The workplace reloaded post-COVID-19

Stephan Degenhart, associate partner at Drees & Sommer asks: How can we implement sustainability initiatives under these new circumstances?

- Stephan Degenhart

The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for several trends in the design and operation of commercial real estate, including digitisation and sustainability – issues that had to be addressed sooner or later.

Real estate needs to become more intelligent, eco-friendly and sustainable to meet the everchanging needs of users, especially as the future belongs to the ‘digital natives’, that climate-conscious generation that is now entering the workplace for the first time.

The benefit of the enforced parameter shift over the past few months is that the pandemic is urging us to assess new and ongoing real estate projects to ensure they still have the right value proposition. This is a good time to take stock and rethink decisions that were made pre-COVID-19 and re-evaluate projects to ensure they’re ready for the new normal and the future. Whilst it’s tempting to focus on new builds, existing projects should also be assessed to see if they can be digitalised and modernised and become more sustainable going forward.