Planning a return to the physical office under ever-changing conditions and advisories from the CDC is yet one more challenge for C-suite executives, facility managers, and employees.
The numbers are significant. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of July 2021, there were 153.6 million people aged 16 and over in America’s workforce, of which 82.2 million are office based. Of those, 13.2% of full-time workers in all industries engaged in remote work. Although this is down from a high of 35.4% in May 2020, it nevertheless represents more than 10 million workers. That’s a lot of square footage, furniture, equipment, and associated costs to consider.
Long a staple in certain high-tech industries and made possible through advancements in digital technology, COVID-19 has pushed the hybrid work environment model to the mainstream. Now, as the world grapples with increased outbreaks caused by the delta variant and new facts about its transmissibility to and by the vaccinated, Margulies Perruzzi’s just-released “Workplace Strategy Report: Embracing the Hybrid Workspace” affirms the logic of transitioning from a traditional to hybrid model. The company’s survey of 8,600 people across multiple business sectors revealed that 44% of workers plan on being in the office three days a week, and 25% plan on two days. Only 9% responded that they would return to a pre-pandemic office presence.
Margulies Perruzzi (MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, announced today that it has completed renovations and a two-story addition at 69 A Street in South Boston, creating a five-story 45,000 SF building that is the first “cross-laminated timber” (CLT) addition to an existing building in downtown Boston
The notable design accomplishment is that the building expansion would not have been feasible without the innovative use of CLT. This lightweight (and highly sustainable) structural system enabled the addition to be added to the 1920s era brick and beam former Rivet factory without replacing the existing foundations or columns, which would have been impossible with a standard steel or concrete structure. The exterior skin of the new levels is a metal panel rainscreen system installed with exposed metal fasteners that speak to its original use. Leaving the CLT exposed on the upper floors creates a much more appealing wood interior than standard steel construction. As the existing building is constructed directly on the lot line, Margulies Perruzzi arranged for setbacks to allow for additional light on the South side.
A new entrance mid- building is accessed via a landscaped courtyard, allowing generously enlarged windows on A Street. All the windows were replaced, but the existing building’s windows are distinguished from the new windows on the upper floors by being multi-light, which is consistent with the originals. An open-air terrace directly off the fifth floor looks west toward the Boston skyline.
A major part of this project was the zoning approval process, including coordination with the BPDA and the community before any construction could begin, and regular communication with the abutters throughout the construction period. DBI Projects, a top project management and real estate advisory firm with a diverse range of clients, was the owner’s representative for the project and successfully shepherded the project team through its successful completion.
With the building core and shell complete, it is now ready to be occupied by the next generation of tenants to be attracted to the revitalization of this part of South Boston.
The project team for 69 A Street includes:
Architect: Margulies Perruzzi
Construction Manager: Commodore Builders
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Engineer: WB Engineers
Structural Engineer: McNamara Salva
Owner’s Project Manager: DBI Projects
By John Fowler, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP, Associate Principal and Associate Partner at Margulies Perruzzi
The Margulies Perruzzi Healthcare Studio is seeing the impacts of COVID-19 on space planning and design that will continue post- pandemic in several areas. In addition to considerations for being better prepared for a future pandemic, clients are evaluating the use of practices and workflows that were born out of necessity over the past year. The rapid adaptation of telehealth is one example that can lead to better healthcare delivery and patient satisfaction while also providing an operational advantage to healthcare organizations in certain circumstances.
According to the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition Survey, Massachusetts saw a staggering 9000% increase in telehealth visits from September 2019 to September 2020 and 60% of physicians surveyed stated that telehealth improved the health of their patients, 50% stated it will improve the financial health of their practice and 55% that it improved the satisfaction of their work. Even as we return to the new normal, patients will expect more virtual care options.
Anecdotally we are hearing that healthcare organizations expect 20-40% of their patient visits will be conducted virtually depending on the specialty, as certain visit types will have a greater need for physical evaluation or testing for the foreseeable future. The two biggest potential obstacles to virtual visits when deemed appropriate are reimbursement and patient’s access to technology. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services granted waivers during the pandemic that allowed for the increased use of virtual visits at the same reimbursement as in-person visits. The rules and reimbursement rates for those visits will play a large role in the extent of its utilization going forward. During the spike in use of telehealth visits, the majority of providers were conducting some from their own homes. In the future, those visits may not be allowed outside of a licensed clinic or hospital or may be reimbursed at a lower rate, due to the decreased costs to the providers.
The patient’s access to technology can vary dramatically by region and demographics and ensuring equitable access is a key consideration. Meg Barron, the AMA’s vice president of digital health, outlined four key areas that need attention: device access, connectivity, digital literacy, and design relevance. Expanding broadband access and creating ways for those with audio, visual or motor impairment to have better access to telehealth are among the specific needs that must be addressed.
