Designing for Resilience Adapting Facilities for the COVID Era
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s our businesses and public spaces begin to reopen across the country, few places will function exactly the way they did before “COVID-19” and “social distancing” were part of the common lexicon. We have experienced rapid global change at a scale few could have imagined just months ago. Our knowledge continues to grow; we are finding some systems to be broken and others to be resilient. “Flattening the curve” has no doubt saved countless lives, even as massive economic shutdowns created substantial challenges. There is still much we don’t know about the virus, its transmission, and the realistic timeline for living alongside it. In planning for a future that supports health, wellness, productivity, and economic activity, how do we design for flexibility to accommodate a variety of possibilities? How do we balance the needs of our current public health reality with the long-term requirements of the spaces we design? We must start with the best advice available from public health experts and be alert to evolving information. We will need to continuously adjust our design strategies to create the safest spaces possible.
Our design thinking is informed by our most up-todate assumptions of the COVID-19 threat based on evolving knowledge. Our current assumptions include the following: • The virus causing COVID-19 is very contagious and is spread primarily through respiratory droplets expelled through talking, breathing, sneezing, or coughing. • The virus can spread quickly through groups of people in enclosed spaces, and can live on hard surfaces in ideal conditions for up to 72 hours. • Social distancing and face coverings can significantly reduce transmission opportunities. • Because many carriers of the virus are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, it is safest to behave as though anyone could be a carrier and maintain strict public health protocols at all times. • The virus is easily destroyed by proper handwashing and common cleaning products.
DESIGNING FOR RESILIENCE // 5
Cultural Paradigm Shifts As long as COVID-19 remains a public health threat, we will continue to experience disruptions to our pre-COVID lifestyles. Activities and habits we once took for granted will look very different, from air travel to grocery shopping to being in the workplace.
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY COOPER LIBRARY | CLEMSON, SC
Creating Space in the Public Realm Social distancing will be the norm for the foreseeable future, even as state and local governments begin to ease restrictions and businesses begin a gradual reopening. A safer return to shared spaces will require coordination from the top-down and from the bottom up. Municipal governments will need to create and communicate clear guidelines for behavior in civic spaces. Business owners will need to develop strategies to reduce exposure risks. The public will need to self-regulate by following protocols in service to the greater good. CULTURAL PARADIGM SHIFTS // 7
Economic Impacts The economic shock that accompanied the rapid onset of the COVID-19 crisis has been felt in nearly every industry, and uncertain conditions will likely persist for the foreseeable future. Most events (conferences, concerts, sports, and large celebrations) have been cancelled for the 2020 calendar year. Airline travel has approached record lows, and amusement parks and vacation destinations are closed or are operating at very limited capacity. People may long for a return to normalcy, but until a vaccine is widely available, most will remain cautious about spending time in enclosed spaces such as restaurant dining rooms, theaters, stores, and offices. Behavior may shift in response to perceived risk as hotspots emerge and subside. Reduced occupancy of commercial spaces will impact profit margins; declining sales, coupled with record unemployment numbers as many sectors of the economy abruptly shut down in March, are creating huge shifts in consumer spending and tax revenues that will lead to ripple effects across the public and private sectors for years to come. 8 // CULTURAL PARADIGM SHIFTS
Respiratory Etiquette Managing COVID-19 exposure risks in public places will require a paradigm shift towards wearing face coverings as a courtesy to others. Face coverings can deter transmission by limiting the spread of virus particles emitted by the mask wearer, especially important given the high rate of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic transmission. Face coverings can also help to create a public realm in which everyone feels safer and more comfortable conducting their daily business. Governments, institutions, and businesses will need to develop protocols for face coverings and other personal protective equipment (PPE) within the spaces they control.
CULTURAL PARADIGM SHIFTS // 9
Sea Changes in the Workplace Many companies made rapid shifts to remote work in the wake of safer-at-home mandates. As businesses navigated this challenge, many realized that working from home creates substantial benefits in terms of flexibility, productivity, time savings, and cost savings. Eliminating commute times, reducing unnecessary business travel, and streamlining expensive physical office spaces could change the way we think about the workplace in the future. While offices may continue to function as a hub for meetings and physical resources, some companies may choose to reduce their footprints and facilities costs (as well as their environmental impacts) in favor of greater investments in virtual collaboration and connectivity.
