FUTURE WORK PLACES How could the spaces we work in be shaped by the Coronavirus pandemic? WEEK 6 OF LOCKDOWN
THE END.
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STAY AT HOME. STAY AWAY FROM OTHERS. STAY SAFE.
Never before in our lifetime have we been told so explicitly what to do. The Covid-19 pandemic has forcibly changed the way we live and work, perhaps forever. There were those who doubted whether we could work efficiently from home. But remote desktops, VPNs, video conferencing and online chat have helped the workforce to be productive and carry on. Business as usual (almost). Whether the general population returns to ‘work’ in weeks, months or even years, it’s probably that it will happen and certain that it won’t be as it was before. But what might the workplace of the future look like?
FRAZER HAVIZ
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FIRST THINGS FIRST.
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FUTURE WORK SPACES
FLEXIBLE WORKING WILL BECOME THE NEW NORMAL. Following the spread of the internet in the 90s, many theorists surmised that [work]space would become irrelevant. 30 years on and, let’s be honest, things aren’t that much different. We willingly go to work each day and it’s taken a global pandemic to really shake things up. Now that we’ve gotten used to ‘telecommuting’ we’re finding we actually quite like the absence of sweaty commutes, freedom to wear pyjamas (on our bottom halves, at least) and perhaps even the lack of distraction. Dan Pink’s first Motivation comes to mind: we have been given a level of autonomy that is, for the most part, completely new. Employees have been trusted to start and finish work on time and output efficiently, outwith the watchful gaze of their employers. We’ve tasted the forbidden fruit, and it’s good. So, in the words of Carlo Ratti and Matthew Claudel, ‘why go to work when the work can come to you?’
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IT’S NOT A SUBSTITUTE.
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FUTURE WORK SPACES
THE NOVELTY OF WORKING FROM HOME, AND ONLY FROM HOME WILL WEAR OFF.
We’ve seen people’s kids whispering in their ears during a conference call. It’s cute and offers a novel insight into colleagues’ home lives, but it’s not the ideal working situation. And not everyone has a study or spare room to get lock themselves away and enter their flow state. Not everyone has a printer. We need to get out! It can be more efficient to do certain tasks in person. The reality is that the majority will go back to a workspace so long as it’s fun, safe and suited to the ‘new normal’ (whatever that is). Yes, businesses need the fun factor. It’s important for attracting talented staff and promoting well-being amongst other things. The case is the same regardless of Coronavirus. Perceived safety is going to be key, post-Corona. Oh, and by the way, fun doesn’t necessarily mean picket fences and running tracks on the carpet.
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GETTING THERE.
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FUTURE WORK SPACES
NOBODY LOVES COMMUTING. Now more than ever the idea of squeezing onto the 35 bus, or cramming onto the tube at rush hour makes us feel anxious. Perhaps this will see a rise of flexitime working where core hours fall outside the rush. Hopefully, optimistically even, this will promote a shift towards more walking, running and cycling to get around our cities. If so, keep your fingers crossed that means improved green infrastructure. Workplaces are going to need to adapt to cater for more self-propelled commuter. More bike stores, more showers (and not ones like phoneboxes) and proper drying rooms, please.
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LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION.
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THIS IS GOING TO MAKE PLACE MATTER EVEN MORE.
There is chatter about the resurgence of the business park. It’s definitely true that this could help with social distancing: more space equals less density It might be that a business park’s manicured landscape could simulate some kind of urban garden, but where would all the cars go? Or else, how do we get there? The best location for a successful workspace is somewhere built on the back of other things: complex streetscapes holding the diverse activities that make up human lives: culture, community, education, experience. Sub-urbanisation - no. Hopefully we’re past single buildings, single uses, single owners and short-term business models. Integration - symbiosis - of the workplace with its locality is more important than ever.
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ON ARRIVAL.
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT.
