What do post-pandemic offices look like? This Houston expert explains

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In-office working isn't going away — but it'll look different for decades to come. Photo courtesy Eric Laignel/IA Interior Architects

Reflecting on what we have all recently experienced, our physical relationship with the workplace has out of necessity become more fluid. However, we believe that this pandemic will be the catalyst that will accelerate positive change in workplace design.

The shift ahead in workplace design will not simply be driven by performance measures. There is a renewed longing for a workplace that is driven by direct human experiences – one that enhances face-to-face encounters, offers spaces tailored to the moment, and deliberately fosters health and wellness. We all are reexamining the next generation of office buildings in search of a solution.

Emerging diagnostics

Prevailing strategies assume we will return to physical offices after the delivery of vaccines. However, projections for herd immunity across the world, based on the current rollout policies, vary widely — up to 10 years. As such, this disease will likely be impacting our lives and our livelihoods for much longer than we had ever imagined.

It is critical for us to now consider how to build resilience into the design of our buildings in order to confidently and safely welcome people back to the office this year. Ultimately, workplace safety will be a baseline with a winning workplace experience that truly beckons people back to work.

The human experience

For those professionals able to work from home, the past year has been reduced to living in a physical silo, reliant on technology to facilitate connection and as a substitute for community. Research has reaffirmed the extraordinary value of in-person human connection to solve complex problems and provide a sense of wellbeing.

The average office worker spends up to 35 percent of their work day collaborating and directly engaging with others. It is in this context that breakthroughs and innovation actually happen. It comes as no surprise that, of the people surveyed, the majority consistently express a desire to return to their office and colleagues.

Successful design will also be measured by the ability for space to address other needs such as social interaction, flexibility, comfort, and wellness. Intentionally blurring the boundaries between living, working, and playing benefit the experience.

Business leaders have now received unprecedented insight into employees preferences and they witness firsthand their work lives at home. For those that leverage these insights, there is a payoff. Employers see a 21 percent increase in performance and 17 percent increase in employee health. These desires are age agnostic and invite inclusivity according to research from Brookings.

Modeling for a shifting agenda

The new workplace will again become the center for collaboration and human engagement. While employees have the possibility of working anywhere, as designers, we need to deliver a workplace that offers a compelling, safe, and healthy experience. Our goal is to create a workplace environment that allows people to be healthier and feel safer than they may be in their own homes. By integrating superior smart building technologies, thoughtful planning and innovative design, the next-generation workplace experience has the power to realign priorities within our built environment to best serve the health and wellbeing of its occupants and users. Below, we outline a day in the life of a hypothetical workplace that exemplify this new approach.

The Ground Floor and Lobby Experience. Upon arriving, generous and clear pathways will intuitively lead to the main entrance. As the central node bringing people together and serving the entire complex, a spacious day-light filled lobby will establish the entire circulation experience for the building. Proper design of entrances will reduce touchpoints, contamination, and user anxiety. Automatic sliding doors, automatic revolving doors, and swing doors with touchless actuators will facilitate a touch- and stress-free arrival and circulation experience including interface with security. Elevators with destination dispatch will safely deliver employees to their selected floor.

Connections & Conveyance. Corridors and stairs are not just important means of conveyance, but they also inherently activate spaces and multiply the face-to-face encounters people pine for. By encouraging the use of stairs, elevator demands can be reduced. Furthermore, welcoming open stairs, when paired with atriums or other common areas, encourage communication and collaboration between employees. Stairs offer an excellent alternative for trips down to the ground level or between adjacent floors. To encourage stair usage and create a safe, anxiety-free experience, several design elements might be considered, including: improved visual connections between a stairwell and floor for users to see those entering and exiting; providing larger landings as waiting areas for slower users; and, where requirements allow, incorporating exterior stairs aid both natural ventilation and visibility.

