Functional Office Furniture for the Coronavirus-Era Workplace
Quick fixes like plexiglass panels may be viable solutions to reduce the spread of coronavirus as workers begin to return to the office, but as the commercial real estate industry begins to put a greater emphasis on health, so too are global furniture companies, shifting more thought into how office furniture will evolve to fit our “new normal” of virus-wary workspaces.
Investing in quality furniture pieces for your space can be expensive, so choosing products that will serve your office for the long haul is important. Adaptable and flexible pieces that can change with the times ever more appealing.
From easy retrofits for open office spaces like panel shields that put barriers between employees or standalone pods that give each worker personal space to focus, to new modular furniture solutions, these 14 office furniture products can mitigate the spread of germs today while becoming useful, functional installations of your office for the COVID era and beyond.
LoftWall’s Back to Office Collection
The Back to Office Collection from Loftwall offers products to modify existing open office workspaces with social distancing and personal barriers in mind as “space division is [now] a nonnegotiable,” according to the company. Its modular Desk Shield can interlock to link multiple units together, while the Shelter shield comes with adjustable clamps to accommodate most existing desks. The company says both can be assembled in less than five minutes and the materials are safe for health-grade cleaners.
The Hitch and Split screens create more barriers between employees at desks and work tables. Split panels come on wheels for easy mobility, are available in up to 78-inch tall models and can be 100 inches wide, and frosted panel options allow users to create privacy and protection without blocking natural light. The Hitch L-shaped panel creates barriers between desks and is designed for a 28- to 30-inch tall work surface.
Okamura’s Drape
This modern take on the cubicle creates quiet, private work pods with sound-absorbing material and high barriers to keep employees separated from each other in the workspace. The pods come in three configuration options of either traditional box or unique hexagonal shapes, PET felt or fabric coverings and two different height options.
Drape is designed to be compact with a small footprint but still provides maximum privacy and protection by blocking lines of sight, the company says. The secret to creating configurations that are compact yet comfortable, the company says, is by combining the 60-degree diagonal edge of the panels with the work surface. Accessories such as deskside power and ambient lighting can be added with discreet cable management. The product is scheduled to launch in fall 2020.
Vitra’s Soft Work Sofa
This sleek sofa allows employees to still enjoy comfortable lounge seating in the office while keeping them safely apart. Movable panels create barriers between occupants, and in the long run create quiet zones for concentrated work in common areas with less distraction.
Sofa configurations also include table surfaces, power outlets and charging stations. The seating system comes in numerous configurations and an array of upholstery color options. With ergonomic seating, users can adjust individual backrests in the curved or straight modular configurations.
Pair’s Flexible Desk Systems
Pair’s customizable desk systems are “designed to evolve” and “centered on adaptable workspaces” at all times, says the company, making them an appealing option for workspaces in the COVID-19 era and beyond. The systems, like the Mix and Olli lines, are configurable and offer plug-and-play components, some of which can be switched out in minutes, like adjustable-height desks that can be arranged together or apart for individual work or collaborative stations; wire management for cables; light-fixtures; cabinetry; side tables; and, importantly these days, butterfly and hanging divider screens that add to the workspace aesthetic with color and textile choices.
The newest addition to the line is the Saltine screen, a response to customer demand for a safe screen component when returning to the workplace. The screen clips on to the side of desks and adjusts to “comfortable enclosure heights,” and is made from easy-to-clean materials including glass, PET, acrylic, and laminates.
Maars Living Walls’ M923 Modular Walls
Described as a “hackable mobile space divider,” the M923 modular walls provide a permanent alternative to plastic barriers with a lot of built-in functionality and flexibility. The walls provide permanent partitions while remaining “partially open,” and each panel can be customized for height, color and material, which includes functional options like cork, absorption panels and whiteboards. Users can easily change the panels and design the wall themselves as needed, and leveling feet mean the walls can be easily moved around and fastened without drilling or construction.
Arcadia’s Iso Work Lounge
Combining comfortable lounge seating with an individual workspace, Iso provides a welcome and quiet space to sit, work and focus, with partitions for privacy and separation. Seating and panel elements can be configured together to create standalone modules, clusters of single-user spaces, or expand into multi-user settings for various meeting requirements. With multiple finishes and colors and optional cubby features including open shelves for storage and tables, each also comes standard with an electrical unit for charging.
