‘Back to Work: Rethink, Reevaluate, Retrofit for Safer Workplaces’: A Handbook for Post Lockdown Design Interventions

Globally, as lockdowns end to reboot the world economy, there is great pressure to learn to live and work with the virus. The biggest challenge workplaces are now facing is how they can adapt modern open office layouts for physical distancing and prevent offices from becoming virus Petri dishes. At The Blank Slate, we recently developed an open-source handbook guided by public health guidance – ‘Back to Work: Rethink, Reevaluate, Retrofit for Safer Workplaces’ of post-lockdown design interventions for workplaces to adapt to the ‘new normal’. While policymakers all around the world build the polemic around the crisis and our frontline workers give their best to fight the pandemic, we as designers decided to use our design experience and thinking to do our bit. Through this book, our team of Architects and Interior Designers aim to ease the process of transitioning to the ‘New Normal’ and present design strategies to help our workforce to return to their desks in a visually comprehensible manner.

This handbook aims to benefit offices of all possible scales, cultures and formats. It is a cheat sheet of easy-to-execute and cost-effective design solutions that can go a long way in improving workplace safety. Now is the time to rethink workspace standards, especially the revolutionary and now widely prevalent open-plan office format. Social distancing guidelines in the office are the same as elsewhere. Employers need to reevaluate their offices and alter them if necessary, so health guidelines can be followed to avoid unnecessary closeness and facilitate employees always to remain 6’ apart.

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We identified the critical areas within a workspace that can be pathogenic hotspots – Entryways, Lobbies, Workstations, Meeting Spaces, Cabins, Dining, Breakout Areas, Restrooms & HVAC Systems. Keeping these spaces in mind, we designed novel interventions for each of them, working towards redefining existing standards while ensuring current health protocols are maintained. It is imperative that offices are de-densified and altered to make them ‘antiviral’ for the safe return of our workforce.

We have carefully studied how people move and behave in small, medium and large scale offices and offered solutions accordingly. Going beyond thermal scanning and PPE kits for employees, the book explores staggering arrival times to avoid congestion at elevators, creation of sanitization zones at entrances, pick up and delivery sanitization booths, the introduction of privacy screens at workstations, and recommendations for printing stations and dining areas. We have also explored how existing office layouts can be organized to create solo working corners and conversion of physical conference rooms into teleconferencing and video booths.

While we physically distance, we need to find innovative ways to collaborate and communicate at our workplaces. Dining areas are more than just spaces where employees eat. They are interaction zones that provide a mental break to users. Communal lounges, breakout zones and congregational areas are vital to maintain social relations at a workspace. While adopting social distancing measures, it is imperative to allow for a collaborative environment where professional and interpersonal relationships thrive. These spaces also act as de-stress zones and are now critical more than ever. Interaction in these spaces needs to be redefined for virtual experiences rather than close physical contact. We need to find new solutions where we can continue to find that mental pause and interact with coworkers while being safe.

Conference Room

The book also discusses leveraging the use of contactless technology for a safer environment and reduce the spread of the virus. Various products from virtual assistants, facial recognition for security and voice assistants can reduce the contact between receptionists and employees and visitors while smart kitchen appliances, thermostats, blind controls, motion sensor lights, UV toilet seat sanitizers, motion-sensing dustbins, smart vending machines can further reduce risk of transmission.

Buildings that employ HVAC systems for their ventilation solutions might be at a higher risk owing to the circulation and recirculation of the air. The microscopic virus could travel through recirculated air that carries affected droplets aiding the spread of the virus. Hence, these systems could pose a significant danger to the safety of the occupants of the building. The book offers various solutions from opening windows at regular intervals to using air filters such as carbon and HEPA filters and UV Radiators at the start of the distribution system in each room.

We understand that in these testing times offices may not be able to apply drastic design shifts since we lack capital and time both to do so. Businesses can also use these solutions in phases as their workforces resume work is increasing capacities. For example, you can eliminate alternate seating until you have 30% capacity. With time and hopefully better numbers, we may increase the ability to 60% at which point you can apply dividers to ensure minimum physical contact between work desks. We have therefore attempted to eliminate the requirement for professional or experienced labour as much as possible to ensure that these solutions can be applied with ease and convenience. Hence, our solutions are not time-sensitive either.

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Since the conception of the project, one of our primary goals was maximum outreach. We don’t believe that tools to fight the virus and protect our workforce should require a lot of time and effort for anyone willing to take the initiative. The book has multiple permutations that can help all scales and types of office spaces and takes a more graphical approach for maximum readability and comprehension.