Fresh Air. In the workplaces currently in design, employees will have enhanced access to abundant fresh, clean air as a result of the adoption of advancements in filtration strategies and technologies. Beyond the pandemic, these workplaces will actually be healthier environments with the ability to significantly reduce cases of air-transmitted illnesses such as the flu and the common cold. Employees will be healthier than before. In the transformed workplace, health issues that previously contributed to absenteeism will plummet and foster greater productivity.

Impact of Light. Our next generation buildings will bring employees closer to daylight and welcoming daylight into the building is invaluable by whatever means possible. Intuitive design can prioritize occupants' health and comfort with a number of passive and active strategies. A daylight-filled atrium breaks down isolation between floors, provides visual connections between people, and channels daylight deep into the buildings. In fact, throughout Europe, planning guidelines suggest that no employee should be farther that 21 feet from a window. While reducing solar heat gain, a high performance enclosure can maximize daylight harvesting, provide occupied spaces with abundant natural light, and offer users access to outdoor views. The significant health and productivity benefits of providing users access to natural light and outdoor views have been well documented.

Outdoor Places. User-oriented outdoor spaces, such as plazas, patios, and green roofs, offer a place for respite, fresh air, sunlight, and nature. The value of which has been underscored by the pandemic. While many recent office developments have incorporated such spaces to some degree, in a post COVID-19 world, they have become a must-have amenity. There is already an increased expectation for significant private and shared outdoor terraces, roof gardens and balconies. These outdoor spaces should be flexible enough to support a variety of uses as occupants increasingly look to these spaces for dining, casual meetings, fitness, and a variety of other social activities.

Digital engagement

Smart buildings are just the beginning. Yes, the smart building is an important piece, but connecting the building systems (HVAC, lighting, solar, water, security) to a secure infrastructure that will benefit mobile employees.

When we connect all those dots (building – network – human experience), it pays off in the long run in regards to overall company wellness, happier staff, being more sustainable and in control of our real estate portfolio.

Looking ahead, tomorrow's buildings will need to evolve more than ever before; similar to the Tesla car, these buildings will constantly update according to our preferences. It's exciting to see it learn and offer new features as we become more acquainted. This is the level of design that will be incorporated into the future workplace and make it successful. The building will predict our needs and become our home away from home.

Rewriting the rules

Solutions to a brag-worthy workplaces will embrace the opportunity to rethink design conventions. They will make the human experience the first order of importance to reactivating our buildings. It starts with a proven design process to crunch the data collected on habits and preferences to create fresh concepts for both destinations and passageways. The term "mixed-use" will take on new importance to define our new workplace experience.

Private development and investment will drive such innovation to achieve market interests; ideally with the support of public policy. In Houston, we famously have less restrictive zoning requirements which can foster the advancement of our buildings, businesses, and neighborhoods. It has been an advantage for the city when competing with other U.S. cities for the attention of business leaders from both coasts. Houston is also promoting Smart Cities technologies to local leaders to boost economic development and human experience. These investments are critical to keeping the office experience safe and relevant to our futures.

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Based in Houston, Mark Gribbons is the principal and design director at IA Interior Architects. This piece was co-authored by Jon Pickard, principal and co-founder of Pickard Chilton.


Gensler is using a new software program to help optimize social distancing in the workplace for Houston companies returning to the office. Photo courtesy of Gensler

New technology is helping Houston companies reimagine a socially distant workspace

feng shui

The COVID-19 pandemic has displaced many Houstonians from their office jobs to makeshift work-from-home setups. With coronavirus cases climbing in Houston, the obstacle of returning to work safely is undoubtedly on the minds of business owners across the city.

Thankfully, there's an algorithm for that. Gensler, a global architecture firm, has unveiled its ReRun program as a pandemic response tool to help offices create workspace layouts for safe social distancing.

ReRun allows Gensler to upload a floorplan into the program, which applies generative algorithms to determine safe separation between workplaces by creating circles ranging from six to eight-foot diameters. The tool can quickly generate scenarios and identify the most optimized capacity to meet social distancing demands, easing the role of operations and human resources.

