June 3, 2020
Chris Dwyer, Project Architect with Cushing Terrell and ULI Idaho Design & Placemaking Product Council Chair, shares with us this week the role that architecture and design will have in ensuring public health and resilience through design.
Chris DwyerHave any of your current projects been changed or updated for improving health considering what we know about the coronavirus?
Yes, there have been a lot of changes with our active projects and clients in all of our markets. Both current and past clients have shown an increased awareness in how to keep the people using their buildings safe. This involves discussions on increasing ventilation rates within the building, using graphics to show directional flow through a space, possible health screening at entry points, how elevators are used, rethinking touch points, and finish material selections.
Are there any design trends in commercial real estate that this pandemic has catalyzed or reversed?
There will be changes and we think some of the most prominent changes will be in mechanical systems, finishes, office space, and restrooms. A greater emphasis will be given to air filtration and ventilation. Laminar flow systems (supply low/return high) could become more common in order to have the fresh air closer to an individual sitting at his/her desk and pulling air out of the space up above their head. Finishes and surfaces will be easily cleaned and sterilized and not as porous. Cleaning protocols for commercial spaces will become much more defined in order to help keep common spaces from being a source for a virus. Workspaces will become more individualized which could result in more office space per employee. Restroom fixtures should all become non-touch. Elevators are already a terrible social space and COVID won’t help that experience. So I could see fewer people allowed in the elevator per trip and elevators being designated as either up or down only. I know that I will be using the stairs more than I did before COVID, once I go back to the office.
When I was away for college and at my first job I used to tell everybody that Idaho was America’s great secret, but it hasn’t been a secret for a while…
All of us who have a part in how development happens need to focus on developing within city limits and with more dense development along major roads with public transit.
The pandemic in 1918 had a significant impact on architecture; what impact do you think this pandemic may have on the design and function of our future buildings?
Correct, a lot of changes came from the pandemic in 1918 and some of those changes are still standard practice now – think plumbing. Touching on my previous comment, public restrooms will see changes to non-touch fixtures (airports are still some of the worst offenders in my book).
The supply chain for E-commerce and food have been shown to be somewhat fragile. There is so much dependence on delivery of goods that there will probably be some major improvements to that system. For instances: mini-distribution centers could become commonplace to solve the ‘last mile’ of delivery. Apartments and condos could reverse their trends of getting smaller. Per a ULI Housing Conference that I attended earlier this year, between 2007 and 2019 apartments have shrunk by 150 sqft. Now that more people could be working from home their space requirements will change. That could mean an additional room for an office or at least a dedicated work area separate from the public space.
Are there ways that design can balance our need/desire for more space, while keeping our momentum in creating more walkable neighborhoods and preserving open space and working lands?
I feel that this pandemic will increase the flow of people to Boise and Idaho. I think that all of us who have a part in how development happens need to focus on developing within city limits and with more dense development along major roads with public transit. We also need to focus on a mixture of housing products for people to rent or purchase.
Again, per my comment above, this pandemic has shown that current supply chains are broken fairly easily. This could lead to the increased desire to keep existing farmland to help supply as many local goods as possible. I don’t think that anybody would disagree that in the last few months the air quality in the Treasure Valley has been noticeably better. I can’t recall seeing the Owhyee Mountains so clearly. I hope that more people think about using public transit, biking, walking to get to work (when/if they go back) and to play.