very important to make the difference between the various areas where we activate as persons. For people who worked remotely it was very difficult to distinguish between the professional sphere, health, their social environment and the pleasant or relaxation activities – and maintaining an equilibrium between these aspects is essential for keeping our mental integrity. When work, personal life activities and the other activities happen all in the same physical space this equilibrium is difficult to find”, psychotherapist Anca Maftei completes.

Anca Maftei is a systemic psychotherapist, creator of the Integrative Self Process therapy method, hypnotherapist and transformational workshops facilitator.   

(26.01.2021)