"It's really just a tip of the spear in terms of occupancy planning, because once you know that information, then the next question is what do I do with that?" says Dean Strombom, strategy lead and principal at Gensler's Houston office.

"ReRun is the first tool we utilize to help [clients] determine how many people might be able to come back and still achieve the social distancing side. Then we work with them on how they should come back, whether it's a percentage of employees, staggered shift work or alternating days," Strombom says. Circulation patterns are also taken into account by the Gensler team, who analyze the traffic of hallways, meeting spaces and lounge areas.

Dean Strombom is the strategy lead and principal at Gensler's Houston office. Photo courtesy of Gensler

The international firm, with 50 offices around the world, has rolled out the ReRun tool to its database of clientele. The platform is also available to businesses outside of the firm's existing portfolio, who can use the tool by providing a simple CAD design of their workplace. ReRun is applied through the company's SaaS space management software, Wisp. Using occupancy planning, Wisp provides clients with color-coded floor plans to help visualize and communicate to their teams which seats are available or assigned for occupancy as employees phase back into the office.

The response has been positive among clientele. Strombom is currently applying Gensler's social distancing tool with a large financial services company with locations throughout the Houston area.

"We are loading the information from ReRun into the Wisp program, and then we'll be helping them determine how they will return to work, and specifically where people will sit," he shares. The company plans to come back with 20 percent of the workforce, increasing overtime with the help of Gensler's team. "Who comes back when and specifically where is what they're most excited about."

The company has determined four work modes employees exhibit: focus, collaboration, socialization, and learning. By categorizing the work modes, Gensler is looking ahead at how interior architecture can accommodate these phases.

"More recently, we've been talking about a need for regenerative spaces so that people can become more engaged in the workplace," says Strombom.

As described in a Gensler blog, isolation rooms were optioned as a way to contain an employee who begins to feel symptomatic but these rooms can also serve a different purpose for employees acclimating to a new normal.

"The isolation room is what we often call a wellness room in an office where people can get away from the general tensions that they may be feeling in a workplace where they can relax and reinvigorate themselves in a quiet space," says Strombom.

As the architecture industry adjusts to a post-pandemic world, Gensler is working with developer clients and building owners to share the near-term and long-term changes the company foresees. Strombom says clients have flexibility as a priority.

ReRun allows Gensler to upload a floorplan into the program, which applies generative algorithms to determine safe separation between workplaces by creating circles ranging from six to eight-foot diameters. Graphic courtesy of Gensler

"We have to think about the entire path or the entire entry sequence in office buildings that is true for residential as well. From the moment that you pull into the garage, what are all of those points along the way where you've got to be concerned about contact and cleanliness?" Strombom shares.

Strombom foresees new building systems coming to the forefront, for example air conditioners with a focus on keeping clean air circulation within the office building. He also predicts a need for flexible spaces that can change depending on the circumstances.

"You hear a lot about temperature readings and separations of people within building lobbies during pandemics. We need systems in place that you can rapidly deploy when something like this happens, but the majority of the time it can revert to a more normal circumstance," he says.

Tight spaces also require a new way of thinking.

"We've realized that the elevator cab is really one of the pinch points in office buildings if you're trying to maintain this social distancing," Strombom shares. "There's technology [out there] that can identify how many people are going to be entering a cab and restrict that occupancy. So that is something that's going to need to be done for the near term."

In a Gensler survey of its Houston office, 72 percent of respondents expect a maintained or increased level of virtual collaboration compared to these pre-COVID levels.

"As people have been semi-forced to work at home, they've realized that not only is it possible, but for some people it's the preferred way to work," says Strombom, who predicts virtual meetings will continue on.

While platforms like Zoom and Skype make meetings tenable, company employees are still anticipating a future in the office.

"Those of us that are now working from home, if you ask people the majority of respondents to the question of what they miss most, it's really the people," Strombom says.