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Every Project is a Healthcare Project
HEALTHPARK AT KILDAIRE | CARY, NC
The repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis and its rapid and devastating onset will persist in the way people interact with the built environment. The unthinkable events of the 9|11 terrorist attacks still influence the way we travel nearly 20 years later; so, too, will the pandemic guide designs for user preferences such as reduced touchpoints and greater personal space in public settings. Infection control protocols will no longer be limited to hospitals and other clinical settings, but will also inform the design of schools, offices, restaurants, stores, and every other type of facility. CULTURAL PARADIGM SHIFTS // 11
Processes and Protocols In the early phases of reopening offices, restaurants, civic buildings, and other facilities, establishing new protocols for cleaning, hygiene, social distancing, and other behavior will be vital.
Cleaning Protocols Building owners should implement a cleaning schedule with frequent sanitizing of shared and high-traffic areas. Products should be approved for use against virus particles using guidelines such as those issued by the CDC or WHO. High-touch surfaces such as doorknobs and elevator buttons should be sanitized frequently, and after highvolume travel times through the building.
Hygiene Protocols Owners should provide access to sinks, soap, and paper towels for employees and guests to encourage frequent handwashing. Touchless hand sanitizers stations should be located in common areas for convenience.
processes and protocols // 13
Social Distancing Protocols Building and business owners must develop social distancing strategies for every task for both employees and the general public. Vigilance in enforcing these guidelines will be critical for limiting opportunities for transmission.
PPE Protocols Face coverings have been shown to reduce the rate of virus transmission. Municipalities are increasingly mandating face coverings in most public places; owners may choose to require face coverings in some or all building spaces as well. Owners should discuss whether face coverings or other PPE will be provided, how these items will be procured and distributed, and how expectations will be communicated and enforced. 14 // PROCESSES AND PROTOCOLS
BOOMTOWN | CHARLESTON, SC
Workplace Culture Requiring sick employees to stay home is critical for public health, but could require a shift in workplace culture. Encouraging compliance may require examination of paid sick leave policies to enable every employee who needs to stay home to do so without financial repercussions. processes and protocols // 15
Planning for Safer Movement In every building type, and in both existing and new projects, owners and architects will need to design safer circulation routes through every space from arrival onsite to the final destination.
Entry Points Employees and visitors will need to navigate from their arrival point through the building entry with minimal pinch points funneling too many users through narrow spaces at once. One-way site circulation should be marked where necessary to maintain appropriate social distancing. Automatic doors, such as those which are waveactivated during business hours and card-activated after hours, will reduce touch; once inside, tools such as experiential graphics or high-impact floor or wall patterns could guide people more safely through predetermined traffic patterns with appropriate physical distancing. Automated technologies from parking controls to recognition access for tenants will reduce touchpoints. Where infrared fever screening systems are in use, entry vestibules may require access to an adjacent health room.
COMPUCOM HQ | INDIAN LAND, SC
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Vertical Circulation Vertical circulation, whether elevators or stairs or escalators, requires careful planning. These high-traffic areas will require frequent cleaning; where possible, technology such as pre-programmed, voice-controlled, or touchless elevators will reduce contact. Owners will need to create and enforce behavioral protocols for limiting passengers in the elevator and maintaining social distancing at peak usage times. Additional staff, technology, or graphics may be required to manage flow and limit passenger numbers. For new buildings, adding elevators above code requirements where feasible may reduce wait times. Hard, nonporous finishes will also be durable and easier to clean. Escalators may rise in popularity in new construction due to the perception of greater personal space and may be feasible in up to six-story buildings. However, escalators add significant cost over elevators due to the square footage required, and also require behavioral and cleaning protocols to reduce risk. Open, well-lit stairs with attractive finishes may encourage building users to reduce elevator or escalator use. For enclosed rated stairs, recirculating air fans with HEPA filters can assist with ventilation. 18 // PLANNING FOR SAFER MOVEMENT
Circulation Within a Space Detailed plans for safer movement through each area, from lobby spaces to restrooms to security desks to restaurant kitchens to classrooms, will support both efficient function and social distancing. Safer circulation may require new traffic flows such as one-way travel and separate entry/exit pathways.
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Configuring for Social Distancing Strategies for social distancing will vary by building type and function, and should be tailored to each space. Strategies will likely need to blend operational changes such as staggered schedules and work from home technology as well as structural changes to accommodate more space per building user. As a beginning point, building owners will need to consider best practices for implementing current public health recommendations for a variety of spaces such as:
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Classrooms and Training Spaces Educational settings from K-12 schools to higher education campuses will need to re-think systems and spaces. Staggered schedules and smaller class sizes will reduce the number of students sharing a classroom, and administrators may need to repurpose program areas such as cafeterias or gymnasiums to accommodate greater space requirements. Strategies to limit movement and reduce contact between groups of students, such as a single cohort of students occupying the same room for the entire school
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day, may reduce opportunities for transmission between classes. Students will likely eat lunch in the classroom and keep desks 6’ apart, and any social distancing plans need to include circulation and transportation. Space planning studies can help educators determine the appropriate capacity for various room sizes and configurations; for example, a college lecture hall with 500 fixed seats may need to operate at 20% capacity to accommodate 100 students. Classrooms should be sanitized between classes, which could result in additional down time of instructional spaces.
