About Naresh V Narasimhan, Managing Partner, Venkataramanan Associates:
V Narasimhan is a practitioner and leader with over 34 years of experience in architecture and urban design. He is a best known for his association with Venkataramanan Associates – an award-winning architecture firm based out of Bengaluru, which saw a meteoric rise under his leadership. In addition to his architectural practice, his contribution to urban development as an urbanist, activist and creative entrepreneur has been far-reaching. V Narasimhan has received acclaim for a range of urban planning and building projects, across all typologies and scales, that are self-generated, experimental and innovative.
A proud Bangalorean, V Narasimhan has the well-being of the city at heart, and is committed to making the city the best version of itself. A visionary in his own right, he understands that creating a long-term vision for the city is a broad discipline in itself, and the path toward sensitive planning needs to be anything but traditional.
V Narasimhan graduated as an architect from Manipal Institute of Technology, followed by further education at Harvard Institute for International Development. His interests range from studying the start-up ecosystem, open data and institutional development to cinema, art and popular culture.
Q: What, in your opinion, are some of the workplace trends instigated by the pandemic?
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented, to say the least. While the great acceleration in the use of technology, digitisation, and new forms of working is here to stay, there are several aspects of workplace design that remain uncertain. Some of the trends that we predict will sustain are –
- Offices will see more wellbeing-focused design elements such as biophilia, ergonomics, cleaner air ventilation, and greater areas of natural light in the office. There will be an increased demand for buildings with ample natural light and access to the outdoors, such as private gardens or balconies where users can relax.
- Offices will need to incorporate infrastructure for disinfection, for example, easy to clean and disinfect floor finishes, furniture, curtains, and door handles. Redressal of microbiological transmission through droplets, physical proximity, and airborne transmissions would need to be addressed in the design.
- Taking into consideration the new social distancing norms, traditional office floor plans will now go through de-congestion. The minimum 100 sft per person guideline will become a standard to follow.
- In a world where more and more people are working from home, returning to the office needs to be appealing enough to be viewed as a pleasure and not a chore. Christina Wallace, Harvard Business School lecturer and researcher, spoke of the importance of community collisions. Informal interactions and collaborations ensure workplace trust, according to her research. With better connectivity, infrastructure, and less demand for workstations, offices now need to become a central hub where workers come to collaborate. To facilitate this, offices will now move away from traditional work desks to sofas, coffee tables, and large meeting rooms. Rather than incorporating desk dividers, the offices of the future will likely function in a hybrid format and the designs of these third spaces will put collaboration and communication at its heart.
- Air-conditioning design for office buildings will require re-engineering to avoid the risk of community infection. Floor or zone-wise separation of the air distribution system will be the norm in future building designs. Similarly, HEPA (High-efficiency Particulate Air) filters incorporated with high-energy ultra-violet light units to kill bacteria and viruses will become a standard feature.
Q: What are the emerging technologies that have helped improve productivity in the design and construction industry?
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many industries to reassess the way business is conducted and managed. The construction industry is no exception. According to reports, it is estimated that the pandemic has cut short the time it takes to adopt new technologies (what would normally take three years or more) to under one year.
New regulations realised by the onset of the pandemic require frequent use of remote applications in the construction industry for communication, inspection, and accountability at all stages of the project—for example, apps for virtual meetings, measuring assistant, inspection, and asset measurement software. Mobile access allows the workforce and management to communicate efficiently and avoid delays.
In the absence of site visits and meetings with suppliers, architects are utilizing online catalogues to locate architectural products and materials, and Solutions such as BIM (Business Information Modeling) have become ever more vital in the decision-making process.
Real-time rendering programs like Enscape are helping architects streamline their design workflows and make project visualizations accessible to anyone, regardless of their location. Further, efficient technologies like drones provide real-time data for planning, mapping large areas for surveys and inspection of job sites before construction.
Q: With other priorities in hand, how can companies work towards balancing sustainability with safety in the post-pandemic era?
The world’s environmental emergencies are as pressing as ever, even if they may seem distant during this humanitarian crisis. While the economic shutdown has led to some widely reported environmental improvements, such as reduced emissions of GHGs and air pollutants and less water pollution, these in themselves will have almost no long-term impact. As the world reopens, the need for sustainable buildings with a focus on hygiene will be the calling card of urban planning.
A great place to begin might be with an audit of an existing building. An audit makes it clear which systems might be leaking energy, or which assets are coming at the greatest environmental cost. It’s easy, then, to track energy consumption across seasons, usage, and occupancy situations. Certain building assets will undoubtedly need replacement to have a fighting chance at a passable carbon footprint. HVAC units and window technologies, insulation strategies, and motion-sensor lights with automatic turn-off are all great beginning investments. Larger investments, like switching to solar or geothermal energy sources, should also be considered. while it may seem smaller in comparison, recycling practices can go a long way toward establishing a greener operation.
Q: Can you see any elements in workplace design that will disappear?
The forced and sudden shift to remote working is one of the most significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for office-goers. While flexible work environments have been around for more than a decade, endless lockdowns accelerated this digital transformation of the workplace. Several aspects of the future office remain a mystery, despite repeated discussions and deliberations. However, It can be stated for certain that there is no returning to business as usual.
Now that many businesses have reopened, having the flexibility to work from home (or from anywhere) seems to be a continued preference. It will become important to allow workers to find the right balance. The winning solution seems to be having that flexibility to skip the commute, as well as the opportunity to work face-to-face with colleagues. This helps with work-life balance and overall employee happiness.