From common space to desks and offices, ReRun can help enable social distancing in the workplace. Photo courtesy of Gensler

Here's how this work-from-home experiment has affected the office space — from a design perspective. Photo courtesy of Joe Aker

COVID-19 has affected how office space will be designed, says Houston expert

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The last nine weeks have thrust businesses large and small into an experiment unlike anything we might have ever imagined. The impact has the potential to separate businesses that will stagnate versus those that will accelerate and thrive.

Our workplaces may become smaller as we realize we don't all need to be there at the same time, but they certainly won't go away. They will, instead, be more human-centered, more technologically robust, and more resilient for the next time. So, a warning too: If the office is unsafe, scary, or demeaning — if it doesn't put people first — employees will vote with their feet.

Office workers have been empowered with the sudden ability to choose where, when, and how to work. And, certainly there have been starts and stops and plenty of stories of less-than-ideal execution, but by and large, the experiment has opened our eyes: Work has not stopped, our people are trustworthy, and, in fact, we found out they have kids, dogs, pictures on the wall, bedrooms, and kitchens just like us.

So, perhaps counterintuitively, the office is more important than ever. As a place to provide a technology offering we don't enjoy at our kitchen table, as a place to better support small group work beyond the tiny real estate of our laptop screens, and as a place that physically represents what our organizations are truly all about. The role of the workplace has never been more critical to business success.

Here's how this work-from-home experiment has affected the office space — from a design perspective.

Planning and systems

The first impact on workplace design will be the approach to simple planning. Flexible, modular planning logic and building systems will have a distinct advantage for organizations as their physical needs evolve.

Institutionalizing 6-foot distancing requirements will create workplaces that are more resilient and ready for the next one — who among us now believes this is a one-time event? Individual workspaces and generous circulation paths are not just safer but help contribute to a sense that is truly a great place to work.

Nimble spaces that can change overnight from large to small or open to closed will be supported by flexible building systems, planning that prioritizes daylight and the outdoors for all, and mechanical systems that deliver clean, fresh air. Look to landlords and building owners in the race to advance the use of sophisticated filtering, fresh air, raised access floor and daylighting.

Solo seats

Workspaces will continue to be a combination of open and closed offices, but caution to those who believe this marks the end of the open office. Dimensions and planning arrangements will simply build in proper physical distancing. As cleaning protocols and standards become institutionalized, shared seating will accelerate the desire to reduce overall area requirements but create highly functional solo seats.

This acceleration to sharing will be characterized by high quality materials, lighting and ergonomics with a decided "BYO" ethos. Bring not only your laptop, but your keyboard, mouse, and pack of critical office supplies. Your personal cooler with your day's food and drink simply plugs in at your seat and leaves when you do.

And, you won't forget to wipe it down when you arrive and again on your departure.

Collaborative seats

Meetings and how they occur may go through the most significant physical change. One of the primary functions of the new workplace is to provide space that can support small group settings that simply cannot exist from the kitchen table. Meetings of two-to-six with proper social distancing, rich technological tools, and seamless accommodation for artificial intelligence, virtual reality and virtual participants will mean chairs and individual tables that are all easily movable. Look for less of a need for physical enclosure and more flexible settings. Big, old school meetings, training, and the meetings designed around a giant beautiful conference room will go virtual.

Your friend the landlord 

The first landlord that tags their building as "Certified Clean" will have the decided advantage and a new definition of Class A. Look for landlords to promote features and amenities that augment the tenant experience: Coworking spaces — visibly and constantly cleaned, food and drink offerings — manned, cleaned, and sanitized of course, and technologically-robust meeting settings will provide hubs for effective work as either additions to tenant spaces themselves or as free-standing neighborhood hubs. And look for these hubs to move out of CBDs to help transform Work from Home to truly Work from Anywhere. Think of an in-between spot between the binary choices of downtown or the kitchen table.

The requirement that the workplace must be a compelling human-centric place has never been more critical to business success. An organization's most valuable resource are the people who create the company's culture, live the purpose and drive its values. Those people are now empowered to work anywhere — the workplace is more important than ever to draw the most talented teams and drive business performance.

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Larry Lander is a principal at Houston-based architecture and planning firm PDR.