Clinical Spaces Healthcare providers will need to create separate streams for nonCOVID patients and COVID patients seeking testing or treatment. Providers may reconfigure their sites to accommodate drive-up testing or prescreening and vehicle waiting areas to limit the number of visitors within the facility. Carefully considered circulation through the facility, including one-way flow where necessary, will help patents and providers navigate the facility more safely. Increased use of telemedicine can further reduce the number of patients within the space, and additional infrastructure for technology and videoconferencing may be required.
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Conference Rooms When face to face meetings are unavoidable, meeting rooms should be reconfigured to limit occupancy and accommodate public health guidelines for social distancing. Removing chairs to control the number of people, stocking conference rooms with disinfectant wipes for any shared technology, and taking advantage of video conferencing technology to minimize in-person attendance will be key strategies. Screens should be 62� or greater for easy viewing from a distance.
MOVEMENT MORTGAGE | INDIAN LAND, SC
Food Service/Break Room Areas Spaces where food is prepared and served may require operational and physical strategies including reconfiguration of kitchen workstations for social distancing and PPE protocols in all food preparation tasks. All buffets and self-service options requiring shared utensils should be eliminated. Plexiglass screens may be installed in food service areas; service could shift to pick up and delivery only to minimize contact and queuing. Where payment is required, systems should be touchless. In office settings, employers may choose to close breakrooms as needed, eliminating high-contact and high traffic areas such as the coffee machine, microwave, and refrigerator. CONFIGURING FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING // 25
Lobbies/Waiting Areas Lobbies and waiting areas should have clearly marked circulation with primarily individual seating and all furnishings configured to meet current public health guidelines. Lobbies should be sized to accommodate reception desks. Touchless doors and check-in systems are ideal. Plexiglass shields may be installed at security desks or reception areas for additional protection, and all finishes should be non-porous and easily cleanable. Touchless hand sanitizer stations should be accessible and continuously stocked. Owners should remove any shared material such as magazines. If PPE or facial coverings are required in shared spaces, building owners may consider providing these items either at the registration desk or through vending machines designed for this purpose.
UNC CHILDREN’S | RALEIGH, NC
Office and Administrative Spaces
SAFER CIRCULATION
Shared desks and other shared equipment should be avoided, and seating should be assigned. Individual workstations should be configured with 7’-6” spacing to allow for body width. Plexiglass screens, carrels, or higher cubicle walls may all provide additional barriers; many screen panels move with sit/stand workstations for convenience. Employees may need to clear their desks each evening to accommodate deep cleaning after hours. In stressful situations, biophilic design, access to views and natural light, and soothing color palettes will create a more welcoming environment and support wellness in the workplace.
SAFER CIRCULATION
SAFER CIRCULATION
In office areas, remote work and staggered schedules will continue to reduce occupancy. Dividing large office areas into “neighborhoods” of 30 to 40 people creates manageable group sizes. Hydration, sanitation, and break areas should be provided for each neighborhood, and full-height partitions should separate neighborhoods from main circulation corridors.
SAFER CIRCULATION
6' x 8' WORKSTATION ANY HEIGHT PANELS
SAFER CIRCULATION
Maintaining 6’ Distancing
SAFER CIRCULATION
SAFER CIRCULATION
Post-COVID Planning CONFIGURING FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING // 27
MOVEMENT MORTGAGE HQ | INDIAN LAND, SC
Outdoor areas Outdoor amenities may include jogging/walking/biking trails and outdoor gathering spaces with distanced seating to increase employee access to fresh air and wellness activities. Small picnic areas with seating for two to four employees may be desirable if 6’ spacing between users can be provided. 28 // CONFIGURING FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING
Restrooms Safer design of shared restroom facilities will require careful attention. For egress/ ingress, doors should have a touchless automatic door opener such as waveactivated ingress and motion-activated egress. Where rated walls are not required, “S� shaped restrooms can eliminate entry doors while maintaining a controlled line of sight. Specifying smooth, non-porous, and antimicrobial surfaces will assist with cleaning and maintenance; other strategies include self-cleaning toilets and urinals, automated disinfectant sprays, and light disinfection technology.
