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Guest blog

Crisis’ Reveal Opportunities - The Silver Lining in the COVID-Era

Aug 03, 2020 by Kay Sargent, ASID, IIDA, CID, LEED® AP, MCR/w, WELL AP

For the past several years we have watched as industry after industry has disrupted and forced to evolve. The retail sector has been rocked by Amazon, the hotel sector by Airbnb, and the taxi service by Uber and Lyft. But there has also been disruption in the commercial real estate industry, thanks to coworking and now COVID-19. The whole world is asking a fundamental question “what is the future of work?” If we are myopic and focused too narrowly on addressing only the challenge COVID has presented us with regarding how and where people work, we will miss the bigger opportunity to address the real challenges we are facing today. We are being an opportunity to rethink things we thought we knew, address things we know weren’t working and imagine a better solution for work going forward.

Many will seek to explore what the impact on the places we work will be. Many will seek to understand what the new normal might be. But there is nothing “normal” about this time or the months ahead. And returning to the office of yesterday shouldn’t be what we strive for. We need to advance to a new ecosystem that addresses the challenges at hand. The work ecosystem of tomorrow needs to promote safety, health, wellbeing and reduce stress and burnout. We need to find a vaccine for climate change. We need to design spaces with intent and purpose and reduce under-utilized, inflexible office space. We need to strive to create places that promote inclusivity, social connectivity, and equity. We need to do better and we have an opportunity to do so.

At HOK we encourage everyone to start that exploration from a place of knowledge. We believe the environments should align with the specific needs of the occupants. We believe our role is to help educate our clients about the benefits of different scenarios and solutions to ensure spaces are tailored to create the right experience and the right environments.

At HOK we believe that when the art and the science of design come together, we can create powerful solutions that address the emerging needs of today and the unknowns of tomorrow. We are committed to designing spaces that are not only environmentally sustainable, but address the health, safety, and wellbeing of the occupants.

We need to embrace the opportunity to address the disruption being brought forth and proactively rethinking how we can best serve our clients, companies, and the workforce. We need to innovate and evolve. If we fail to seize the moment and realize the shifts in the market and user demands that were already occurring and are on the horizon so we don’t waste the opportunity this situation is affording us.

About the author

With more than 35 years of experience, Senior Principal and Workplace Director of HOK, Kay Sargent, is a recognized expert on workplace design and strategy issues. She is an award-winning designer who has worked with several Fortune 500 companies to optimize their global real estate portfolios and create innovative work environments. As Co-Director of HOK’s WorkPlace team, a practice that supports organizations undertaking multiple projects in various locations, and a member of HOK’s Board of Directors, Kay is responsible for helping clients redefine how, when and where their people work, and supports a holistic design approach that integrates an organization’s people, processes and technology. Kay was recently names ASID’s Designer of Distinction for 2020. Kay is considered an industry thought leaders on workplace. She has authored multiple white papers and articles on a variety of design related topics including wellbeing; next gen workforce; technologies impact on the workplace; space fusion and the rise of the human factor. Kay currently serves on the AVIXA Board of Directors; the National ASID Foundation Research Taskforce, the IWBI Mind Advisory Team, the International Boards of CoreNet Global and IFI - International Federation of Interior Designers /Architects, and the Advisory Board for WorkDesign Magazine. During her career she has also served on the Boards of IIDA and NCQLP and the Advisory Board of Virginia Tech School of Architecture and Design and NVCC. She is an active member of IFMA and co-founder of the IFMA Workplace Evoluntionaries, WE community and serves as an Executive committee for WE. Kay is committed to mentoring the next generation of designers and as such mentors multiple individuals within HOK and across the industry. She is also a Founder of the DC Chapter of UPWARD, a global network dedicated to the professional advancement of women in the workplace. “We are witnessing the evolution of workplace, and design can be a powerful tool in that endeavor. What designers have always done well, the art of design, is being enhanced with the emerging science of design. By creating environments that support wellbeing, inclusivity and inspire those within them, we can drive powerful outcomes and create spaces that reflect our humanity. We need to design with courage to define the next generation of great places to transform the way we work, live, learn and play. We are no longer just designing environments. We are designing the experience.”