This mid-June of 2021 may be the returning point to new normality in America’s economy. Big companies based in NYC expect to return to full operations, and office buildings will be for the first occasion in a long time, at full capacity.
But only this time some water has passed under the bridge, and things will not be the same. Privacy, safety, and social distance are elements that are reshaping the current layout of the modern office, and some are even afraid of the disappearance of the open concept. So, if you are based on the Big Apple, there is a good probability that you will be looking for office furniture in NY.
The End of the Open Concept?
There are some significant learning products of the pandemic period. Let’s see:
Social Distance
If this now omnipresent rule is widespread in the street, don’t expect it doesn’t happen within your office. Keep your workstation at six feet distance from each other (six feet is nearly two shopping cars aligned together, facing each other), and you’ll be cutting the way for Covid (or another virus), to spread around your space. As a related matter, it’s recommended, too, to avoid sit people facing each other, and this way to prevent the risk associated with sneezing.
Panels, materials, and workstations
What to do? What is convenient for your business? Here we can take a look at some worthy choices currently in the last trends.
Besides the right distance between workstations, the very idea of this place is under review. A good workstation, like Empower, by HON Furniture, has resources to provide you privacy without hiding you at your desk. With plexiglass, or polymers, there are great alternatives to create safer, but transparent stations to promote cooperation without compromise your health.
New Spaces and Innovations
The wall just inflate out
Of course, there is always space for innovations in Office Design. This is the case of the inflatable walls, a creative way to divide spaces with a solid, but portable element, and it’s implemented by Google.
Outdoor solutions
It is a well-known fact that outdoor spaces make it hard for viruses to spread, so thinking in outdoor spaces is not a bad idea at all. Open-air tents with wood tables and chairs are a very tempting offer for work teams filled with nature lovers (although this alternative is maybe not very suitable for the city of New York).
Office Phone Booths
Office Phone Booths are personal cubicles, provided just with the essential furniture: A chair, a desk, power and internet access, and a skylight. To ensure that sense of silence and isolation, the walls are soundproofed, but with glass windows, so you don’t have to feel claustrophobic in a reduced cell. Office Phone Pods, as they are called too, may have elegant designs, and they certainly can give your office some Modern vibe. In the case of the techno giant of Silicon Valley, the Team Pods contain chairs, desks, whiteboards, and storage units on casters that can be “wheeled into various arrangements, and in some cases rearranged in a matter of hours”
As we can see, the future of the Post Covid Office is quite experimental at this point. Some trends will rise and establish, while others may fade and disappear. Nevertheless, a new eclectic concept looks like the one for the times to come. In Manhattan Office Design we can guide you along the way with only quality options at very affordable prices.