Social Distancing through design in Corporate spaces
Amidst the sea of uncertainty, change is inevitable. It isn’t a question of ‘if’ things are going to change? It is more of ‘how’ things are going to change?
With lockdowns being lifted and corporate spaces opening up, how is social distancing going to be incorporated in the workspace? What are the new normal workspaces going to look like? How do companies incorporate change and adapt to the new normal?
The questions are countless but what are the solutions?
The key over here is to maintain a linear level of usability and accessibility, just, in a different format. So, lets deep dive into what post-pandemic workspaces are going to look like.
Go home or go digital
Revamping corporate spaces is a must to ensure the utmost safety. With employees flooding into work, the end goal will be to reduce the touchpoints, right from when the employee enters the workspace.
One of the most common surfaces touched by all is electrical switches/door handles/etc. For organizations that are looking to resume work with this new normal in mind, the intent is to minimize touching surfaces as much as possible, meaning conventional electrical switches and keypads could be a thing of the past.
Aren’t we already used to using Google home and Alexa-type virtual assistance? Without a physical switch to operate, smart functions will soon become the new normal for workplaces.
Going digital is surely a piece of the puzzle to crack the new normal and provide a safe environment to work in.
Hot desking or fixed desking?
The past decade witnessed companies and corporations wave goodbye to traditional office set-ups of private desks and landlines, and trade them in for more collaborative and flexible, workspaces as demand for open communication grew.
However, in 2020, the flexibility and collaboration that many hoped corporate spaces would encourage are far from a reality.
Over the course of years, as corporate workspaces have transformed from adapting to the new-age style and creating large communal workspaces instead of the traditional desks, the coronavirus pandemic may just cause this very hot desking trend to go cold for safety has become of utmost priority for all.
It is for this reason that the return to the office can end up being a logistical nightmare.
Fixed desking seems to be the safer route for many as it will be a means to safely socially distance at the workspace.
So, what’s your pick?
The M approach
Lockdowns are beginning to lift across borders, around the world and new viable approaches to come back to work are in the making. The ‘M approach’ is one such method that focuses on the 2 meters – 6 feet rule and inculcates a systematic approach to social distancing through architectural design. Individual desks/chairs socially distanced from one another in the shape of an ‘M’ is the new approach on the block for the offices of 2020.
Minimizing space safely and maximizing usage is the future of workspaces as it is of the key to creating a holistic and safe working environment for both the employers and the employees in the post COVID era.
Physical barriers for personal spaces
Personal spaces have no doubt become the need of the hour. With few possibilities but umpteen risks of opening up, physical barriers are the night in shining armor for workspaces.
Physical barriers include a wide array of products including adjustable screens, allowing employees to turn their workspace into a private safe space with a moment’s notice.
Will corporate spaces, splitting into regional clusters be the new normal for socially distancing through designing?
Widened entry/exit points
The morning rush to make it in time while brushing off shoulders may come as a shock to you now but once upon a time, it was a tradition in work culture.
Socially distancing while entering and exiting workspaces and traversing through is what will translate into a safer environment to work in. This will be admissible by widening hallways, circulating hallways and passages, and creating modes of easy transit of employees.
To conclude, many of these trends were on the brink of emerging or had already surfaced, but today, they are being brought to the fore much quicker as we deal with a situation that has reshaped office life for the long-term. However, to resume workplaces, regular sanitization is undoubtedly the key to creating a safer environment. Designing a workplace for social distancing is daunting but the future of the pandemic lies in the future of workspaces.