Does the arrival sequence need to be rethought? It’s nice to ‘shake hands’ with a building when you arrive, but is it worth the risk now - or do we have a contactless entry system and automatic doors instead? Temperature scanning might need to be incorporated too. 20 seconds minimum to wash your hands at a sanitising point - a must. And we need to remind people about social distancing etiquette - safe distance signs, barriers. Do we need permanently manned receptions? How do we maintain staff welfare whilst making our guests feel welcome? Are we going to see de-densified waiting areas? If we’re talking at a distance, would that spell then end for echoey stone-clad interiors, in favour of anti-microbial, soundabsorbant surfaces? Thinking about how people interact with a building, cleanliness and proximity between people are going to become very important.
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THE LAVATORY.
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FUTURE WORK SPACES
41%
OF WORKERS AVOID USING THE OFFICE LOOS IF POSSIBLE DUE TO HYGIENE CONCERNS.
It’s going to be more important than ever that these spaces are pleasant and above all, safe. Improved hygiene measures will need to be implemented, meaning touchless flushing, handwashing and drying. Perhaps we need to accommodate greater cleaning provision, often overlooked in fitouts. Superloo toilets will replace cubicles. Materiality will also be a key factor. Hygiene walling isn’t going to make the cut for most central offices, so what will?
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THE WORKSPACE.
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ARGUMENTS FOR WHY WE STILL GO TO THE OFFICE ARE COPIOUS. THE CRUX OF IT IS IT’S A PLACE FOR INTERACTION, EXPERIENCE AND COLLABORATION.
If the setting of the working week is re-imagined, the office will need to correspond. It will become a place to meet, socialise, learn and test. It’s a place for team-work. De-densifying the office is going to be absolutely necessary in future workplaces. Perhaps the simplest answer is to divide the workplace in half, and half the office can come in on Monday and Wednesday, half of the office can come in on Tuesday and Thursday. We could look at hours of work with the aim of reducing peak travel, too. Either way, collaborative workspace will be essential (and long overdue) in this third industrial revolution.
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CONFERENCE.
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One thing that seems clear is that we can be much more time efficient with our travel. Setting aside the angst invoked by public transport, one outcome of the lockdown is the normalisation of video conferencing which has allowed us to telecommute to each other without leaving the comfort of our own home. We’ve become used to checking out our colleagues’ and clients’ home décor. Offices are going to need to cater for more headset calls with professional backdrops. Private call booths may become the norm, whilst meeting rooms could become bigger to preserve the 2m rule. These will all need to be kitted out with superfast internet, VR, proper AV, thoughtful lighting and intelligibility measures such as acoustic panelling.
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WELLNESS.
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WE’RE IN A PERIOD OF GREAT REFLECTION.
The lockdown has seen huge drops in air pollution and has made us realise the importance of things so basic as the air we breathe. Air-cleaning and cleansing systems will doubtless become essential, to protect collaborative environments. We want what we can’t have. And for the first time in most of our lives, we haven’t been allowed outdoors on our own terms. The availability of external amenity space and greenery has suddenly become a must-have. Whilst already captured in planning policy, the quality of these spaces will become ever more important. Enabling people to re-connect with themselves as well as nature will also become key. Will we need to think about provision of yoga studios, exercise classes and mindfulness booths in the future workplace ? Workspace wellbeing is big on the new agenda.
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THE BEGINNING.
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FUTURE WORK SPACES
‘IN ORDER TO CHANGE AN EXISTING PARADIGM YOU DO NOT STRUGGLE TO TRY AND CHANGE THE PROBLEMATIC MODEL. YOU CREATE A NEW MODEL AND MAKE THE OLD ONE OBSOLETE.’ Buckminster Fuller
At week 6 of the lockdown, it’s becoming clear this virus isn’t going away any time soon and it’s having a profound effect on our way of life. Businesses and individuals have adapted well, but we’re still in the coping stage. Whilst we’re locked away, designers are beginning to contemplate the long term social, cultural and economic impacts Coronavirus will bring. Hopefully this critical thought will be pandisciplinary given the new interconnectedness. The rest of us are thinking critically, too, about the way we operate and what we want in the future. Whilst we don’t know what lies ahead, we do know that we need a big re-think. How can we - or how do we want to - live, work, travel and play when we wake from this hibernation? We must have a new paradigm, suited to this unfamiliar world: the new normal.
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FUTURE WORK PLACES How could the spaces we work in be shaped by the Coronavirus pandemic? WEEK 6 OF LOCKDOWN