There is no doubt that 2020 has brought about a year of change in all areas of our lives. Work is indisputably one of them: the needs arising regarding health and well-being in offices during the pandemic have changed the way we understand and live these spaces.
Healthy offices, the importance of the work environment
Workplaces must live up to the needs and new habits that have been set up in the latter and convulsive year. But not only that, they must also look forward to industrial relations and a society that puts life at the center. In this sense, it is essential to ensure that the workspaces are healthy, regardless of whether we are talking about a coworking or an office. Effective health measures not only improve the situation in which people do their jobs, but also the perception of the organizations that implement them.
Healthy offices with clean air
Making our office healthy for greater well-being and improving productivity is already a reality. Through bioconstruction criteria and the study of people's behavior in work environments we can implement significant improvements in this area. Collecting information is the first step in knowing what state the space is in. Today technology provides us with information about different health parameters in real time in such a way that they can be monitored to know when the optimal values are exceeded. With this equipment you can know the air load in terms of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehydes, radon gas, suspended particles and CO2. Knowing when and what parameters exceed the acceptable threshold we are able to improve space ventilation strategies.
Triple, Spain's first coworking CO2nulo
In the spring of 2020, the Triple coworking, designed by the architecture studio sAtt, was inaugurated in Madrid and certified by ecometro. This coworking and events venue, functions with continuous air renewal and separate ventilation and air conditioning areas in each room. With this the possible harmful components of the air are filtered and purified without expanding throughout the building, following the recommendations of the Government of Spain. As mentioned above, it also has a constant monitoring of the air quality of the space. The double flow mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery allows it to be effective and maintain the temperature in the rooms, assuming savings of up to 40% compared to a conventional system. To this objective of healthy workspace has contributed the selection of toxic-free materials with clay tiles, recycled textile insulators or paints of plant origin. The biophilic design of the different workspaces makes the vegetation present not only improves air quality, but also reduces stress levels. In addition, Triple is the first carbon neutral coworking space to receive the CO2nulo certificate of ecometro. This neutral impact building has offset the 196 tons of CO2 emitted in the various phases of construction in a reforestation program, through the CeroCO2 program of the organization Ecodes. To achieve this, the life cycle was analyzed first, emissions were minimized and the building electrified with 100% renewable energies. It's time for organizations to start demonstrating that their values can become facts and that they are prepared for the world to come.