Environment
The way we experience our working environments has changed as a result of the pandemic. Entrances are flanked with sanitisers, masks are required indoors or while working in close contact with others and our desks and shared spaces are cleaned to a higher frequency to reduce the possibility of infection.
These changes have begun to spark discussions about what is in our working spaces and what they are made of, which materials are easy to clean and reduce contamination, what types of technologies and systems allow us to use our offices contactless and at safe distances from co-workers. The way we use and experience the office space and its items within is altering.
However this argument extends further and beyond pandemic mitigation. With some arguing in light of the climate emergency these events will reappear and become more frequent. Raising questions about what our offices can do to be less impactful on the environment as a whole. Such as new carbon neutral building materials and design tactics like retrofitting, natural ventilation and green energy sources to power our needs.
The discussion seeks to understand how the pandemic can become a catalyst for even greater change for our office environment beyond reaction and mitigation.
ARTICLES
DE VORM INTRODUCES SOFT DISTANCING FOR ADDED SAFETY AND FLEXIBILITY IN OFFICES
Article by Olesia Drach, Marketing & Communications at DeVorm
OFFICE WORKPLACES FUTURES
Derek Clements-Croome, Emeritus Professor Reading University - www.derekcroome.com
DESIGNING BUILDINGS THAT CARE
Article by Aparna Anirudhan, Architect and head of Research at Zyeta