CREJ

14 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / December 2020 workplaceelements.com Furniture Manufactured Construction Floor Covering Technology Environmental Graphics Human-Centered Design & Consulting Architects Bring Value, Creativity When Adapting Space D esign teamadvisers, let the silver linings fromthepandemicreveal themselves!As it turns out, there are more teammates waiting in the wings to help you get through this than you might have thought (and there always have been). In our work as the lead of the design team, archi- tects and interior designers often are thought of as project-centric team members rather than ongoing members of your real estate team. Clients, project managers, brokers and asset management teams all generally see the value we bring primarily when a space needs to be adjusted or adapted. They welcome our advice to service the needs of a project they’re con- templating and we do relish these opportunities. Most of us chose thiswork because of a passion for creating. However,whenwe’remorebroadlywelcomed into the real estate team, there is farmore valuewe can offer. The pandemic offers a clear and relevant example of howanarchitecture and interior design teamcanhelp, but it’s far from the only example. When it became ap- parent to the business community, sometime in the middle of March, that major changeswere coming, the calls starting coming in. From everyone. Active clients had to weigh how far they were into the process. De- pending on contracts and design progress, on available options and needs, they either put projects on hold or made the brave call to push forward. Projects that al- ready were in construction immediately began asking for help sorting out the realities of what we were fac- ing. From medical and scientific to logistical and oper- ational factors, we were considering every potential impact to the workplace. There were doors to open, el- evators to ride, meetings to conduct, breakrooms with coffee and food that now needed to be considered. Staffs were transitioning to remote work where pos- sible, but for how long? Servers had to be adapted for increased external traffic and new weak spots in the links to so many homes. At the same time, some work still could be done inside the office. Staff collaboration works better in personmuch of the time. People gener- ally found their productive footingat home, butmissed oneanotherandcravedcontactwiththeoutsideworld. The design community was eager to break down, dis- sect, prioritize, andadviseour clientsandcontactswith the best counsel that we couldmuster. The advice was all educated guesses. It still is. Some thoughtwe’dnever return. Others thoughtwemight in some small numbers. A consensus seemed to coalesce Martin Goldstein Principal Architect, Venture Architecture Bridging the Gap