“Tech expectations are higher today for things like speed, availability and simplicity,” says Richard Tomlinson, managing partner of Skidmore. “In the laptop age, people don’t want to be attached to a wall. You have to work closely with IT people to design that kind of flexibility into the overall infrastructure of a building.”

The building will provide basic Wi-Fi service for Internet users in public areas and conference rooms, and Kirkland is installing its own Wi-Fi system for use by its employees. In order to facilitate the transmission of wireless signals, the firm has requested gypsum ceiling tiles throughout its space. Gypsum—unlike metal—is a neutral building material that doesn’t interfere with electronic signals.

Steve Falkin, a principal with Baker Robbins, believes there has been a fundamental shift in the expectations of large companies and developers.

“To a great extent today, large tenants assume that they will be fairly self-sufficient in terms of tech and will have their own networks and systems. They’re not going to be totally dependent on the tech buildout of the base building,” he says. (“Base building” means the four exterior walls, any space that is not occupied by tenants, such as the lobby, plus whatever utilities are required by a given city’s building code.) “But they also assume that the base building will not constrain what they want to do and may even support whatever program they’re pursuing by providing space for multiple service providers [of] Internet connectivity, phone service, cable TV and satellite communications. Kirkland—because they got in early—was able to make sure that this did, in fact, happen.”

A Plan for the Future

Indeed, to a remarkable degree, the building—even the floors Kirkland is not occupying—is being built to Kirkland’s specifications.

“This baby is juiced up,” says Aaron Bowman, Hines’ construction manager for the base building, of Kirkland’s tech requirements. Bowman isn’t complaining, however. “If it wasn’t for Kirkland, we wouldn’t be doing the building at all so obviously we want them to be happy with the results.”

Novak acknowledges that Hines took some persuading in some areas, mainly because the firm wasn’t used to tenants arriving with such detailed tech requirements. “We got a lot of blank stares initially,” says Novak. Ultimately, however, the developer realized the value of doing the building Kirkland’s way. “As time went on,” says Novak, “Hines saw that what we were designing into the building made sense and would be looked on favorably by other tenants.”