During the past year, the traditional models for office buildings and higher education renovations have gone out the window as capacity, usage, and safety protocols have been rewritten.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, demographic trends will continue to adapt. So, how do the designers and planners of 2021’s projects accurately build for the new year’s projects?
Titus Sam, the business development manager for CEC Facilities Group’s audio-visual business unit, provides his thoughts on which trends will affect the AEC industry’s audio-visual projects this year.
Hybrid meetings drive teamwork
Zoom. Microsoft Teams. GoToMeeting. We’ve all become familiar with these. Likely, you’ve had hybrid meetings with some teammates attending virtually and others in person. Crestron’s July 2020 survey shows that 50 percent of customers plan to increase their video conferencing capabilities in the next two years, with 20 percent stating they are implementing upgrades immediately.
One key driver in those upgrades is how user-friendly the controls are. Employees want (and need) to walk into a room, interact with an intuitive display with minimal instructions, and get down to business within 15-30 seconds.
This trend will continue to grow in 2021, which means office building managers need to reimagine their usable space. For some, that means smaller occupancies in standard-size rooms. Others will need more space to keep attendees distanced. In all cases, additional digital networking installations will be required. That means more displays, ports, connections, cabling, and wireless networking.
Work-from-home becomes work-from-anywhere
COVID-19 opened the doors for out-of-office work, and many people are taking advantage. No longer tied down close to work, employees can now work from anywhere with a strong signal. Several industry leaders have suggested that this trend will lead to the growth of smaller, satellite offices in suburbs. Employees at these offices will need top-of-the-line connectivity for hybrid meetings.
With a mobile workforce comes the need for more equipment as well. Gone are the days of one monitor per person. Today’s employees need displays at their desks, conference rooms, and home, and an integrated system to keep everyone connected.
Those projects may start filtering in the second half of 2021. Similarly, coworking locations, which thrived before the pandemic began, are expected to double in the next five years. These pod-like workstations will each need their own monitors, connections, and audio systems – and experienced teams to install them.
Reimagined learning
With a full semester finished, colleges have some usable data on how to improve their students’ classroom experience. Some of the key changes have been remote and outdoor learning, and overflow classrooms, where students can stay socially distanced but still interact with faculty. In some cases, campuses are refitting auditoriums and gymnasiums for classroom work. Both require separate audio/visual solutions. For these situations, it’s important for facility planners to standardize equipment across the campus and provide an access level that’s available to those learning remotely.
Adaptable AEC teams will succeed as educational and commercial customers try to reimagine uses for their campuses.
More than most years, 2021 will take some maneuvering, but keeping trades like audio/visual in mind will help set up tomorrow’s campuses and facilities for success.
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