Everyone is adapting to a new normal. Zoom calls, trouble connecting to company servers, and household background noise have become the new work vibe. Are we prepared for these abrupt changes? Are our homes prepared?

This is the new norm: home as a workspace. Big tech corporations have recently announced policies to prolong remote working. Even Twitter has allowed its employees to work-from-home permanently. People are starting to realize remote working is here to stay. Or, at least, it’s become a viable long-term option.

Trope, an architectural design firm that embraces tropical ways of living and working, has seen this trend of designing for home-based remote work long before the new norm shifted. Digital and remote work has already become more and more common, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend exponentially.

Residential design shift towards workspace integration 

Most of us city dwellers weren’t prepared for this abrupt shift. As newly remote workers, we would have to dedicate and transform one corner, or even one room, in our homes to dedicated office space.

While most people living in suburban homes have opted for the route of reassigning space, folks with a deficit of space, like those of us living in New York City, will have to look elsewhere. We would rather use our dining tables, share with roommates, or just stay and work in the bedroom. But it’s the bedroom! One should have separate environments between work and home, and making the bedroom feel like a workplace is far from ideal. This can trigger work-fatigue as it’s getting harder to establish time and physical boundaries between work and personal space.

At Trope, we’ve developed a space-efficient dedicated workspace in one of our new residential projects. This strategy, utilizing in-wall, closet-like integration, requires a very minimal footprint with maximal value to its user:

• Quick set-up: open the closet door, and your workspace is all set. 
• Clear division between work and home: once you’re done with work, close the closet door and your workday is over. The space is transformed back to your home. No more work notes, computer screens, books, and all those jarring objects in sight. 
• Compact footprint: this new dedicated space only requires 2 feet  (~60cm) depth x the length of typical closet, preferably 4 feet (~120cm) 

Luckily, this strategy is applicable to any typical New York City apartment with a built-in closet! A trip to the Ikea website could make this a solid weekend project.

• Ikea SVALNÄS wall mounted storage combination – $167 (minimum 36” closet width)
• Or more affordable option Ikea VITTSJO laptop table – $39.99 (minimum 42” closet width)
• Ikea MULIG clothes bar – $5.99 – adjustable length for any leftover space according to the closet width (you can double stack this to have one row on top of another)

The world is obviously changing to adapt to this new norm, new ways of social interaction, and new modes of working. But the built environment isn’t so ready to adapt. In response, we ourselves can be more creative. We can use what we currently have to adapt to our ever-changing needs. Our homes are built, they’re here to stay. But they should be designed for future adaptability.