FOCUS ON – CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING
THIS "OFFICE OF THE FUTURE" IS EQUIPPED TO OPERATE DURING A PANDEMIC The onset of the coronavirus pandemic in late 2019 heralded a standstill for much of the corporate world, with office hours either eliminated or reduced significantly to allow workers to socially distance themselves to limit the spread of the virus.
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uring the height of the pandemic, the Brussels-based Healthy by Design Building Institute (HdBI) designed an evidence-based third-party certification the "IMMUNE Building Standard" (IBD) - a ratings-based system, which has recently awarded its maximum 5-star rating to an "office of the future" equipped to deal with health crises in Bucharest, Romania. The building, operated by Swedish telecoms provider Ericsson, is designed to monitor potential health threats and has been specially designed to minimise viral spread, was the brainchild of Genesis Property founder and President of the European Property Federation, Liviu Tudor. The systems in place can use a series of specialised sensors that measure the indoor environment parameters such as air, humidity, temperature or CO2 levels. Data on the building's performance is collected in real-time 16 Industry Europe
offering simple yet effective solutions and allowing operators to adjust the conditions of the building to a healthy performance level. "Every building should be equipped to deal with a pandemic or health crisis in the same way it should be prepared to deal with a fire hazard," Liviu Tudor revealed in an interview with Industry Europe. "It is essential for workers and businesses to not have operations reduced to a standstill like those we faced in early 2020 following the first string of lockdowns." The "Resilient" certification follows a ninemonth implementation period initiated by Liviu's company Genesis Property. 119 of the 135 "measures," as he calls them - criteria laid out in the "IMMUNE Assessment Scoring Index" - were successfully implemented into the building at a total cost of around €375,000. The scoring system for the certification is based on a voluntary submission
Liviu Tudor, the founder of Genesis Property and President of the European Property Federation.
for either a three, four, or five-star rating. The Bucharest space is the fourth project certified "Immune" since Liviu developed the rating, following on from two office spaces in the UK, one of which is operated by Buckinghamshire-based lighting control systems manufacturer Prolojik as well as the Maze building in the City of London. "We have to ensure office spaces have the right environment for safety and trust to encourage people to come back and work," Tudor said, adding that the IMMUNE rating was created to create a safe space for workers who may otherwise work from home, citing issues with proper teamwork, creativity and forming bonds with everyone isolated. He added: "Current technology does not permit proper teamwork from remote working and there is more to teamwork than communication. We must encourage employees to work together to maximise
