{"id":1004496778,"date":"2020-12-14T07:54:05","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T15:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004496778"},"modified":"2022-02-04T06:14:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T14:14:56","slug":"embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing the World of Outdoor Workspaces"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Playa District. Image courtesy of EQ Office<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The pandemic has permanently changed the way commercial buildings look and function\u2014and the change went beyond their edges and layouts. Landlords, developers, architects and property managers are now observing and analyzing the way office users engage with the landscape, aiming to \u201cmeet emerging customer needs around workplace optionality and wellness,\u201d according to Charlie Hobey, managing director of product and operations at EQ Office. And COVID-19 has definitely contributed to accelerating this trend.  <\/p>\n

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READ ALSO:<\/strong> Coronavirus Places Premium on Healthy Buildings<\/a><\/p>\n

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But even before the coronavirus hit, EQ Office was reimagining the workspace of the future by integrating functional outdoor spaces at two of its Southern California projects. Last year, the company teamed up with architecture firm RIOS to redesign the 1.4 million-square-foot Playa District<\/a> in Los Angeles, \u201ctransforming a typical high-rise campus of towers and converting the large security-focused lobbies into lounges and centers for informal working to compensate for the enclosed towers above,\u201d said Mark Motonaga, creative director at RIOS.<\/p>\n

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While some initiatives date back to pre-pandemic times, others\u2014such as Rosslyn Business Improvement District\u2019s O2\u2014were powered by necessity, with a focus on helping businesses and the local community overcome pandemic-induced challenges. Rosslyn BID President Mary-Claire Burick believes that safe outdoor public spaces are paramount to \u201cmaintaining mental and physical health, and helping people feel connected to where they spend their time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosslyn, Va., is home to multiple Fortune 500 companies and small businesses, <\/em>\u201cso creating an outdoor office space to bring people together in a safe and positive environment felt like the perfect initiative,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

Prevention through design<\/h2>\n
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O2. Image courtesy of The Brand Guild<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

While tech powerhouses such as Google, Shopify and Facebook extended their remote work policies and are expected to decrease their physical footprint<\/a>, landlords and designers have made keeping employees safe and making offices healthier their top priority. Their other mission is to come up with creative ways to attract people back to the office<\/a>, one bold step at a time.<\/p>\n

Terraces, patios, rooftops and plazas are undergoing conversions into Wi-Fi equipped functional workspaces. According to Burick, Rosslyn BID\u2019s O2 also has a wide array of office supplies, from portable chargers and computer screen shields for when it\u2019s sunny, to blankets and an easel and whiteboard for brainstorming sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvestment in outdoor technology will become paramount, in addition to outdoor-designed furniture. I think infrastructure for shading, cooling and heating outdoor work areas will also become more desired,\u201d Motonaga added.<\/p>\n

These amenities, combined with safety protocols such as physical distancing, in-depth surface cleaning, facial coverings and one-way flow of traffic, will likely encourage office users to give outdoor workspaces a try. Additionally, the installation of large operable doors allowing private workspaces to open and engage with private balconies or courtyard decks allow occupants to work in an indoor\/outdoor space. \u201cLarge exterior fans keep air circulating in these exterior spaces to mitigate the climate of the city, while also bringing a familiar vernacular language to the space,\u201d Motonaga further explained.<\/p>\n

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CANVAS. Image courtesy of EQ Office<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The outdoor space also allows businesses to get creative with the layouts. Inspired by Costa Mesa\u2019s boat-building past, EQ Office\u2019s CANVAS project includes an outdoor workspace named The Boathouse. \u201cThe walls of the space are locally sourced vintage sails, bringing a unique element of history to the campus. It also features an eight-person conference table, outdoor AV systems and outlets, as well as presentation and video conferencing capabilities to allow for productivity and creativity in a relaxed environment,\u201d Hobey mentioned.<\/p>\n

Green is in<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To further enhance productivity and a feeling of well-being in connection with nature, an increasing number of office spaces feature biophilic elements<\/a>, which are a rapidly advancing trend. \u201cWe designed these outdoor workplaces with employee wellness in mind, where natural light, air and outdoor space bring a residential and hospitable sensibility to the workplace environment,\u201d Motonaga said. And the idea is catching on. <\/p>\n

