Could your office aircon be spreading COVID-19?

Simple measures you can take to reduce transmission

The past couple of weeks have seen a flurry of news stories regarding the risk of coronavirus transmission through air conditioning systems.

Firstly, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a new scientific brief acknowledging “emerging evidence” of airborne transmission of COVID-19, reversing its earlier stance that the virus could not be spread through aerosols. This change followed an open letter signed by over 200 scientists asking the WHO to reconsider its earlier position.

This news was then followed by reports in the media recommending that places of work that have air conditioning units that recirculate air should also open windows to increase the fresh airflow and reduce the potential spread of the virus.

So what does this mean for office occupiers? Well, the good news is that no matter what type of air conditioning unit you have, there are some simple and practical measures you can take to mitigate the risks of airborne transmission and provide reassurance to both staff and visitors.

Fresh air or recirculated air?

Broadly, there are two types of aircon units commonly found in offices. The first type are those which recirculate the same air, passing it over cooling or heating coils and then pumping it back into the office space.

The second type are those that take in fresh air from the outside, heating or cooling as required, pumping it into the office and then expelling it outside again. Although recent media attention has focused on recirculating air conditioning systems, those which draw in air from the outside may also be recirculating stale air. This is because many landlords have installed heat exchangers on these units to make them more environmentally friendly, cutting down energy bills by mixing some old heated or cooled air with the new.

For both types of units, the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 can be mitigated through testing, cleaning and the replacement of existing filters with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters.

Help with HEPA

At Cityspace, we have long experience with both office air conditioning units and filtration systems to create cleanroom environments. 

We can bring in our specialists and work with your landlord to conduct swab testing of aircon units for COVID-19, carry out thorough cleaning of ducts and vents, and install appropriate HEPA filters which are an efficient and cost-effective way to capture airborne coronaviruses. 

The virus that causes COVID-19 is approximately 125 nanometers wide - to put this in perspective, there are 1 million nanometers in a millimetre. The HEPA filters we are installing for clients have a particulate-size range smaller than that of the virus, making them very effective at capturing any airborne coronavirus that enters the air conditioning system.

There are many different types of HEPA filters available and, just like face masks, some are more effective than others. At Cityspace, we carefully match the filters to the flow rates of your air conditioning unit to ensure the filters do not restrict the cooling capacity and fresh air available.   

If you have any questions or need any advice on making your office COVID-19 secure, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Cityspace team by calling us on 0207 638 4250 or emailing info@cityspacemanagement.co.uk.

COVID-19 - How will your office adjust to the ‘new normal’?

5 practical changes you can implement now

As countries consider ways to ease their lockdown restrictions and gradually reopen their economies, businesses are now having to consider and plan exactly how a return to the office will work.

While the future impacts of the pandemic remain uncertain, one thing is clear - social distancing will remain a feature of society for the foreseeable future and office working practices will have to rapidly adjust to this new normal.

At Cityspace, we are working with clients and their human resources teams to put in place solutions that can be implemented quickly in order to create a productive and effective office environment, whilst protecting the safety of both staff and visitors. Based on this work, we have outlined below 5 practical changes that businesses can put in place to incorporate social distancing and hygiene practices into the office environment.

1. Rethinking how people move through the office

Keeping staff a safe distance apart requires a rethink of the routes that people take through the office - unfortunately, the shortest route may no longer be the safest. Adopting practices implemented by hospitals during the pandemic, we have been helping clients redesign office traffic flows to avoid group gatherings and congestion points.

This begins with the reception area where floor tiles can be replaced to demarcate safe distancing and sofas exchanged for single seating in two seat clusters. 

Looking at the floorplan, we have been creating one-way traffic flows through the office to make it easier for staff to keep their distance from workspaces and avoid areas of congestion. Markings on floor tiles and signage provide guidance enabling these measures to be quickly and easily adopted.

For high congestion points such as toilets or waiting areas for lifts, floor tiles or decals can be used to manage queuing that takes account of social distancing.

2. Reassigning workspaces

One of the biggest changes required for incorporating social distancing into the office environment will be around individual desks and workstations. In order to increase the space between workers, one of the quickest and easiest ways is to create an “every other” seat arrangement where staff are staggered diagonally rather than directly across from each other. Installation of clear shields between workstations is an additional solution and we have been recommending to clients a range of existing products which are suitable for this.

While using every other desk will naturally cut your headcount capacity in half or more, reassigning break out spaces and small meeting rooms can create supplementary workspaces, as these areas would have become dormant anyway as a result of the need to maintain physical distance.

3. Reconfiguring meeting rooms

Even though the rules of social interaction have changed, collaboration will remain an important aspect of office life even under new restrictions.

To enable this, we are helping clients to reconfigure larger meeting room spaces and, by changing seating plans and specifying access and exit routes, meetings can still take place while keeping 6 feet of space between participants.

 4. Reducing the spread of COVID-19 on surfaces 

To minimise any cross-infection of coronavirus from office surfaces, we are advising clients on processes and regimes to increase office cleanliness.

