According to a CNBC article, designers say the pandemic has bolstered corporate interest in redesigning work space to simulate nature, have better air filtration systems and use more materials that are better for the environment. Architects and office designers have long worked on innovations to make corporate space healthier and better for the environment — projects they say will be in higher demand even as millions work from home and corporations rethink their need for future office space.
“When you go back, when I go back, people will look at office buildings differently,” said Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told CNBC.
Companies have been increasingly embracing Biophilic design, to improve employee well-being and attract top talent. Covid-19 has accelerated the trend of Biophilic design as companies need to find ways to circulate air and help employees stay mentally and physically healthy.
Building developers are also turning to more sustainable and natural materials like mass timber, or solid wood panels, rather than concrete or steel that emit more carbon dioxide.
Offices built with more mass timber store carbon and offset greenhouse gas emissions, reduce labor resources and produce a light and natural interior, which can have positive health impacts on the people working there, partly by enhancing biophilic design.
No matter when we return to office life, it’s clear that there will be a demand for light, airy spaces that take both people and nature into design consideration.
Read more about the growing trend.
