Companies hire design firms to rethink office space amid pandemic

Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Christoforous and Joseph Brancato, Gensler's Co-Chairman and Regional Managing Principal for the Northeast and Latin America, discuss why companies are hiring design firms to reinvent office spaces amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, it could still be many months before we see a return to the office in a meaningful way, as we wait for more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But when we do go back to the office, what is it going to look like? Joining me now is Joe Brancato. He is co-chair at Gensler. And Joe, always good to see you. You have a lot of Fortune 100 companies as clients-- names like Microsoft, Ford, Apple, you name it. What are they telling you about the way they are reimagining going back to the office?

JOE BRANCATO: Well, Alexis, one thing's for sure-- our work lives have undergone the largest beta test for remote working in history, right? What we're hearing is that the energy, the attitude, and personality cannot be remoted even through the best fiberoptic lines. So people need to be together. Place matters. And this is why people are going to come back to the office.

We're seeing and hearing that majority of the people want to work in the office most of the week. This is from a Gensler survey on work from home. But it also shows that some of the millennials are having the hardest time because they-- at the end of the day, they're stressed. They're not quite sure if they got done everything they needed to get done. Baby boomers are experienced. They know what they need to have done, and that's happening. So the millennials are having the most difficult time.

So what's for sure is that post-pandemic, companies will have a hybrid model work strategy. And that'll be split between working from home and working in the office. And the new role of the workplace is going to be to build community, to reinforce culture with a shared purpose and mission, and to strengthen relationships with each other. So one of the biggest challenges--

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I would imagine-- let's talk about the building of relationships, because we're not doing much of that right now, socially distanced. It's tough. We're not in the same room. We don't see each other face to face. I mean, I know we're doing this virtually, but it's just not the same. So what happens to the proverbial water cooler, the place where we would go and gather in the office, like around the snack bin? Is that just going to-- has that gone away forever, Joe?

JOE BRANCATO: It's not gone away forever. I think that as people get back, it may not be there yet. They may not be getting together around the cooler. But that will change, and I think as the vaccine is implemented, that will be back. That's why people are going to come back-- to connect. Otherwise, if they have heads-down work, they could do it at home. They don't need to come in.

They're going to come in because they want to connect and be together. They want to collaborate. They want to build those relationships, build their network-- internal network, external network. So it's going to be really important, and these amenity-type spaces, the support and collaboration spaces will be more important than ever before in the work environment.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: What about-- we have thousands of square feet of space, millions here in the city in these glass towers going unused right now. We keep hearing about the death of the city. What are you even hearing from clients? Are they looking to build out in the suburbs and more rural areas? I mean, what's going to become of these office towers in big cities?

JOE BRANCATO: Look, I think that cities are very resilient. The key cities are resilient. I mean, you have lots of talent in the cities. We have the infrastructure in cities. Cities will bounce back. We do-- we are seeing and hearing and working with a few clients that are considering or implementing what we would call-- a lot of people call it a hub and spoke, I call hub and club. Outside of the main city, they may have a very small serviced workplace, maybe 10,000 square feet, 15,000 square feet, where it would be like a concierge service, like an airport lounge.

So if you're working from home a day or two a week, and something goes wrong with your technology, you don't have to go all the way back into the office into the city if you live in the suburbs. You can go to one of these spaces. If you have to do a presentation that you really need immersive technology, you know, you could go into this facility that's outside of the city.

But still, the hub-- the cities are going to be the hub. It's the draw for people. They'll be back. Look, in New York City and some of the gateway cities, people were starting to move out of the city because they couldn't afford it. I think that there's going to be an incredible opportunity because the pricing is being looked at again. And maybe there will be some lower pricing-- not just for office, but for apartments. And people will come back. So we're very optimistic about cities.

And I think it's going to be better because it's going to be for people. I'm just looking outside and see along the lane out in the street here that we have these little structures for outdoor dining. Well, you know, maybe we don't need that extra lane of parking on the streets here, and maybe that will be turned over to people.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Before we let you go, I'd have to imagine health is a huge priority for companies as they look to reopen their office space. I'm sure Plexiglas is going to be in our lives for the short term. But I mean, longer term, how are companies going to address health and safety in the workplace, through design?

JOE BRANCATO: We've been-- pre-pandemic, we've been starting to look at that. The WELL Building Institute has been in place now where it really does focus on people and health. This is accelerating. I think the quality of the air, the base of the infrastructure and buildings are going be improved. Touchless environments are going to be improved. Again, the overlay of technology will enable us to have a better environment, an environment that is more touchless.

I also believe that we have to create an environment of information that may show up in lobbies on screens that in real time measure the environmental conditions in a building and provide a level of confidence for people to know that they're in a building that cares about your health and safety and that is monitoring and managing the environment to create a healthier environment.

Outdoor space is always important. We like to see a lot more outer space. I think that there's older buildings that we're going to start to see a lot more decks and terraces and ground floor spaces. We may see some more openings opening up and leveraging the outside as much as we can.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Yeah. We would love to see that here in New York City. I know it could be challenging with winters. But whatever it is to come, the workplace is going to be a different place for sure going forward. Joe Brancato, co-chair at Gensler. Thanks so much.

JOE BRANCATO: Thanks, Alexis.