“ARCHITECTS EVERYWHERE HAVE recognized the need of… a tool, which may be put in the hands of creators of form with the simple aim… of making the bad difficult and the good easy.” — Le Corbusier, modernist architect
Throughout history, architects and space planners have often considered the maladies of society and have designed to remedy “the bad” and make easy “the good.” Today, the coronavirus pandemic represents what must be considered by space planners around the world. They’re tasked with creating spaces that will minimize the likelihood of infection, yet make them functional and appealing to the human spirit, and still allow the wheels of industry to turn.
Le Corbusier himself was profoundly involved in designing spaces for the treatment of tuberculosis, which immensely informed many of his other projects. Whether you appreciate his designs or not, many of his spaces were created with disease in mind. The form of many of his structures was a result of the scourge of tuberculosis at the turn of the 20th century. Other architects, interior designers, and space planners have addressed disease also, like cholera and influenza, through the creative design of the spaces in which we work, shop, and educate. It is with all this in mind that wide-format suppliers can, and should, be participating in solutions to mitigate the effects of SARS CoV-2 on our world.
Many designers and space planners are thinking of this in two to three phases. As the world hastily responded to the threat of COVID-19 back in March and April, Phase-1 was implemented. We’ve seen Phase-1 in many locations in the form of quickly installed clear “sneeze guards,” 11 by 17 posters taped to windows, often with just a handwritten note and graphic, and generic, design-off-the-shelf floor graphics. Phases-2 and -3 in the coming months will see more sophisticated design, materials, and implementation. The timing is now perfect for wide-format shops to enter these arenas and be a part of profitable and effective solutions toward the return to a safe and operable world.
It’s tempting for those of us in the wide-format industry to think: “We are just printers. We put ink on substrates, cut it, and then ship it. We can’t participate in any meaningful solutions.” But we can, and we should. The world needs us to participate and be smart about creating results. And, in doing so, we can also create profitable opportunities for ourselves.
Already, some wide-format shops with dye-sublimation printing and CNC cutting have helped by creating functional masks and face shields. But as retail, corporation, and educational space planners draw up the future of those spaces they’re considering and redesigning a “new normal.” And wide-format printers and fabricators should be at that design and conception table, participating with those architects, interior and graphic designers, retail space planners, retail merchandising managers, corporate real estate and facilities managers, and institutions of education.
If you’re a wide-format shop that has traditionally not worked with those industries, consider that now may be the time for you to step up and help your community by offering helpful ideas that would also enter you into a profitable venture.
Much is already being discussed and published by trade journals, analysts, and researchers about retail, corporate workspace, and educational segments of society. They’re already shifting and allocating budgets and planning for the future redesign of those spaces. With some continuing education on those industries, the comprehensive wide-format supplier can not only participate in those solutions, but can easily expand their wide format capabilities and business with a little bit of study and preparation.
Many of the publications I’ve read and web conferences I’ve attended in the past three to four months are laying out concepts and guidelines by which to consider the upcoming redesign and layout of those spaces. As an example, the “open workspace,” popularized many years ago and used prominently today, was implemented within corporations and offices to facilitate collaboration, speedy and efficient communication, and problem solving. But many space planners now see it as a problem to solve, and at least revise, due to a better understanding of droplets, aerosolization, and the travel of disease through the air. Floor plans, desk layouts, dividing screens, and panels are already emerging as likely long-term fixes.
It’s tempting to think a vaccine will detour and pause these redesign efforts, but that’s not too likely. The world has awoken to a new reality, a “new normal.” Even if a vaccine is developed, there’s concern for how well the vaccine will work, other future pandemics, and/or mutation of current viruses. It’s in this paradigm that space planners are beginning to design and in which wide-format suppliers can participate. Based on more than 25 years of experience, here are some common architectural and space planning considerations that are under development worldwide for the retail, corporate, and educational environments your wide-format shop can address. If you’re interested in pursuing this type of business, you should continually follow developments so as to speak most intelligently about the developing science and space planning concepts and needs.
Hopefully these ideas will put you on a good foot going forward. In my experience, developing expertise of this sort elevates you and your company and makes you a valued service provider. And, because it takes a little more effort, it can lead to a fair amount of this sort of business as well as some of the easier, more traditional wide-format projects.
Stan Lucas is currently serving as business development manager for the Wide Format Department of DCG One, a large commercial printer in Seattle. He is having great success (and a bit of fun) introducing wide-format concepts, technologies, and methodologies into the world of offset printing. Lucas has 25-plus years of experience in wide-format print and fabrication including photo, screen print, and a broad variety of digital production technologies. He is a Big Picture Editorial Advisory Board member. Feel free to reach out to Lucas for consultation on any of the above topics at stan.lucas@dcgone.com.
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