Stylex’s Quick Screens
These mobile screens provide privacy and separation in open plan environments by creating partially- to fully-enclosed spaces as needed, and are easily stored away when not. Users can configure the screens to create individual workspaces or ad hoc lounges, or direct traffic flow and help reduce noise, as well as enforce greater social distancing. Available in 54-and-68-inch heights and two widths (30 inch and 48 inch), screens come standard with one-half-inch plated-steel feet that may be specified in 26 powder-coated colors.
Upholstery options range from refined woven textiles to bleach-cleanable fabrics for high-use areas that require deep cleaning. The company plans to launch the product in August 2020, and also offers a line of more permanent still screens.
Steelcase’s Brody Worklounge and Brody Desk
The Brody line of desks and pods can be dropped into underutilized spaces as decreasing density becomes more important, and create individual workspaces to get away from distractions or take advantage of comfortable seating without being exposed to others. They can be stationed in a variety of areas around the office, including common spaces. As dedicated space for workers in open-plan offices, Brody Desk provides people with moments of focus in high-traffic settings.
The Worklounge pod emphasizes employee comfort with proprietary ergonomic seating and adjustable-height tables. High panels keep employees separated while minimizing distractions.
Group Lacasse’s Workplace Distancing Solutions
This new line of office furniture solutions aims to reduce the risks of contamination with new personal protection accessories and workspace configurations. In open-plan workspaces, C.I.T.É. benching focuses on mitigating virus spread with antimicrobial finishes and acrylic screens that can be added to existing workstations to divide and prevent the spreading of droplets between people.
The STAD collection answers to privacy and separation concerns with components that can be reconfigured with adjustable height tables, screens and modular seating. The Paradigm Panel System can provide height privacy over 8 feet and create non-facing workstations. Nonporous, easy-to-clean components such as tempered glass privacy screens and hard surface laminate panels are recommended, and glass privacy screens can increase the height of barriers without sacrificing natural light.
Tayco’s Panel Shield
Building on its existing Shield Collection line of Cosmo and Switch panels for the workplace, the panel shield increases the panel height for a safer workplace. The Panel Shield uses clear and opaque materials in tempered glass and laminate to discreetly increase panel heights by about 24 inches while maintaining natural light in the office. The self-installed panels can be removed or reconfigured, and are comprised of easy-to-clean materials to help reduce the risk of spreading infection in the workplace. The Shield Collection also offers shield partition options for desk spaces.
Sedia Systems’ SD20 Shields
Available in both floor and tabletop versions, SD20 shields can help increase the capacity of an office space while helping to provide a safer and healthier environment through distancing. The SD20 Collection of dividers are easy to clean and install, and can be relocated around the office for a variety of accommodations. Multiple color options, including clear, make them an aesthetic addition to the office while promoting safety for workers from viruses, the company claims.
3form’s Varia Desk Partitions
A new line of partitioning systems from 3form composed of architectural-grade resin are sturdy and made to withstand constant cleaning, offering a more permanent alternative to temporary plastic screens. The product can be retrofitted easily to accommodate existing office layouts, and comes with easy-to-install hardware that leaves no damage to the desktop when it is removed, according to the company. The partitions come in several levels of division, from a full wrap-around to a smaller, centered screen, as well as 250 color and pattern options that can also be customized for optimal light transmission and privacy.
Slalom’s PLEXdesk
This new collection of antimicrobial plexiglass desks and partitions was specifically designed in response to COVID-19. The panels, which are treated with special germ-mitigating microparticles, can be installed on workstations and tables to create barriers between workers.
The shields are made in conjunction with the designer’s existing bracketing system, so they can be switched out with other panels in the future, like the ECOdesk panels for sound abatement. Options include freestanding models, round screens and styles equipped with brackets. The line also includes flexible and rigid freestanding partitions.
The newest edition to the Framery line of phone booths and meeting pods, the Framery O, is designed to support teleconferencing with a video screen. The soundproof and echo-free pod is available with optimal video conferencing features, including a tilting screen bracket and LED lighting surrounding the screen, plus a control panel enabling you to adjust the lighting and airflow inside the pod. The new feature comes at a time when more employees are likely to work from home and collaborate virtually with colleagues, and the booth provides an individual, private room for video calls that can be easily installed in the workplace.
