As our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 virus continues to evolve, we find ourselves examining the impact this pandemic will have on the way we work and live in multifamily communities. What has become clear is that professionals that once commuted to work daily will likely find that the office they left in early March will not be the office they return to.
As employers prepare to reopen, many have begun to plan for social distancing by creating less dense open office environments and meeting spaces, which means fewer employees per square foot. In conjunction, a lot of leaders have found that their teams are very productive working from home and happy to avoid rush-hour commutes, at least part of the time.
What seems evident is that more people will be working from home than ever before this crisis. Pre-COVID, coworking spaces had become a critical amenity in apartment buildings. Post-COVID, the demand will be greater than ever. Our job as interior designers is to embrace this work-from-home shift, and through design, we can create safe and healthy environments that draw us back together again.
