This idea could save the open office from extinction.

With the coronavirus pandemic in full tilt, the thought of millions returning to an open office is slipping further and further into the distance.

The open office dilemma.

Acres of prime real estate remain empty inciting panic by property owners and anxiety for companies concerned about the loss of productivity inherently derived from physically working together.

Whether in an urban or suburban setting, companies, developers, real estate markets and millions of workers are missing out on the support amenities and workmate synergy that only comes from being immersed in a collaborative environment.

What to do with open office?

Companies from Amazon to Google are planning for an eventual return, it’s just a question of when and with what intensity. Wearing a mask for 8 hours a day is certainly an option, but does that ‘solution’ support enough confidence for people to feel safe? To risk?

The biggest hurdle for an enclosed space remains eliminating the actual fear of airborne viral transmission. While most HVAC systems will have been updated to include HEPA filters and central UVC lights, there is still no protection from near-field contamination, such as your adjacent coughing colleague, who is unknowingly covid-19 positive.

What’s the solution?

The Sanitized Personal Workspace, or SPW, is exactly the solution to meet this challenge -a simple, light, affordable (under $1,000 /unit) retrofit device that can effectively protect the user while at their desk.

This product sanitizes the space where you are sitting, regardless of any other environmental factors, and we believe it’s a game changer for the open office in the age of coronavirus, and the unknown future of potentially additional emerging strains.

Foundational to our development are exacting air-flow and UVC wavelength computations engineered to surpass even the current CDC standards for killing or neutralizing the SARS-Cov-2 virus, and other similar SARS viruses.

How does it work?

Designed to be easily retrofitted to existing personal workspace desks, the SPW is comprised of a semi-open canopy, made of light and translucent fabric, including two vertical ventilation systems providing approximately 24 CFM of sanitized air into the canopy, so as to replenish the air in the enclosure every 60 seconds. The sides of the SPW are extendable via telescoping parts, so that users may choose the degree of privacy desired.

With the air intake located outside the SPW, sanitized air travels from the back of the canopy to its front, creating a continuous positive pressure inside, like a virtual air curtain at the users back while mitigating unwanted, non-filtered air from circling back into their desk space.

The concept is simple.

The SPW sanitizes air using fully enclosed UVC lights, and the system has been engineered to provide around 10 mJ/cm² UVC dosage at 254 or 222 nm wavelength to all airborne particles flowing through the system. As already mentioned, this dosage surpasses the 3 to 4 mJ/cm² dosage currently estimated by the CDC for killing or neutralizing SARS viruses.

Having completed a preliminary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, all results indicate desired outcomes.

In addition to providing sanitized air to the SPW user, a SPW unit will also eventually sanitize the entire volume of air in the open office since the office air is constantly circulated through one or more SPWs. The advantage here, over a central HVAC, is that the occupant gets first-use of the sanitized air.

We believe the Sanitized Personal Workspace will provide the level of confidence required for millions of people to not only feel, but actually be, safe together again in an open office, a win-win proposition for all of us who work better together.

Who we are.

BBCreative LLC – Founded in 1997, is a concept design consultancy that is the creative force behind many architectural, product, physical & digital projects around New York City and the world, establishing BBCreative as a point of reference when ideas need to become reality for the built environment.

Paolo Bertolotti – Principal / Design Director and cofounder of BBCreative LLC.  B.Architecture from Virginia Tech. Prior to BBCreative was an Associate at Gensler, designer for Peter Marino and Rafael Vinoly.

Fabio Bertolotti, PhD – Director of Research.  Post-Doctoral in Applied Math at Princeton University and PhD in Fluid Mechanics from Ohio State University.  Researcher at NASA Langley.  Author of 35 international patents and numerous published papers on fluid mechanics.

Jon Boka – Managing Director and cofounder of BBCreative LLC, President of JBD International LLC. B.Architecture from Virginia Tech.  Prior experience includes designer for I.M. Pei in New York, Architecture Studio in Paris & Massimiliano Fuksas in Rome.  Managed over 500,000 square feet of new construction in Tri-State area and assisted over 150 architecture firms in NY/NJ.

Horacio Mercado – Director of Strategy and Planning.  President of Horacio Mercado & Associates General Contractors and Project Managers. Latin America Representative for ECO Building Products. B.Architecture from Pratt Institute & Columbia University.  Over 1,000,000 SF of business class and high-end construction in NYC Apartments, Condos and Commercial Buildings.

BBCreative – 210 W 29^th St, New York, NY 10001 – www.bb-creative.com

Paolo Bertolotti – project lead – paolo@bb-creative.com – cell 917.238.2713

SPW Indiegogo campaign – https://igg.me/at/spw-office

Video – SPW concept – https://youtu.be/YqkFZ3nSF1M

Video – interview of SPW engineer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVRDVY8vmVQ