The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined daily life. From working environments to required face coverings to food delivery to entertainment, the effects and aftermath of social distancing may be here to stay for a very long time. These are unchartered waters and architecturally speaking, will no doubt have an impact on the design of future gathering spaces. Therefore, it is incumbent on the architectural community to look for ways to not only mitigate virus transmission, but to design safer gathering spaces.
In this blog post series, we’ll look at several key areas within the church campus where design can have a major impact on the occupants’ safety and protection from transmitting and/or contracting COVID-19 or other viruses.
As churches begin to reopen, federal, state, city and county health and safety guidelines are in place to help prevent new cases of COVID-19. But beyond best-practices of hand sanitizer stations, daily deep cleaning, and seating people six feet apart, what else is worth considering in terms of indoor spaces.
Considerations for the Office Space:
• Rearrange office space so that desks are at least 6’ apart & not facing each other.
• Add an expandable or higher cubicle guard on partitions.
• Use different colored carpet circles or floor markings at people’s workstation to designate the 6’ social distance zone.
• Post COVID-19 transmission signage in prominent locations, including hand sanitizing stations.
• Remove some chairs out of conference rooms to encourage social distancing.
• Consider remote or virtual work from home or in other spaces in the church building, such as the lobby or commons area.
• Use overhead signs to direct people in one-way traffic patterns in lieu of two-way.
• Make sure your staff keeps their work areas clean & decluttered for easy sanitizing.