Measures include reviewing (where possible under fire or security regulations) the opportunity to take doors off hinges or prop them open so employees and visitors can avoid touching door handles in high traffic areas. Hand sanitizers can be introduced across the office and, in toilet areas, hand dryers should be replaced by disposable paper towels to reduce transmission of the virus.

Cleaning regimes should be frequent and visible during the day, rather than just the traditional night service, to help employees feel more comfortable about the cleanliness of their office environment.

Hot desking, where desks are typically claimed on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis should also be reconsidered in favour of assigned desks to individuals, in order to reduce transmission of the virus caused by sharing workspaces.

5. Maintaining working from home 

One realisation by companies as a result of the lockdown is that in many instances, working from home does work.

As companies transition back into their offices, there is therefore the opportunity to remain multi-site, opening the main office for a reduced number of employees under a social distancing regime, and keep other workers working from home and connected to the mother ship through technology.

As we help clients develop their return to office plans and reassign and reconfigure the office environment, it creates a clear sense of the numbers who will be able to work productively, effectively and safely from within the office, and those who will work from home either on a more permanent or rotational basis.

For many of us, adjusting to the ‘new normal’ of living and working in the time of coronavirus is certainly anything but business as usual. If you would like any help and assistance in adapting your office to this new environment, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Cityspace team at info@cityspacemanagement.co.uk or telephone us on 0207 638 4250.

Do open plan offices really encourage collaboration?

For decades the trend among workplaces has been to move employees out of individual offices and cubicles and into open plan spaces. A significant driver behind this has been ever-increasing rents which have put pressure on companies to make the most effective use of every square metre of floor space. 

Another key reason for tearing down walls and removing partitions is to physically bring individuals and teams together in order to foster greater collaboration. The idea was that with easier access to their colleagues, office workers would potentially interact more and thus become more efficient.

But have open plan offices really been successful at encouraging collaboration? According to a study by Harvard University School in 2018 which tracked face-to-face and digital interactions at the headquarters of two Fortune 500 firms, both before and after the companies transitioned to open plan, this was found not to be the case.

The researchers discovered that workers’ reaction to the new open plan environment led them to begin ignoring each other, with face-to-face interactions dropping by roughly 70% and internal electronic interactions increasing to compensate. So rather than prompt vibrant, face-to-face collaboration, this study found that open plan appeared to encourage a human response to socially withdraw from officemates and instead interact on email and instant messaging.

But what’s the real cause of these findings? Irrespective of the study methodology, was it a problem inherent in open plan, or the design of these particular offices, or was open plan just a bad fit for the culture of these companies?

At Cityspace, we design and build offices for a wide range of companies, big and small, in different sectors, with different cultures. One thing we always stress to clients at the outset is that an office is not just a physical structure, but a community, a place where people gather and work together. Offices are all about people.

So, to make an open plan office work for people, it must be designed and built in a way that not only encourages collaboration and communication, but also makes sure you are using your workspace in the most productive and cost-effective way.

Making open plan work for you

The first step in making sure that open plan will work for your company is to consider the nature of your business, the way your people work, your culture and your brand. It’s important to evaluate how you’re using your existing office space and understand what’s working and what’s not, and whether you have the right configuration of workspace areas, formal and informal meeting spaces, and quiet zones. Getting the right mix of these spaces is key to bringing people together.

Having clearly defined your occupational brief, the next step is to consider designs which deliver this brief, either for your existing office space or for new premises you may be considering. 

We recommend to clients at this early stage that we evaluate several different ways to occupy a space, producing test fit space plans to illustrate these ideas. This process allows your board or steering group to consider the many different designs and layouts possible. Through this consultative approach, your management team can then select the best occupational route which fits your culture and delivers the highest  level of employee efficiency, motivation and retention.

Moving office is the perfect time to consider how you can modernise your workspace to bring people together and enhance work activity, and create an environment that not only enables individuals to focus on their tasks, but also encourages face-to-face collaboration and the sharing of ideas.

Open plan does work, but you must create the right expression of open plan that suits your business. To find out more about how Cityspace can help you develop a productive, collaborative and cost effective workspace, please contact our team at info@cityspacemanagement.co.uk.

Will 2020 be a good year for office tenants?

The New Year has certainly heralded a new feeling of confidence in the London office market. But is a resurgent market necessarily good news for office occupiers?

With low vacancy rates looking set to continue in 2020, and increasing demand putting upward pressure on rents, our view is that it is more important than ever before to think ahead when planning your next move, and ensure you are making the most effective use of your office space.

A new sense of confidence

Investment in the central London office market soared in December, even more so than the usual end of year flurry to get deals done, following the decisive general election victory of the Conservative Party. Agents have attributed this bounce to the fact that investors now have greater clarity on both the legislative agenda and the Brexit roadmap.

According to CBRE, £4.9bn was invested in the final quarter of last year, up 125% on Q3 and on par with the last quarter of 2018. Of this, £2.55bn was transacted in December alone. However, the uncertainty that reigned throughout the rest of 2019 meant that total investment volumes for the year were £11.3bn, a drop of 36% on the previous year and the lowest level since 2011. 

