Explore These 4 industrial Real Estate Building Design Trends

As 2019 continues to roll on, we can’t help but think that now is a great time to take a step back to get a closer look at the commercial real estate industry, and the industrial real estate sector specifically. 

We talked with several experts in the industry, as well as researchers and economists to help reveal some of the major trends that are expected to dominate the industrial landscape in 2019 and beyond. Here’s what we found out.

There will continue to be a needed increase in industrial inventory space

Throughout the United States, consumers are demanding more goods and at faster delivery rates, leading retailers to meet this demand by increasing inventory volume in the US. Curtis D. Spencer, president of IMS Worldwide and a renowned specialist on intermodal logistics and shipping trends and practices, had this to say: “Supply chains will have a two-step process: whatever it takes to get it into the country, and then just-in-time once it’s here. We could see more goods held in inventory in the United States, because e-commerce is driving us to daily delivery, and just-in-time manufacturing is not going away.”

Industrial Inventory is looking up — literally

While the demand for industrial space continues to rise, it’s obvious that the supply of available land to build the necessary holding space has not. And as the available unique parcels of land that will work for industrial space continue not only to shrink, but to also get more expensive, architects have had to get creative in their designs. But just what does this look like?

Today, architects are designing industrialspace vertically, in order to increase overall square footage without having to increase the physical footprint. And, from what we can tell, this particular trend isn’t going away anytime soon.

The popularity of shallow-bay buildings will continue to grow

Thanks to e-commerce, there are new types of multi-tenant buildings that have increased in popularity in the industrial sector. Known as “shallow-bay buildings,” these fulfillment centers are simply more compact, build for fast (often two days) delivery. This new type of building allows for accommodation of smaller importers, leading to new players in the game.

What’s more, with the demand for faster shipping, industrial buildings must now be closer to the end user than ever before — and require different infrastructure, such as bigger parking lots to help accommodate more employees. This is another trend that shows no signs of slowing down, and will likely continue to increase throughout the United States as well as the rest of the world.

New trends in e-commerce will help encourage consolidated services with physical retailers

Despite a number of industrial trends, including shallow-bay buildings and fulfillment centers growing to support more inventory space, retailers are also consolidating their services for both brick-and-mortar and online shopping into one facility. This new structure will continue to impact industrial design, with companies combining their traditional distribution network with their e-fulfillment network. As a result, you can expect to continue to see more traditional brick-and-mortar retailers converting a bigger portion of their business to the e-commerce model.