Workplace Reloaded

A smarter approach to the coronavirus: the future belongs to intelligent, eco-friendly buildings

- STEPHAN DEGENHART

The Covid-19 shutdown changed the office environment overnight, resulting in an unprecedented field study of the workplace. Those who could swapped the office for their own four walls at home. This triggered a debate about whether office space still has a future, and it isn’t the number of square meters, but the quality of the space that determines its future viability.

As businesses return to the office and (re)start their operations, questions around the future of the office and the management of workspaces arise: ‘Is my building equipped for the new normal and will it be pandemic-proof in the future?’, ‘Do we still need all our office space and what should it look like to meet users’ needs?’, ‘How can we ensure we maintain a safe and hygienic environment for our employees?’.

With so many having experienced remote working outside of the traditional office environment, expectations of office buildings as we knew them are changing, and the way we plan, manage and operate them needs to be adapted in a post-Covid era. The office of the future must offer everything that remote working from home cannot (always) provide, and still have pulling power by providing space employees want to come to - a workplace that’s safe, collaborative, flexible and sustainable.

If you managed an office with room for 500 desks pre-Covid, that number would likely need to be revised in line with social distancing rules and hygiene regulations that apply to desksharing arrangements, whilst meeting rooms may need to be redesigned to incorporate new audio-visual equipment to support the now universal need for video conferencing. Covid-19 has also put a new spotlight on cleaning, health and hygiene protocols and building management needs to be adapted to meet a new set of requirements.