of custom heating , ventilating , and air conditioning solutions with an office in Sacramento , says he believes that increasing the amount and quality of ventilation in commercial spaces will take precedence over energy usage goals in the short term . “ Energy efficiency was always kind of rising to the top ,” Taipale says . “ Now I see it as more of a holistic deal : It ’ s got to be energy efficient , but it ’ s got to be healthy .”
Taipale says the wildfires prior to the pandemic had already increased client interest in improving filtration . But he has also been approached by numerous clients interested in newer technology such as active systems that use ultraviolet light to kill pathogens or bipolar ionization , a process that sends ions into the air stream to form a bond with pollutants and increase their size so they can be filtered out more easily . “ Besides getting rid of dirt , smoke and dust , it can also nuke out viruses ,” Taipale adds .
Parrott says building design is also starting to incorporate the old-fashioned way of delivering more fresh air : letting outside air in through open windows and other passive systems . “ We ’ re starting to move away from the building being something that is completely enclosed and where we ’ re trying to keep nature out , so we ’ re bringing natural ventilation into spaces ,” he says .
Alikhan also expects the connection between inside and outside spaces , something she says her firm has always designed for , to become a bigger part of office buildings . “ I think that ’ s going to become huge ,” Alikhan says of places where people can go outside during the workday and interact with nature . “ There is going to be an emphasis put on the outdoors .”
She predicts that outside spaces will also play a bigger role in school design . “ For education facilities , the outdoor space is going to become as important as the indoor space for all kinds of
things ,” Alikhan says . “ The connection with nature , the ability for kids to maybe learn outside , so that the outside becomes as much a learning ground as the inside is , I think that ’ s going to be an important change .”
One sector that continued to be active during the pandemic was health care facilities , which constantly have to upgrade to accommodate new technologies and services . Health care facilities were not prospering despite being inundated by COVID-19 cases : Many hospitals took a serious hit to their finances in 2020 because they had to suspend nonemergency surgeries for safety reasons .
That lesson , Cohen says , is leading health care providers to place a new emphasis on flexibility as facilities are upgraded . “ If you ’ re in health care , you don ’ t ever want to be boxed out from doing elective surgeries again , so you ’ re going to design and modify your facilities to make sure you have that flexibility ,” she says .
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