The COVID pandemic has changed the way people work and think, and office space is seeing a huge and lasting impact from those changes. That was the word from Aaron Taylor Harvey, architect/founder and creative director of Spaces Of, an architectural strategy and design studio based in San Francisco, in this week's CCIM St. Louis presentation entitled “Welcome to the Future of the Office Market."
Aaron Taylor Harvey is an architect and creative director of design + founder of Spaces Of, and the co-founder and former executive creative director of Environments - Airbnb's in-house architecture and interiors team. Photo credit: Carly Mask.
Harvey noted that due to lengthy commutes and pandemic-related remote work trends, contemporary work patterns have shifted to occupy more of the day.
“The idea was that the employer had something to give you that you don’t have at home, such as machinery, technology, (and) connections. There was a great deal of angst and COVID forced a solution. Our desks came home and we didn’t have to go to the office. That was work in the 21st century — we all became the weird guy who didn’t come into the office.”
While work was completed remotely and office spaces often became ghostly, “This created an exhausting schedule,” Harvey said. “The rushed development of remote tools led to a new fluency. Our job now is to design an original reality versus the virtual reality — employers have to create something new to attract people back to the office.”
That means making the office an attractive destination through what Harvey called “productive novelty” — ways to design office space that encourage alternative thinking and collaboration. Space must be purpose-built and provide opportunities for people to both interact and work independently as needed.
“Employers must understand how much time employees want to spend in the office — most do want to be in the office, just not full-time,” Harvey said; citing the most common preference is three days at home and two days in the office.
Harvey emphasized that office space should also be tailored to match how employees intend to use it. That includes enhancing opportunities to be and work with other people by “thinking of work as expansive and flexible.”
"Only about 22 percent of people prefer to do ‘heads-down’ work at a desk, the remainder of office space can be used in other ways. We have to work in new ways in the old space.”
If long commutes pose a challenge, Harvey proposed adjusting work hours to allow employees to utilize peak periods for their office commutes. “(Utilize) a hybrid version of the schedule. Look at ways of changing daily workflows or schedules monthly to create a ‘work depot’ that’s like an awesome co-working space.”
Additionally, office spaces can benefit from incorporating more tables and fewer desks.
“Desks are inflexible but tables are infinitely flexible,” Harvey said. If desks remain in the office, they have to be better than what employees have at home in terms of shape, privacy, and storage. Furthermore, considering an office as a "project garage" is beneficial, as it transforms it into the team's central hub rather than merely a collection of desks.
"The open office doesn’t work. We need spaces or rooms because everyone is constantly on Zoom, in meetings, (or) on calls,” Harvey said. “The guiding principles are specific spaces for specific needs, familiarity across locations, and onsite events to draw people in. People want a sense of belonging, identity, and ownership” from today’s office space.
“We’re not looking for the office to solve all of our life problems, so we don’t need as many amenities. Employees are not looking for a gym at the office.” That fits with the current trend in apartment properties of offering smaller living units and expanded public space and amenities.
Leases mean that commercial properties and landlords can’t simply get rid of all or part of excess office space; however, “Most companies only need a third of their current space, so they can spend three times the money on that space to make it more employee-friendly and in synch with contemporary trends. Parking lots can be changed to outdoor social spaces and top floors of garages can become amphitheaters for large events," Harvey suggested.
Harvey noted that zoning changes can allow more conversions of less-needed office buildings into housing, an option that will “force cities to rethink building use.”
The impact on office buildings and spaces from still-evolving changes in work and personal lifestyles caused by the pandemic will not go away, Harvey concluded.
“Now is the right time to engage with what people want from office space. I think mobility is a permanent change and an evergreen reality. The goal is to tailor the right rhythm. That might mean no more permanent offices.”