Commercial Interior Designers are Driving Innovation for Workplace Health and Safety During a Time of Pandemic

Navigating Unprecedented Times

Commercial interior designers across the country are grappling with the monumental issues of today and how they affect our work and public spaces. The COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice movement and climate change all have major implications for how commercial spaces function and how to make them safe, functionally efficient and aesthetically rich.

“At IIDA, we believe that commercial interior design plays a key role in protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public. That design has the power to heal and bring people together,” Yoko Ishihara, president of IIDA Northern California, recently wrote in a letter to members. “In respect to public health, racial equity and climate change, these are unprecedented times. As highly trained professionals, it is our responsibility to push the value of design beyond our current understanding to make a positive transformation through innovation.”

The advent of COVID: A new design challenge

The COVID-19 global pandemic has presented a new challenge to commercial interior designers. We must now address how commercial building design can help mitigate the spread of infectious diseases and balance that with the economics of managing a business. Factors to be reassessed include how to move people to and through their workspaces or other destinations; interior surfaces and how they can be kept clean with minimal human contact; air quality, filtration and freshness; and how to balance health-driven spatial requirements with ambience and experience in a hospitality space such as a hotel, restaurant or other entertainment venue.

Toro Toro in Fort Worth Texas | Wilson Ishihara 
Designing for changing work patterns

Designing for safety and health 

Health and wellness decisions are supported by materials choices, physical design and aesthetics. Designing for wellness includes such considerations as lighting, ventilation, water filtration, climate control and other aspects of the building itself. In the context of the pandemic, this list now also includes per person space allocation, navigation patterns and shared touchable surfaces.

At the same time, strictly clinical considerations must be translated for the varied usages of commercial spaces. 

“People come to restaurants for cultural experiences and to be part of a community,” says Ishihara, who is a principal at Wilson Ishihara in Sonoma and Oakland, CA. “The space has to feel hospitable—not like a hospital. So even within the context of a pandemic, we must focus on maximizing diner experiences—how it feels to sit at every table, and adjusting spaces so the customers feel safe, yet the experiences are still meaningful and delightful. That is what will ensure they return—and ensure the long-term health of the business.”


With the sudden shift to working-from-home that the pandemic shutdown required, the very nature of work has shifted in ways that are likely to endure. According to researcher Jennifer Magnolfi Astill in a recent interview with Harvard Business Review, “This event will mark a permanent change in our perception of workspace …. [and] new ways of working together will emerge, at first in the form of innovation in digital work tools,  – and later in innovation in physical space.”

With many companies delaying a return to their offices, Northern California commercial interior designers are already generating possible solutions for both short- and long-term needs of the new work dynamic. San Francisco-based design firm RMW modelled its New Office Paradigm on the assumption that shared workspace is vital for full team collaboration and creativity, even while physical distancing and hygienic practices must be maintained.

New Office Paradigm | RMW

Designing for flexibility and sustainability

Commercial interior designers are experts in understanding the required quality and durability of materials selected to meet the projected needs, resources and usage of the space.  With that very usage undergoing rapid transformation, flexibility is critical as well.

For a new shared laboratory facility that houses biotech start-ups actively researching COVID-related healthcare solutions, the interior design team at MBH Architects of Alameda, CA, reworked the large common spaces into seating areas that offer numerous options and are completely changeable. The designers’ deep relationship with furnishings vendors yielded the “energizing” colors that the client sought, even while meeting the health needs that require non-porous, completely cleanable surfaces.

Bakar BioEnginuity HUB in Berkeley, CA | MBH Architects 

Ensuring the health of the environment and mitigating the impact of climate change are growing world-wide concerns. Regulations, clients and the public are demanding that commercial buildings be constructed using environmentally sensitive materials and practices so that they function in a sustainable way. With some of the strictest and most progressive building codes in the nation, Northern California’s commercial interior designers are increasingly applying LEED certification and WELL building standards to create “healthy buildings” for all.


Three IIDA Efforts to help Interior Designers Meet the Moment

Close up shot of green I Design Button

Published October 08. 2020

It has certainly been an unprecedented year – unlike anything we’ve ever experienced—with a pandemic gripping our nation, a movement to fight systemic racism, and numerous historic wildfires raging across our state. These difficult times have also given us the opportunity to reflect and rethink what is important to our community and how to best support our industry in order to continue to advance the commercial interior design profession. 

Our collective minds can overcome any obstacles. Together, let’s continue progress so we ultimately come out stronger on the other side.

This year, we at IIDA NorCal are focusing our efforts and resources in three primary ways:  

1. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe interior design plays a key role in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Design has the power to heal and bring people together. However, we must collectively take action in order to make progress. Therefore, we have launched a series of equity initiatives to fight for diversity, equity and inclusion throughout  our society –  and particularly in the interior design field. 

Our Dignity, Equity & Justice by Design series of conversations is underway, bringing together both compelling speakers and lively participation by attendees. Session 2 is coming up on October 21, and I encourage you to register and participate in this important work.

2. Mentorship, Training and Resources

In order for our industry to thrive, it is critical that each and every one of us takes the time to inspire, teach, and mentor the next generation of professionals. For this reason, we are launching a new website and a virtual mentorship program this fall. Each of these are new vehicles that will generate opportunities for our community to connect and learn from one another. Mentorship, of course, is deeply connected to our goals of dignity, equity and justice, so emphasizing the creation of tangible opportunities to diversify the voices, backgrounds and talents of our industry will greatly inform all of these efforts.

3. Nurture the Culture of Innovation

Our industry is shifting as we have endured many life-changing experiences in the last several months. As designers, we’re trained to think creatively and to approach each challenge with fresh thinking. It is also our responsibility to push the value of design beyond our current understanding, in order to make a positive transformation through innovation. 

Supporting these efforts is a fully redesigned website, launching next month, as well as our ongoing and proactive advocacy efforts. Despite challenges with the state’s legislative calendar that the pandemic has imposed, we’re forging ahead to ensure our industry receives the recognition and regulatory status it needs. The  above work cannot happen without the continued support and involvement of our community. Please join us and let’s make progress together.