The design of your startup office matters. The lighting, the acoustics, the vicinity of rooms; every little thing plays a role. Miguel Tovar/University of Houston

Houston startups should take care in office design — it makes a difference

houston voices

If you want a work environment conducive to a nice flow of ideas, creativity, freethinking, and finding a work groove, then your startup design and workspace matter.

When it comes to a startup's office design, you want to create spaces with a purpose. You need to be certain what you want with your office's design. Moreover, you need to be certain what you want with every square foot. Yes, you have to be that detailed. Think about it. If you go into the design of your startup's office nonchalant, you'll have spaces without purpose. When you have spaces without purpose, they become susceptible to employees using them as they please. Suddenly, the open area near the creative space becomes the snacking spot. The open space by the window becomes "spot where everyone gathers to birdwatch." You get the picture. It becomes chaotic and confusing. That's why you have to make sure you know what purpose to ascribe every area of your startup.

Here are three features of startup design that help create a mood or ambiance.

Sound check

Some bigger companies hire an acoustics engineer to set decibel levels for every area and room in a workplace. They might set higher levels for a dining area where people are encouraged to interact and enjoy themselves. Lower levels will go to conference rooms and work areas. However, not every startup has a budget to bring in an acoustics engineer. But you can still apply the same principles to your startup design.

When you walk into a library or doctor's office, there's a tacit understanding that you should speak with a lower voice. You don't need an acoustics engineer to set the figurative and literal tone for what kind of behavior employees should exhibit in each area.

It is assumed, for example, that a dining area has more leeway for louder noise. So next to the dining area you can design a work area where one can assume being a little more amplified is allowed. You can have music playing in an area where people are encouraged to mingle and talk. Music is a great cue to signal that casual interaction is encouraged.

For quieter spaces, a tighter design for a room tucked away can send a signal to anyone to keep voices low. Also, if a room has an echo, people are naturally inclined to stay quieter. People tend to interpret spaces with echoes as spaces where they need to be quieter, since an echo carries voices.

Lighting

Exposing your office to natural light creates a positive mood that encourages interaction, collaboration, and an overall "lighter" tone for having a good time at work. Dimmer lighting can be used to create a sense of thoughtfulness and encourage workers in this area to brainstorm, lost in their thoughts.

Work in color

We all know by now that colors convey moods. Blue is pacifying (think Pacific Ocean), warmer colors like red and yellow encourage a more gregarious nature. Knowing what color to design each area of your startup workspace will go far in presenting the mood you wish to create.

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This article originally appeared on the University of Houston's The Big Idea.

Rene Cantu is the writer and editor at UH Division of Research.

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Baylor scientist lands $2M grant to explore links between viruses and Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s research

A Baylor College of Medicine scientist will begin exploring the possible link between Alzheimer’s disease and viral infections thanks to a $2 million grant awarded in March.

Dr. Ryan S. Dhindsa is an assistant professor of pathology & immunology at Baylor and a principal investigator at Texas Children’s Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI). He hypothesizes that Alzheimer’s may have some link to previous viral infections contracted by the patient. To study this intriguing possibility, the American Brain Foundation has gifted him the Cure One, Cure Many award in neuroinflammation.

“It is an honor to receive this support from the Cure One, Cure Many Award. Viral infections are emerging as a major, underappreciated driver of Alzheimer's disease, and this award will allow our team to conduct the most comprehensive screen of viral exposures and host genetics in Alzheimer's to date, spanning over a million individuals,” Dhindsa said in a news release. “Our goal is to identify which viruses matter most, why some people are more vulnerable than others, and ultimately move the field closer to new therapeutic strategies for patients.”

Roughly 150 million people worldwide will suffer from Alzheimer’s by 2050, making it the most common cause of dementia in the world. Despite this, scientists are still at a loss as to what exactly causes it.

