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Resimercial Trending as Workplace Design
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“For the commercial office market, the Dot Com generation of the last several years saw a shift away from closed offices to more of an open and social environment.”
With all the social and economical changes happening over the last year on a local and global scale, most industries are in a state of disruption, and commercial real estate is no exception. And while many of the trends we are anticipating for the next several years are not entirely new concepts, the new trend is the need in which companies should evolve to stay relevant.
For the commercial office market, the Dot Com generation of the last several years saw a shift away from closed offices to more of an open and social environment. The current evolution of that has birthed the concept of the Anti-Office that is partially non-pandemic driven but heightened by the need to help people feel comfortable and safe in an environment that they cannot control, like they would at their own home.
“Over the last year, many companies have shifted to virtual offices, and have modified their infrastructure to continue to function as normal as possible while their employees work primarily from home
A buzz word that started circulating back in 2018, “resimercial,” has emerged with a vengeance. Over the last year, many companies have shifted to virtual offices, and have modified their infrastructure to continue to function as normal as possible while their employees work primarily from home. Some companies pre-pandemic already saw the benefits of full time or part time tele-commuting, while many more have seen the benefits of being able to blur the lines between home and work over the last year. As companies make the decision to return to the office, they will need to find ways to introduce the feeling of home into the commercial office space.
This will be driven in part by comfort and familiarity, and also to give them further incentive to want to be in an office with the added amenities that they have become used to while working from home. Resimercial means just that, incorporating a home-like atmosphere into the work environment.
The main change we see is being able to address these spaces health related updates such as washable surfaces, open air, fitness components, and modified food offerings to be mindful of pandemic concerns. We all will be coming out of this, hopefully more cautious of
transmitting germs and being mindful of others, and companies should err on the side of caution, even in a completely postpandemic world.
At the root of it, is a concept of empathic design; a design philosophy that focuses on the end user in a deeper way by trying to anticipate wants and needs. This is in no way a new concept, but like many things we address in this article, the importance of it is becoming more widespread. Employers being more in tune with the specifics needs of their employees is paramount. One main thing that empathic design has taught us more recently is that we cannot design only for the energetic extroverts as we have in the past. Creating spaces that accommodate multiple personality types adds depth to a property’s amenities and allows for inclusion and connection. Incorporating fitness spaces, meditation spaces, Virtual and Augmented Reality, art studios and other amenities that foster creativity for multiple personality types will be on the radar. Working from home brings convenience when it comes to child care, food preparation, dry cleaning, laundry, etc, and those offerings should also be considered as something we will see more and more of in the office environment.
“Creating spaces that accommodate multiple personality types adds depth to a property’s amenities and allows for inclusion and connection.”Photo Info: Skyline Falls Church, VA
