10 California Buildings News • Q2 2021
OPENING UP! Post-Pandemic Workplace Designs and Strategies
Above: The JLL Orange County office in Irvine, California, was designed by H. Hendy Associates with the aim of promoting cross-collaboration. Photo courtesy of H. Hendy Associates.
How many of us will return to our workplaces? If so, how do we get there? How many days a week are necessary? Will others there make us sick by not wearing masks? Must we be vaccinated? How long will we have to wait in line to use an elevator in a skyscraper...to go to lunch...to go home? How productive and happy have we been working from home? Do we need to mix with people to do a better job and advance in the office politics game? And, what will our workplaces look like when we get there? Will our workplaces be better? A lot of questions...and a lot of answers. Many California building managers say most tenants are not investing in wholesale changes in the design of their workplaces, preferring a wait-and-see posture to see exactly how workplaces will be used in the new hybrid use world. Some forward thinkers are imagining what that will be. Meantime, many manufacturers are creating products designed to make workplaces safer by improving air quality, elevator operation, sensoring for space use. According to a study sponsored by the Building Owners and Managers Association, “61% of all respondents report they will reassess their space needs with 43% seeking to reduce the size of their office square footage, 24% maintaining their current footprint, 9% increasing their size and the remainder being unsure.” Henry H. Chamberlain, BOMA’s president, said, “While study results indicate high probabilities around changes in size, use and design of office space going forward, we have also seen a significant rebound in the utility of physical work environments since the onset of the pandemic, with 74% of all study respondents affirming that in-person offices are operationally vital to their businesses, long-term growth and future success.”