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READ ALSO:<\/strong> Sustainable Office Design Trends to Watch This Year<\/a><\/p>\n

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For the Playa District project\u2014an office campus that used to have an open space surrounded by five towers\u2014EQ Office and RIOS created a new type of space that integrates the gardens rather than the sealed interior spaces. \u201cThis open space was divided into outdoor garden work rooms, allowing different groups of people to use them in unique ways to facilitate collaboration. Individual outdoor work areas were created along the edges to provide privacy, while also giving the opportunity to engage with people nearby,\u201d Motonaga added.<\/p>\n

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O2. Image courtesy of Rosslyn BID<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Meanwhile, Rosslyn BID\u2019s O2 made the best of all the space Gateway Park has to offer, while leaving the grassy area open. The space encompasses six distinct workspaces for one or two persons or areas for groups in need of physically distanced meeting space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the Field Office, which is a group of cubicle spaces separated by greenery walls; The Pod, a group of physically distanced, single-seat workspaces; The Row, a group of single-user standing workspaces; and the Corner Office where we have counter chairs and more single-seat workspaces,\u201d Burick explained.<\/p>\n

Navigating obstacles<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Playa District. Image courtesy of EQ Office<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

COVID-19 created multifaceted challenges<\/a> for the office sector, the biggest one being the shift from centralized offices to remote work. When asked about the hurdles they\u2019ve encountered when deciding to take the workplace outside, Hobey and Burick identified the weather as the biggest drawback, followed by internet connectivity. <\/p>\n

From a design standpoint, Motonaga mentioned the relationship to the ground and landscape. \u201cIt should be guided by the life of the user, without viewing the architecture as a machine or commodity. Another challenge is to design the exterior open spaces that adjoin and surround any outdoor work area to create a sense of place and intimacy that make the act of working possible. Lastly, it\u2019s important to understand the nature of the work you are trying to promote and how the community will ultimately use the space,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Stepping out into the future<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once people are allowed to return to the office, the largest part of them will want to embrace a hybrid work model<\/a>, according to a recent JLL report. This translates into a new and diverse mix of work locations and work schedules, paving the way for an increasing number of projects with elements of outdoor work.<\/p>\n

According to Hobey, \u201coutdoor offices will likely become more of a fixture in the corporate world as employees continue to express needs for flexibility and mobility, especially amid the pandemic.\u201d EQ Office\u2019s Hughes Center in Las Vegas and Fifth Third Center in Nashville, Tenn., are illustrative of this trend. The company has already converted underutilized exterior areas and added functional outdoor workspaces as an amenity.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This trend is here to stay, but so is the indoor office\u2014although not as we knew it. Hobey believes that \u201cthe office will go wherever people want to concentrate or collaborate,\u201d while Burick thinks that outdoor workspaces \u201chave the potential to be more integrated into employees\u2019 daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

This synergy will set the stage for a stronger and health crisis-proof office landscape, with the outdoor working experience expected to gain more popularity. \u201cPrior to COVID-19, we were seeing an increased need for optionality around the way our tenants work and this has certainly become paramount since March,\u201d Hobey concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Landlords and architects are inviting office space users to take a bold step outside and endorse a change accelerated by the pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":741,"featured_media":1004496790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21808,23891,21742,21747],"tags":[48950,43400,50755,36579,50713],"class_list":["post-1004496778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-national","category-latest","category-office","tag-coronavirus","tag-eq-office","tag-mary-claire-burick","tag-rios-clementi-hale-studios","tag-rosslyn-business-improvement-district"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEmbracing the World of Outdoor Workspaces - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Embracing the World of Outdoor Workspaces\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Landlords and architects are inviting office space users to take a bold step outside and endorse a change accelerated by the pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-14T15:54:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-04T14:14:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/12\/Playa-District_J-Sanidad_0722.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"861\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Corina Stef\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/\",\"name\":\"Embracing the World of Outdoor Workspaces - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/12\/Playa-District_J-Sanidad_0722.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-14T15:54:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-04T14:14:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/73262f140f4b0a11baea2dd6f27beadf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/embracing-the-world-of-outdoor-workspaces\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/12\/Playa-District_J-Sanidad_0722.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2020\/12\/Playa-District_J-Sanidad_0722.jpg\",\"width\":861,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"Playa District. 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