Designing for Tomorrow: Adapting Office Building Design to COVID

Given the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, buildings must adapt to provide safe and healthy spaces for workers. Adapting to COVID: Design, held on 11/10, was the final installment of a three-part virtual speaker series hosted by the Cross-Learning Alliance—a partnership between Urban Green, ASHRAE and AIA. Melissa Marsh, Principal and Founder of Plastarc, moderated the event and was joined by architects and designers to discuss the new safety features design teams are using and how they envision the building industry changing in the future. "Now the home is a mixed-use building," Dennis Weddlick (BarlisWedlick Architects LLC) stated, emphasizing the necessity to adapt our buildings to new needs and anticipate future change.

Flexibility is Key

Well-designed healthy buildings will need to be flexible. “As there’s greater acceptance of people working from home, we imagine that people will really be coming to [the office] for meeting, collaborating and interacting,” said Nathan McRae (Snøhetta), noting that offices that are more conducive to convening will be valuable. McRae also proposed that remaining individual workspaces may pivot to a “hotel model,” with fewer desks and more shared spaces. Offices must also adapt to frequently changing health guidelines. For example, Andre Soluri (Soluri Architecture) and his team are working on moveable workstations that can give employees six feet of distance when needed.

In addition, flexibility is necessary in the design of building systems to not only maximize energy efficiency but prioritize health and wellness. McRae discussed ventilation systems equipped with pandemic-grade filtration but are able to switch to more energy efficient filters during normal conditions. Katie Cappola (JLL) pointed to flexibility in ventilation rates “depending on capacity of the space, number of people there, as well as if we’re actually in the office or not.”

Multi-Layered Solutions

Beyond flexibility, research has shown that a multi-layered approach is far more effective than any single silver bullet solution. Behavioral and operational solutions (distancing, masks and frequent cleaning) are the simplest to implement, especially if they are considered during design. For example, McRae described how using more durable materials in high-touch surface areas is a worthwhile investment, since items disintegrate if they are being cleaned constantly.

Cappola discussed instances where solutions span disciplines. Her team installed air monitors (an infrastructural change) which notified occupants when outside air was optimal so they could open windows, increasing ventilation (a behavioral strategy). These strategies are most effective when deployed together, demonstrating the importance of layered solutions.

Takeaways: Future Design

The event culminated with panelists sharing predictions for the future of design. McRae hoped that we won’t see “Covid-era buildings,” or buildings clearly designed for the pandemic (such as separate in/out doors, wide-open corridors). Soluri and Cappola discussed the importance of regaining public trust in buildings after a time when shared indoor spaces are perceived as dangerous. Communication with occupants is crucial. Owners should not pretend to have all the answers, but instead be transparent with their protocols and building information--such as increased air monitoring--that will give occupants confidence through hard data.

Covid-19 clearly has changed the way the world operates, and building design is no exception.

To learn more about the Cross-Learning Alliance, please visit our website for more information about the partnership as well as upcoming events.