Even so, agents are predicting the recent heightened levels of confidence have set the tone for a more buoyant market in 2020.

Increasing demand for quality office space

Looking ahead to 2020, CBRE predicts that while employment growth will be lower in the overall economy compared to 2019, office-based employment will grow faster than total jobs, driven by the strength of the professional, administrative services and technology sectors. Within this, London is expected to grow slightly faster than elsewhere.

As a result, demand for high-quality office space is set to increase in 2020 and businesses are expected to increasingly use real estate as part of their recruitment and retention strategy in a tight labour market. 

With the war for talent expected to be a significant feature of the office occupier market in 2020, against a backdrop where the supply of space remains low, the conditions are in place for upward pressure on rents.

JLL points to market uncertainty as having been a major factor in eroding the speculative pipeline of new office space, leading to a steady increase in prime rents in the City of London. According to JLL, City prime rents are now £75 per sqft, with premium floors and buildings surpassing £85 per sqft, and is predicting rents could soon reach £90 per sqft for the best in class space.

In the West End, JLL also predicts a flight to quality with occupiers increasingly willing to pay premium rents for the best space, particularly when coupled with proximity to the new Elizabeth Line which is planned to open next year.

How should occupiers respond?

In conditions where demand is increasing and supply of office space remains tight, we advise occupiers to think well ahead when planning their next office move.

For many businesses approaching a lease expiry, it’s important to recognise that there are now fewer opportunities out there, with vacancy rates in London below their long-term average. This means that it will now take longer than you expect to find the next office space that is right for you. 

But this issue can be solved by simply planning further ahead. Nowadays, we recommend to our clients looking for spaces under 5,000sqft to start their decision-making process at least 6 months before lease expiry. For properties between 5,000-15,000sqft we recommend starting up to one year beforehand and, for bigger properties, an 18 month time frame is recommended in order to provide the widest choice available.

As the upward pressure on rents increases, tenants need to carefully consider how they are utilising their office space - whether the office is correctly configured to their working practices, or whether they have the optimum mix of floor space attributed to meeting rooms, informal spaces and work areas.

No matter where you are with your decision making, Cityspace can help you make the right decisions when it comes to your next office move or ensure you are utilising your existing space in the most productive way. To find out more, please contact the team on info@cityspacemanagement.co.uk.

Office Acoustics - An Invisible Problem

In previous articles, we’ve talked a lot about creating an office design that encourages collaboration and productivity amongst office staff. By its nature, design is a very visual process, thinking about how the space is best utilised, and the look and feel of different zones within the office.

But an increasingly important aspect of office design and a potentially invisible problem is that of office acoustics. Any office design has to take account of the particular quirks and nuances of the building and its infrastructure, as well as the effects of suddenly filling a brand new office with hundreds of workers going about their daily jobs.

One thing we always stress at Cityspace is that offices are all about people, and over the next couple of articles we’re going to examine the invisible problem of office acoustics and the significant impact it can have on people’s productivity and wellbeing. In this first article, we’re going to look at the particular acoustic problems that can come with a building.

Raymond James Project 2019

Let’s talk in private

Acoustic problems can often manifest from unlikely sources. For example, one of our clients in the legal profession has a passive cooling system known as a ‘chilled beam’ that runs across the ceiling of their office. Because of their passive nature, chilled beams are more energy-efficient and quieter than fan driven air conditioning units. However, the ductwork surrounding a chilled beam is perforated to allow the cold air to fall. 

In the case of our client, the ductwork for the beam runs across the entire ceiling, over meeting rooms, offices and open plan areas. Because of the perforations, the ductwork effectively created a corridor to carry sound between offices, meeting rooms and common areas, allowing private discussions behind closed doors to be heard across the office. Hardly ideal given the confidential requirements of a lawyer’s office. 

Our client contacted Cityspace to investigate the problem. Because of the design of the chilled beam, boxing it off to stop conversations carrying was not an option, so we brought in our acoustics specialists to monitor and measure the noise.

The solution we came up with was sound masking, where we installed an amplifier and a series of speakers in the ceiling cavity to play an ambient noise at the required frequency to counteract conversations. The volume could be adjusted and was slowly increased over a two week period, so the new sound was not a noticeable change for staff. The problem was solved.

How sound masking works

Adding sound to a space to make it quieter seems counter-intuitive, but it works. Sound masking makes a building seem quieter by raising the ambient noise level of an environment; in this case, making private conversations less intelligible. It does not cancel out sound or eliminate all noise in an environment; it simply reduces how it can be heard.

Three ‘colours’ of noise are generally used - white, pink and brown - which offer different combinations of frequencies which work to muffle intrusive acoustics by giving our ears and brain a continuous background sound.

Many companies today have started to use sound masking as a solution to resolve acoustical issues within their workspaces, not only to increase privacy but to also create an environment that leads to higher productivity. 

How we can help

If you are suffering from acoustic problems in your office, don’t suffer in silence. Please get in touch with the team here at Cityspace, and we can come in and review your issues, and come up with practical and cost-effective solutions to give you both a peaceful office environment and peace of mind.