About Disha Bhavsar and Shivani Ajmera, Principal Designers and Co-Founders, Quirk Studio:
Quirk Studio is a boutique design studio founded by Disha and Shivani in Mumbai. With a focus on the tactility of materials and subtle shifts of mood through strategic décor planning, the duo at Quirk Studio have successfully weaved sets of distinct bijou, yet minimalist styles, establishing a process meshed in with ubiquitous forms of inspiration that are primarily derived from the context.
What have been some of the radical changes seen in workplace design post-covid?
Workplaces have seen a major transformation in the last year and a half. Many people had to give up their offices and gone entirely remote, but now people are returning to their workplaces. Safety became the need for the hour- healthwise and even psychologically speaking.
In terms of operations, most people started working remotely, and that has led to a hybrid working system that is more digital. People work together digitally and not physically.
The low-touch economy has demarcated workstations in office spaces, the cubicles have screens and partitions, direct interaction is minimal, and technology has been updated to reduce in-person contact to things like lifts, door handles and taps in the basin.
Working remotely is definitely a short term fad. People miss working from offices; they miss social interaction and teamwork. So, they might soon head back to the offices, as soon as it is safe.
While on the other hand, social distancing is here to stay. The new normal will require spaces to be planned keeping this aspect in mind, and hence it will stick around. It is an essential requirement from clients in every office that we are now starting to design.
As offices open, the people are working in a hybrid manner. Hence, the work environment is becoming more flexible and reflective of the same; the formal seating configuration is making way for a more informal interactive setting. So, there is a huge possibility that individual cubicles might slowly disappear. The new office spaces will have more shared spaces and break-out areas that can be pre-booked and occupied. Apart from that, the need to reduce contact might lead to the elimination of elements like door handles and switchboards.
Has safety taken precedence over sustainability?
Sustainability sure has taken a backseat, especially in the commercial sector. Sharing objects or accumulating in numbers isn’t possible with the protocols, so larger spaces are required, which means more construction. Apart from that, incorporating sensors and other data-driven operations generate carbon footprints of their own. So, we’d say that since safety has taken a front seat, sustainability is at the backseat; it will definitely be at the forefront soon.
Today, companies are conscious of their roles and responsibilities to the environment, and so they are working towards multi-functional spaces and modular furniture that can be used in more than one possible way. People also prefer to use organic and sustainable materials for their furniture. The couches and chairs are made from antimicrobial fabrics to ensure a safe and clean environment, which is ethically cultivated. So there are small but sure changes on the way.