Interior Architects and Designers Decide the Fate of the Traditional Office Space

Coronavirus-mitigating design interventions make their debut indoors as interior architects and designers ponder the possibilities for traditional office spaces.

1 minute read

September 2, 2020, 10:00 AM PDT

By Lee Flannery @leecflannery


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Mike McCune (mccune 934) / Flickr

Interior architects are making big design decisions that will shape the future of the structure of the traditional office. A well designed-interior built environment is the handiwork of an effective interior architect, says Blair Kamin.

Despite higher rates of remote work, the labor of interior architects is in high demand to create solutions that allow workers to reenter office spaces in a safe manner. And landlords are hoping their solutions will prove to be enough to bring companies back into the traditional workplace.

"With millions of people working from home and many companies saying that remote work is here to stay, landlords are under intense pressure to retrofit, redesign and re-imagine their office properties. Otherwise, they’re going to lose tenants," writes Kamin. 

So far, interior architects have imagined such creative implementations facing workers away from each other to reduce the potential spread of air-borne germs. Others have suggested using the office space more sparingly: "In the future, experts speculate, office workers may do individual 'focused' tasks at home while offices become flexible spaces mainly used for meetings," writes Kamin.

It's now the work of interior architects and designers to create spaces that prioritize the safety of workers by reinventing the spaces they inhabit.

Friday, August 28, 2020 in Chicago Tribune

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