Dhindsa’s research is part of a new range of theories that certain viral infections may trigger Alzheimer’s. His team will take a two-fold approach. First, they will analyze the medical records of more than a million individuals looking for patterns. Second, they will analyze viral DNA in stem cell-derived brain cells to see how the infections could contribute to neurological decay. The scale of the genomic data gathering is unprecedented and may highlight a link that traditional studies have missed.

Also joining the project are Dr. Caleb Lareau of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Dr. Artem Babaian of the University of Toronto. Should a link be found, it would open the door to using anti-virals to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s.

Tesla Robotaxi service officially launches in Houston and Dallas

Future of the Roads

Tesla’s Robotaxi service has taken to the streets of Houston. In a brief statement Saturday, April 18 on its X social media account, Tesla Robotaxi says the autonomous rideshare service just launched in Texas’ two biggest metro areas — Houston and Dallas.

“Try Tesla Robotaxi in Dallas & Houston!” Tesla CEO Elon Musk says in a reposting on X of the Robotaxi announcement.

One of Robotaxi’s competitors, Alphabet-owned Waymo, beat the Tesla service to the Dallas, Houston, and Austin markets. Another competitor, Amazon-owned Zoox, has Dallas flagged for its autonomous rideshare service.

Robotaxi previously kicked off in Austin, where Tesla is based and manufactures electric vehicles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Nearly 50 Robotaxis operate in Austin, where the service’s inaugural rides happened last year, and more than 500 in the San Francisco area.

Of the three rides logged in a 31-square-mile area in Dallas as of Monday morning, the average fare was $7.96 and the average trip was 3.5 miles, according to an online tracker of autonomous rideshare services. The tracker showed only one Robotaxi was on the roads in Dallas.

As of Monday morning, a 25-square-mile area in Houston had two Robotaxis on the road, according to the online tracker. The average fare for five recorded rides was $11.34 and the average trip was six miles.

“We want Robotaxi pricing to be simple and easy for you to understand,” according to the Robotaxi website. “Initially, as part of our introductory program, we will charge a simple, affordable rate plus applicable taxes and fees for all rides within the available service area.”

The tracker shows the Robotaxi in Dallas did not have a human aboard to monitor each trip, and only one of Houston’s two Robotaxis did not have a human monitor in the driver’s seat.

For now, all passengers ride in Tesla Model Y cars. Robotaxi operates from 6 am-2 am daily.

To use the service, you first must download the Robotaxi app, which works only on iPhones.

Robotaxi lets you stream music and adjust climate settings and seat positioning from the Robotaxi app or the vehicle’s touchscreen. Climate and media settings are stored in your Robotaxi profile and automatically transfer from one vehicle to another. If you own a Tesla, certain profile settings and media preferences are available in your own car as well as in a Robotaxi.

In January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Musk said a “widespread” network of driverless rideshare vehicles would be operating in the U.S. by the end of this year, CNBC reported.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Houston VC funding surged nearly 50% in Q1 2026, report says

VC victories

First-quarter venture capital funding for Houston-area startups climbed nearly 50 percent compared to the same time last year, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.

In Q1 2026, Houston-area startups raised $532.3 million, a 49 percent jump from $320.2 million in Q1 2025, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.

However, the Q1 total fell 23 percent from the $671.05 million raised in Q4 2025.

Among the first-quarter funding highlights in Houston were:

  • Utility Global, which focuses on industrial decarbonization, announced a first close of $100 million for its Series D round.
  • Sage Geosystems raised a $97 million Series B round to support its geothermal energy storage technology.

Those funding rounds underscore Houston’s evolution as a magnet for VC in the energy sector.

“Today, the energy sector is increasingly extending into the startup economy as venture capital flows into companies developing the technologies that will shape the future of global energy,” the Greater Houston Partnership says.

The energy industry accounted for nearly 40 percent of Houston-area VC funding last year, according to market research and lead generation service Growth List.

Adding to Houston’s stature in VC for energy startups are investors like Chevron Technology Ventures, the investment arm of Houston-based oil and gas giant Chevron; Goose Capital; Mercury Fund; and Quantum Energy Partners.

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