Designing in Today's Climate6/2/2021 As if the job of designers wasn't already a mystery, 2020 has pushed that idea even further. Though the climate of corporate America was already shifting to encompass the freedom and flexibility of a work from anywhere attitude, the last year has shown us how rapidly that change can take place. Flex spaces and shared offices are no longer an idea for companies, but a must, that is since office spaces will likely continue a trend of employees only using them when necessary. The question is how far will that idea go.
This idea of working on our own terms will soon push to residential design, if it has not already. Home office spaces with seclusion from all the activates that could encompass a busy home life will soon create a new design mentality that we are not only designing a home for someone to enjoy when they decide to close their screens, but when they are on them. As if this wasn't a challenge enough, product lead times and demand pricing have created drastic rises in price and have lengthened project completion times. With lumber costing upwards of twenty thousand dollars more for a single family residence, what can we do to move projects along? Firstly, designing smart and getting the most out of materials is a must. Consider the uses of spaces and minimizing dead space, precisely locate shaft spaces, even think about diversifying materials to help in naturally lowering cost. Just because you do all of that right, doesn't mean you will save the owner on costs. Lead times are unprecedented and can possibly push towards the new year for cladding and flooring alike and we all know what that means, Project Delays!! Careful planning, and even more careful design will be required over the next few years as we balance the delicate act of not only constructing on a confused schedule and with fluctuating costs, which make cost estimation near impossible, but a changing basis of design. Joshua Helzlsouer, LEED AP Comments are closed.
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