COVID-19 has shaped how people interact with their built environments. This crisis forced people to consider every choice they make in terms of how it affects their health—from travel, to entertainment, to the workplace. With health being top of mind, every interaction outside of our homes has become a cost-benefit analysis. Quickly running into the supermarket to pick up that forgotten ingredient for the new recipe or grabbing a bite to eat at a local deli are no longer simple tasks. Going into an office for a job was once a straightforward responsibility to which no one gave a second thought. Our team is constantly having health-focused design conversations to discover what the future workplace looks like, as well as how the workplace environment can support and enhance a lifestyle that focuses on wellbeing during the COVID-era and beyond.
Lessons Learned From Healthcare
As we have seen in healthcare spaces, clients focus heavily on evidence-based design. Protocols and procedures are established and followed precisely to ensure maximum safety. When the pandemic first hit, all market sectors looked to healthcare for cleaning and sanitation solutions, but quickly realized that set systems and processes would not be applicable during this time.
“Elements common to healthcare like sanitization, administrative versus engineering controls, and isolation have now become integral to the design of many sectors,” says Jim Henry, AIA, EDAC, Senior Vice President and leader of the CRTKL healthcare sector. “It’s become a continuing dialogue about making spaces healthier as opposed to something that is only relevant to one specific project or use type. We want to be able to implement these solutions globally, not just in one location.”
By looking at what we have learned in all built environments—from retail to hospitality to healthcare—design tools and strategies can be applied to unrelated practice areas. The workplace looked to healthcare first for inspiration and guidance on cleaning and sanitation but were faced with challenges of their own. Without the proper cleaning systems already in place and appropriate workplace policies, offices found themselves with no solutions. For example, many organizations had policies that forbade cleaning staff from touching individuals’ personal items during cleaning. This type of regulation exists to ensure employees feel safe; however, it also limits the ability of staff to only clean about 50% of a desk and the communal areas. A simple solution became much more complex due to existing policies.
As people gradually return to the office, this type of regulation is shifting: placing the burden on employees to leave a clean desk at the end of the day, thereby permitting a deeper clean. Many organizations are taking this a step further and removing individually assigned space altogether and transitioning to a hoteling scenario, allowing each desk or office to be deep cleaned following use.
As offices continue to be redesigned, there are opportunities to borrow more from health sciences. For example, designers are looking to material selections: materials that are easily wipeable, bleach cleanable, and sometimes antimicrobial. Additional consideration goes into picking surface materials resulting in a shift away from more porous surfaces, such as natural wood, in high-touch areas. Installation methods can also be borrowed from health sciences, particularly regarding detailing and specifications for joints and seaming.