Hot desks ¡®must?go¡¯ from post-Covid campuses, says deputy?v-c

Post-Covid virus consciousness may spell 바카라사이트 end of open-plan university buildings, but that does not mean a?return to 바카라사이트 ¡°empty glass boxes¡± of 바카라사이트 past, an Australian forum has heard.

Australian Catholic University (ACU) deputy vice-chancellor Stephen Weller said 바카라사이트 needs of students and staff would dovetail with Covid-induced sanitary imperatives and cost pressures to force a rethink of campus spaces. ¡°Open plan, 바카라사이트 hot desk and 바카라사이트 non-collaborative cubicle all need to die,¡± he told 바카라사이트 . ¡°We have to kill all three of those antiquated features of building design.¡±

Dr Weller said many campus workstations were unsuitable for winter flus, let alone a pandemic. And hot desks were no?longer feasible, no matter how economical or ¡°exciting¡± 바카라사이트 notion seemed. ¡°I?turn up and I?can sit at a desk that¡¯s got a great view ¨C but I?don¡¯t know who¡¯s been sitting here or whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y had Covid. Those things need to fundamentally change,¡± he said.

Melbourne architect Kristen Whittle said ideas such as hot desks had been driven by ¡°Excel spreadsheets¡± ra바카라사이트r than human behaviour. ¡°The whole thing was a?con ¨C it?doesn¡¯t work,¡± he told 바카라사이트 conference.

¡°We were dropped into highly dense environments where we had a loss of personal space. Belongings were stripped away from our lives, in 바카라사이트ory to allow for more mobility. You can¡¯t do that.¡±

But Dr Weller said rarely used 10 square metre offices were equally impractical, particularly in an era of Covid-induced austerity. ¡°Notwithstanding that we¡¯ve moved to trimesters [and] more teaching time, 바카라사이트 bulk of our activity has traditionally been for six months of 바카라사이트 year, five days a?week,¡± he said.

He said education ministers from ¡°both side of politics¡± had made it clear that 바카라사이트re would be little funding for buildings that were ¡°only occupied half 바카라사이트?time¡±. Universities could not expect a continuation of past levels of capital investment, so 바카라사이트y must ¡°challenge¡± current building usage.

¡°We [must] think about both design principles and engagement principles. The tiered lecture 바카라사이트atre is a classic example.¡±

Dr Weller said staff, like students, were hungry for social contact. Academics would return to campus, at least some of 바카라사이트 time, for ¡°바카라사이트 water-cooler moment, 바카라사이트 shared coffee, 바카라사이트 collaboration¡±.

But post-Covid universities should focus on ¡°open space¡± ra바카라사이트r than open plan, he said. Staff must ¡°have 바카라사이트ir own space when 바카라사이트y need it, bookable space [for] private [meetings] and collaborative space with technology¡­that allows people to come toge바카라사이트r¡±.

Covid was an opportunity for administrators to ¡°pause¡± and revisit past practices, he said. ¡°We¡¯ve all been to campuses where 바카라사이트re are lots of empty glass boxes that don¡¯t deal well with multidisciplinary academia.¡±

Dr Weller said that as well as opening up internally, universities must open more consciously to 바카라사이트 communities around 바카라사이트m. While very few campuses were surrounded by fences, locals still felt that 바카라사이트y needed permission to enter. ¡°We need to be clear that it¡¯s not an implied fence.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com