Expert Shares Design Of Post-Pandemic Office Space
SINGAPORE – While the COVID-19 outbreak has forced many people to work from home, design consultancy Geyer’s Global Design Director, Adam Mundy, thinks that offices and co-working spaces will remain necessary, but there are likely to be some changes, reported Lifestyle Asia Singapore on Monday (5 October).
“The rapid increase (of) unemployment globally could lead to a rise in entrepreneurialism and even more start-ups. We believe the demand for these spaces will increase as stay-at-home restrictions ease,” he opined, adding that co-working spaces could expand outside of central business districts (CBD) to meet the demand for the growing entrepreneurial community.
Mundy has an impressive background. He led high-profile design projects like the WPP office in Hong Kong, as well as the workplaces of BNP Paribas and LinkedIn in New York. Geyer’s portfolio is illustrious as well. The company was responsible for the Qantas Lounge in Brisbane, Cathay Pacific’s first business class lounge, and Citibank’s Asia Square office in Singapore.
The Sydney-based designer believes that a workplace filled with many desks will become less appealing to office tenants after the pandemic has been surmounted. However, he admits that it’s too soon to determine which office design changes will be short-term and which will become prevalent.
“The open office as we know it will no longer be needed. Instead, a ‘dynamic destination’ that enables socially-distanced collaboration and socialization with colleagues will become paramount to new workplaces.”
Aside from that, he thinks that the office space of the future will come with touch-free technologies in strategic locations like doorways and lockers. Occupants may also leverage on smartphone apps to use printers, coffee machines, and other office equipment. Biometric fingerprint systems could also be phased out in favour of QR codes or facial recognition.
“If anything, the pandemic has raised our client’s awareness of anti-microbial materials,” noted Mundy.
Geyer is already extensively utilizing such materials, he revealed, adding that there’s growing demand for surfaces and fabrics that can be easily washed and maintained, in addition to being resistant to caustic disinfectants.
Among materials that are seeing growing demand, are those that imitate the properties of sharkskin which stops microbes and viruses from clinging to its surface. Even metals that have been traditionally used like bronze, copper, and brass, could see a revival in usage due to their self-sanitizing property, Mundy added.
