CREJ

28 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / June 2020 ELEMENTS Hospitality During COVID-19 Adjusting the Lens: Designing with a New Perspective W hat a year this month has been. If you’re likeme, you face the same challenge in not fully being able to halt your mind from sneaking too far into the future. Raise your hand if you’ve recently found yourself teetering on the fault line between: “I wonder how this will all play out in six months?” and “The world as we once knew it, is forever changed, what will my industry look like after this?” Well, you’re not alone. When I was approached to write this five weeks ago. I was not only excited to be thought of as some- one to share a piece of my expe- rience and expertise in the hospi- tality world, but also I was honored, as I feel so fortunate to be part of an industry that never fails to always surprise, evolve and inspire when need- ed most. However, we are living in a vastly different time than we were two short month ago, and I found my excitement beginning to shift to trepidation as I began brainstorming ideas. In a way, it felt inauthentic to write about a process or a trend within hospitality design during a time when our industry has been impacted so severely, seem- ingly overnight. Who is going to want to read it, if I felt uninspired to write it? It was in that mo- ment, when I adjusted the lens. I was perceiving my end goal to instead view it as an opportunity to explore what my livelihood might look like six months, or even 12 months from now, and what my role in it will be. That’s when my excitement returned. When I think about the hospitality industry and all its intermingled tendrils, it becomes immedi- ately clear, (and overwhelming) at the same time to think about how things will look post-pandem- ic, how long it will inevitably take for it recover, and to what we’ve always known/expected it to be. Take hotels for instance. What will our ener- Marla-Rae Lewandoski Studio Director, Hospitality & Commercial, Kimberly Timmons Interiors We are living in a vastly different time than we were two short month ago. It’s hard to know for sure what will immediately change, and what adjustments will evolve over time.