When evaluating the impact of telehealth on space planning needs, we are considering several operational scenarios. If physician at-home visits are allowed and reimbursement is financially viable, will they be able to schedule visits for certain days of the week that are virtual only? If physicians are on site at a clinic or hospital, do they need to be in the same area as their in-person visits or can they utilize space that is more remote from the highly valuable patient care zones? And if physicians do not have a dedicated office appropriate for virtual visits, is it advantageous to create virtual visit exam rooms that require less space and infrastructure then a traditional exam? With each of these scenarios we see opportunities for our clients to increase their patient volume capacity or lower the real estate footprint required due to the decreased number of traditional exam rooms required.
Although there may still be more questions than answers regarding telehealth, there appears to be a consensus that it is here to stay and will continue to provide patients with a more convenient option for their healthcare while creating flexibility for their providers to better deliver care.
This year at the 2021 PDC Summit, hear from our very own Jason Costello and participate in a new series of sessions covering critical topics related to pandemic recovery and rebuilding our health care system. Explore sessions and more online today.
WELL has given us a proven set of tools to add to our toolbox, and interior designers are responsible for implementing a forward-thinking design. As an industry, we have sustainable knowledge and available technology used as a guide for future design projects. More than ever, it is time to adapt and work with the real estate sector to impact human health through responsible design. As a starting point, we should ask ourselves how our design allows people to thrive in the built environment. Then work on layering on what we can do to reduce our global footprint by minimizing water, energy, waste, materials, and toxins in our built environment. By honing in on these critical elements, we can identify ways to create a healthier setting for occupants inside a building.
We spend 90 percent of our lives inside, but naturally, we have innate physiological responses to nature as humans. One of WELL’s features, Nature and Place, can be awarded to projects by creating a biophilic design framework. Scientific studies have shown that the ability to be surrounded by nature has aided in reducing stress and positively impacts the mood and comfort level of occupants in a building. This feature can be easily incorporated into interior design universally through environmental elements, lighting, and space layout.
Janet Morra, a principal and partner at Margulies Perruzzi, an architectural design firm, said much more will be required to make buildings “healthy and safe,” now that it appears a post-pandemic return to work may be possible, perhaps by this coming fall. “All the things we’ve been talking about over the past year have to be acted on,” Morra said of health-and-safety planning for office buildings. “And the time to act is now.”
“No one really knows how much space will be needed,” said Margulies Perruzzi’s Morra. “It’s anyone’s guess. This is all new. There’s going to be a lot of experimentation.” As the workplace dust settles, Morra said she expects office-building owners, as well as corporate tenants, to start measuring and touting the health-and-safety standards of individual facilities, possibly using the relatively new “WELL Health-Safety Rating” system, similar to the well-known LEED rating system that measures the sustainability levels of facilities. “I think it’s going to gain traction,” Morra said of the WELL Health-Safety Rating system. “Many employers are definitely looking for ways to get employees back into buildings. This may be one of the ways.”
As vaccine distribution ramps up and a return to the office seems imminent, we can expect even more changes. A post-COVID workplace report recently published by Margulies Perruzzi and Kotter explores how leaders can keep up with the rapid pace of change while navigating lingering pandemic uncertainty, addressing mental health concerns and maintaining a strong office culture.
Successfully leading a company through this pandemic requires taking a hard look at how the work-from-home model has impacted psychological well-being and workplace norms. In creating plans to return to the office, leaders should keep in mind three key ideas: maintain flexibility, tap into a “thrive” mode and reinvigorate company culture. These guiding principles can help companies navigate the post-pandemic world with confidence.
As a return to the office becomes imminent for many, CFOs must determine what it will take to make the workspace feel safe for employees. The pandemic-mandated shift to remote work has forever changed how we do business by encouraging CFOs and leadership teams to rethink physical office spaces.
The question remains: to what extent will these changes linger once we settle into a “new normal”? Click Here For Article
According to the CBRE Q3 Cambridge Lab MarketView report, “the impact of COVID on office market demand has resulted in nearly every building owner evaluating whether a portion or all of their buildings can be converted to lab.” From a design perspective, these lab conversions pose an interesting set of challenges, particularly in an industry like life sciences where researchers might be doing anything from theoretical research on how to make a new salad dressing to developing prototypes for gene therapy.
By Imran Khan, Associate Principal and Director of Science at Margulies Perruzzi.
For many years, Boston has been the world leader in the life science industry, with startups and global giants alike competing for talent, as well as real estate. Last year, a report from commercial brokerage firm CBRE ranked the area as the number one destination for recent graduates interested in the field, as well as first in funding from the National Institutes of Health. It also ranked the region second in total sciences employees, right behind San Francisco.
