There are numerous challenges after the pandemic, but the main task interior designers are faced with is to maintain the functionality of offices, while conforming to strict safety requirements. Our guests in the next episode of Make Your Space Again will tell you more about how to do it. Enjoy!
One thing is for sure: the pandemic has triggered a necessary change in the attitude to office space design. Safety, alongside functionality, is the priority. As a result, architects have to respond to previously unknown challenges. They are related not only to new offices, but also existing ones, which have to be adjusted to new conditions and requirements.
In an interview conducted by Olimpia Ajakaiye, an interior designer from Nowy Styl, Agnieszka Niedzielska, points to two distinct approaches:
- The first one involves excluding some workstations and portions of shared space. This solution does not require a change in the office layout, but it entails a reduction in the number of employees who can stay in the office at a time. The other option is to rearrange the office space, so as to create as many workstations as possible, while maintaining safe distance between them - says Agnieszka Niedzielska.
On the other hand, Anna Topolska, an architect from the Zona studio in Poznań, notes that one of the basic things in interior design in the new reality is using different materials than before – instead of soft upholstery we have hard surfaces, which are easier to clean, but they change the acoustic parameters of the office. – Our responsibility is to find a golden mean between proper hygiene level and comfort – says Anna.
What else do interior designers have to cope with nowadays? Why shouldn’t we say good bye to pastel colours and replace them with shades usually associated with sterile, aseptic interiors? And did we remember how important ergonomics is also in times of the pandemic, while working from home? Enjoy!
The report “Welcome back… to the office” can be downloaded for free.
Raport:
"Welcome back... to the office!”