You Asked Us: What if…all public buildings had to maintain social distancing for the next five years

Our expert panel:

Jarek Morawski, Executive Director – Strategy and Research Team, Grosvenor Europe

Jez Groom, Founder, CEO and Chief Choice Architect, Cowry Consulting

Tina Paillet, Chair, RICS Europe

Design interventions that COVID-proof office space will come at a cost. Is there a danger that unscrupulous landlords will give unscrupulous tenants the option to “pay less for less” in safety terms? And how can that behaviour be discouraged/disincentivised?

Jarek Morawski: This risk has always been there, and there are cheap, low-quality offices in every city. On the minimum level, safety of workers needs to be guaranteed by legal requirements. In the mainstream office markets, however, as companies are competing for talent, savings achieved through deterioration of safety standards are likely to be a self-defeating strategy.

Similar to sustainability, the health and wellbeing aspects of buildings are an increasingly important part of public corporate profiles and a factor attracting skilled staff. Therefore, barring isolated cases, this kind of behaviour is unlikely on a larger scale in the long-term.

Tina Paillet: I am not particularly worried by a race to the bottom. I think that the COVID-19 crisis has – on the contrary – raised the bar. Offices that do not comply with sufficiently elevated health and safety standards will become undesirable and obsolete. Few landlords will willingly go down that route.

I also think that part of the answer to this question lies in social pressure on businesses to ensure the health and safety of their tenants and employees. The advent of a “healthy building certification” will provide assurance that buildings are demonstrably healthy.

How can organisations cultivate and maintain a corporate culture in an era of dispersed workforces? If people are only in the office 2-3 times per month won’t they lose some sense of connection with the “fabric” of their company?

Jez Groom: Our brains often remember and act on simple things we can remember and recall easily. Think " Clunk, click, every trip" for car seatbelt compliance. Making it easier to remember makes it more familiar; familiarity makes it more convincing and therefore more likely to become reality. I have heard that bigger companies are thinking creatively about how people will use their office spaces in the future for specific activities. One particularly salient and memorable example is this: "Home, Roam, Hub and Club." The message here is that it's okay to work from remotely or from home, but that collaborative space can be a vital hub for activities, or a club for “get togethers”.

JM: The possible negative impact of increased remote working on corporate culture is often highlighted. No doubt it will create challenges and force companies to find new ways of maintaining the corporate spirit and motivating employees. Technology can certainly help, and we are still far from utilising all possibilities in this area. Another possibility is careful scheduling of the “office days” and corporate events to ensure maximum interaction. Finally, redesigning office space to facilitate teamwork and communication will become more important than ever.

How does the panel assess the future for non-workspace public buildings: community and cultural assets such as libraries, youth clubs, museums and art galleries?

TP: This is an important topic which I hope will take a front seat in the upcoming period. In the short term, cultural venues need to limit numbers and respect physical distancing through ad-hoc way-finding arrangements, as well as step up air quality and cleaning regimes. In the near mid-term, I foresee immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality sitting side-by-side with physical/in-resident presence, to create a unique cultural offering where one can choose one’s most desired mode of attendance, and still interact with other participants in real time. Interesting experiments in this realm are already taking place.

JG: We are both creatures of habit and social animals, and non-workspace public buildings in my view, will definitely have a future in a post-COVID-19 world. From another perspective, the greater threat to these activities is, I feel, related to another disease that we are wrestling with: screens and social media. I believe it is our technological addiction that public building owners should be tackling head on and competing with, to ensure they remain as part of our cultural fabric post-COVID-19.

JM: Community and culture buildings have been vital parts of our cities as long as cities have existed. Even a severe crisis such as this pandemic is unlikely to change that. We may need to find new ways of using these buildings in a safe way but I don’t see their essential function at risk. Despite the short-term difficulties resulting from the lockdowns, museums and theatres will continue to be an important component of the urban fabric.