There is a lot of research being done in the world today about what the next generation office environment should look like. A particularly interesting report on how office design is changing to meet the challenges imposed by COVID was recently released by the Wall Street Journal. A participant in this article is RXR Realty, which owns over 25 million square feet of real estate space. RXR is clearly driven to find the right formula on how to get its employees and its tenants' employees back to the corporate office safely.
“We aim to use the tools and technologies we have implemented to make the new unusual in the office as normal as possible,” said Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty. "We wanted to test what we had in store for ourselves to make sure it worked as our tenants returned."
RXR is adopting technology solutions to solve the "back to work" challenge with its own employees:
RXR employees start their day by opening their company's app to answer health questions. Once cleared (based on their answers), they are allowed to enter the company's office building.
Thermal cameras are used in the lobby area of RXR buildings to take the temperature of employees as they pass through the lobby, creating the ability to detect any potentially problematic situations.
RXR is also testing models such as reduced seating in conference rooms, occupancy models that keep floors at 50% capacity, plexiglass dividers between workstations, and others to prevent the spread of viruses and provide employee health and safety.
An article recently published by NPR on office redesign efforts inspired by COVID detailed the need to focus on human health in the office environment in general, rather than on responding to the current worldwide pandemic. “There will be another pandemic or another pandemic – or just another flu season,” says Eve Edelstein, co-founder of the research-based design consultancy Physicians for Design. "Let's go ahead and design for that reality."
Restructuring the company is crucial to encourage employees and staff to get back to the office. There are many general contracting companies in the Cayman Islands that you can collaborate with to advance the new physical changes effectively.
The contractors can help you plan and redesign your office layout, which can further assist you in installing new technologies, such as touchless entry systems and management systems for staff and visitors. Apart from that, you can also install a pre-entry wellness check to monitor the temperature of anyone entering your company premises.
Many companies in the Cayman Islands have already switched to smart working, letting automation take care of regular gadget operations — like touchless entry systems, auto-energy saving in low human activity areas, and apps to book meetings in the office.
Workplace design rethinking covid-19
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 virus is mainly spread when a person who has COVID-19 (symptomatic or asymptomatic), coughs or exhales and becomes infected. Releases droplets of liquid. Most of these droplets fall on nearby surfaces and objects – such as desks, tables or telephones. People can catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. If they are standing within one meter of a person with COVID-19, they can catch it by breathing in the droplets they exhale or exhale. Studies have indicated that the virus can spread more quickly in poorly ventilated closed spaces.
For architects and interior designers, the challenge lies in redesigning or transforming existing buildings and workspaces to make them pandemic-proof. Here, three aspects will define the design decisions: physical proximity and density, the spatial relationship of people and objects, and air circulation.
Architects and interior designers need to redesign to prepare the space to protect employees from the current pandemic and to cope with any infections that may appear in the future. Therefore, the task at hand is to envision offices by 2030 where people can be safe at work while also creating intelligent alternatives to integrate remote workers. Let's take a look at what kind of changes will impact office space planning.
Read more at Revolution vs. evolution: Redesigning office spaces for post-COVID pandemic working requirements