LANSING, Mich. — Construction companies and businesses know they need to change how they build new office buildings. Amanda Brandeis shows us one company that had to quickly change its blueprints to focus on keeping employees safe from COVID-19.
An office space that shapes culture, where employees want to go.
“We’ve always been flexible in our workplace, we’ve always allowed people to work from home if they want, and what we learned is that people do want a place that is their own that we can come into.”
Reid Carr is the CEO of the marketing agency Red Door Interactive.
After years of leasing an office in downtown San Diego, the company wanted to create its own space to foster collaboration and growth.
“We were excited when we found it, we had a vision for how this whole process was going to go down.”
The company purchased nearly half an acre of property to create a campus-style workplace.
“We’re going to have a porch…”
But after the pandemic changed our way of life, the company overhauled the design to ensure it was a space employees not only wanted to go but could feel safe in.
“I think we are definitely going to see it impact workplaces, homes, marketing, shopping, everything.”
The new campus will incorporate touchless features throughout the buildings – like doors and water bottle filling stations.
They’re creating outdoor meeting spaces with heaters and shades to be used year-round.
And inside, they’re investing in the best available HVAC systems for air filtration.
“I’m learning at all this stuff as we go, but we’re looking at hospital grade stuff. The perspective we took is there’s always going to be flus and colds, so why not do these things that will help keep people from spreading disease.”
In addition to having their own socially-distanced workspace, employees will have designated areas separate from visitors, including the kitchen.
Which will feature accomodations for food prep and hand washing, as well as a new snack station allowing for minimum contact.
From the kitchen to conference rooms, the company reinvented each aspect of the campus.
“it was important for us to have a place that’s attractive, and it puts another and another level of design and aesthetic and ideation on an environment.”
As some companies consider moving to remote work permanently, Carr says there’s value in a workplace designed to support employees.
But to make it work, flexibility and resiliency is key.
“I mean, this is our home.”
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