As the public health crisis recedes, research suggests employees will want to come back to a welcoming, safe work environment.
Plant Walls as Social Distancing Tools
Plant Solutions, a Scottsdale-based leader in interior landscape design, installation and maintenance, is introducing horticulture-based concepts as employers and executive teams around the Valley plan for post-pandemic office life: using modular or static plant and living walls to create proper person-to-person distancing in office settings.
The prospect of employees returning to office settings has companies continuing to look for ways to make employees feel safe, while implementing a new, but different-value- centralized workspace that fosters collaboration and communication.
The incorporation of biophilic design—a concept that increases occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions—in workplaces that allows for traffic control and the creation of distinct yet flexible workspaces is an attractive and effective alternative to plexiglass partitions and floor decals.
“Employers and the design community are looking for ways to create a healthier work environment without incurring the cost of major structural changes,” said Joe Zazzera, founding principal of Plant Solutions.
“Plants, living walls and interior greenery structures offer customizable and innovative solutions, as well as create office that is connected to nature.”
A white paper released by the Silverado Roundtable (which represents a group of workplace greenery experts, each with more than 25 years of experience) concludes that creating a nature-based environment with plants and natural materials instead of plastic is not only feasible, but essential to business survival. The white paper also expounds on the use of plants to create customer/employee- friendly social distancing barriers including implementing Mosswalls and living walls (modular or static) to create separation; retrofitting office layouts by using plants and living walls as buffers for distancing; and using tall plants as demarcations for collaborative spaces.
Moveable plant walls can be introduced as needed to create small, separate groups. Adding custom and moveable plant partitions to spaces based on their specific requirements reinforces feelings of safety and comfort for workers returning to offices and customers returning to sit-down restaurants and hotels.
Having a biophilic interior structure in a workplace can also provide many benefits to employees, because plants are natural air purifiers and can absorb sound. Workers in offices with living plants experience increased productivity, reduced stress and boosted creativity. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Etsy have implemented this concept in corporate offices.
About Plant Solutions
Celebrating 40 years in operations, Plant Solutions is an interior landscape design, installation and maintenance company. Founded in 1981, by Joe Zazzera and with partner Pat Mahan joining later, Plant Solutions provides design and installation services, as well as ongoing horticultural service, MossWallArt, plant rentals and living plant walls in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and surrounding cities. For more information, visit: www.plantsolutions.com or follow our Instagram or LinkedIn feeds.