How to Create New Outdoor Office Spaces and Outdoor Classrooms

AUSTIN, Texas - Sept. 23, 2020 - PRLog -- Across the country, an increasing number of commercial property developers, office facility managers, and school administrators see outdoor spaces as part of the solution for encouraging workers to return to the office for face-to-face meetings or bringing students back on campus for in-person teaching.

Outdoors spaces are perceived as less risky for viral transmission, which helps encourage employees and students to return to work or school campuses with greater confidence.

As public health and architectural historians remind us, today's renewed focus on fresh air in the Great Outdoors is not a new concept. The 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic led schools at the time to use outdoor tents as classrooms. It also brought about widespread use of steam radiator boiler heating systems capable of keeping interior spaces warm even when the windows were kept wide-open in the dead of winter, systems that are still in use today in many older buildings.

What's the best way to get started? We take a look at some of the key considerations for optimizing outdoor office spaces and classrooms.

Choose The Right Site For Outdoor Furniture

Quite a few variables can come into play when choosing where to site your outdoor furniture projects.

In some cases, your site options could be quite limited. For example, take the case of a traditional multi-story urban building, which might only offer the option of kitting out a roof deck or the possibility of carving out space from an adjacent parking lot – but little else short of a major remodel or new construction.

On the other hand, suburban offices and school campuses tend to offer more site options, ranging from converting existing outdoor atriums, patios, or parking lots into office spaces — or setting up outdoor classrooms on school playgrounds, athletic fields, or other outdoor areas on school grounds.

As you evaluate each potential site (assuming there is more than one candidate to choose from), keep tabs on the type of outdoor ground surfaces that are available.

Existing wood decks and concrete or brick patio areas could be put into service fairly quickly by specifying Formaspace mobile outdoor furniture solutions (such as desks, workbenches, or tables) that use industrial-strength casters that can lock into position, yet allow the furniture moved indoors or reconfigured to meet your current needs.

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