WENDELL FALLS | WILMINGTON, NC
Floor-to-ceiling, fully enclosed stalls can provide additional protection through touchless flush fixtures and accessories, HVAC exhaust and controlled fresh air input for each stall, increased stall width to 4’-0” to allow for easier cleaning, elimination of high-pressure flush valves, and occupancy slide-type latches with extended post for easy operation. Safer urinal design includes floor-to-ceiling partitions with 3’ depth and touchless flush features. Vanities can be a pinch point and an area for congregating. Safer design strategies may include 6’ lavatory spacing, floorto-ceiling walls to separate each vanity, touchless faucets and accessories, and eliminating jet air-dry appliances which may spread contamination. 30 // CONFIGURING FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING
Building owners will need to manage the number of people occupying the restroom simultaneously through additional staff or technology. Social distancing guidelines should be encouraged with graphics; hourly deep cleaning programs and well-stocked supplies of soap and paper towels will likely be necessary. For new construction or extensive renovations, clusters of single-occupant toilet rooms could provide an alternative to gang restrooms. These rooms could include self-cleaning features such as automatic UV light or spray disinfection between uses; modular construction could potentially make these rooms more economical to install.
Re-thinking Infrastructure
BOOMTOWN | CHARLESTON, S C
Reducing Touch The desire for touchless fixtures and accessories started before the COVID-19 crisis and is likely to be a lasting trend. Touchless elements such as sinks, soap dispensers, toilets, garbage and recycling bins, and light fixtures help to reduce shared surfaces. Occupancy sensors reduce the need for manual light switches. re-thinking infrastructure // 33
HVAC New research continues to emerge about the spread of the virus in enclosed spaces and the role that air flow has played in previous instances of transmission, and best practices for HVAC design in a COVID-19 environment will almost certainly evolve over time. Increased outdoor air leads to better indoor environmental air, as does a range of 40-60% humidity which boosts occupant wellness. Fresh air should be introduced into the space at a rate of 35%, up to four air changes per hour. A higher level of filtration may be desirable for COVID-19 peak events but unnecessary for general long-term use; systems may be adapted for various sizes of filters which are interchangeable as needed. MERV 13 or 15 filters are acceptable for most existing system fans, though MERV 15 filters come with a significant cost impact. Technologies for air purification and sanitization systems, such as UV light filtration through duct work, may also prove useful in improving air quality and lowering transmission risks. The addition of a deionization system at the air handler shows promise and appears to kill a variety of pathogens. This system is easy, but expensive, to add after market. For sealed areas such as fire stairs, recirculating HEPA-filtered air fan boxes may be required. Further study and data analysis over time will be needed to identify and design for the safest possible air displacement and delivery methods in an enclosed space.
BOOMTOWN | CHARLESTON, SC
RE-THINKING INFRASTRUCTURE // 35
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Materials Selection Smooth, durable, easy-to-clean materials may reduce the spread of pathogens and will stand up to frequent sanitization. Antimicrobial coatings such as those with silver ion, copper or zinc have demonstrated effective antimicrobial properties as well and are particularly important for high touch points such as door hardware, light switches/switch plates, quartz countertops, paint, textiles/ upholstery, laminates, and ceramic tile. Many antimicrobial products are already in use for these elements for the healthcare and food service industries and are very easy to maintain.
HOLT BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION | GREENVILLE, SC
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Emerging Technologies State-of-the-art tools to combat environmental pathogens already exist; others will doubtless be developed and refined for use in a COVID-19 environment. Some LED light fixtures implement infection control technology, serving double-duty as both illumination and sanitization. Robotic vacuums are already common in residential applications, and they may find widespread use in commercial applications as they could potentially free maintenance staff to focus on sanitizing high-touch areas. UV light-emitting robots are also available for sanitizing surfaces. Infrared Fever Screening Systems (IFSS) are being used in many locations to monitor temperatures of people entering a space. Though IFSS come with privacy and effectiveness questions and won’t stop asymptomatic carriers from entering a space, they may increase the perception of safety for building users. PPE vending machines, complete with hand sanitizing stations and a place to discard used gloves and masks, may also become a common sight. Strategies for designing and operating buildings for safer occupancy during the COVID era will require both shortterm interventions and long-term design thinking. While scientific knowledge about the virus and its transmission will continue to evolve, these best practices will allow buildings to function as safely as possible as we manage ongoing public heath needs. MEGACORP | WILMINGTON, NC
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