Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1423616
24 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 1, 2021 FOCUS: Office Space PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Here's what a post-pandemic office space design will look like By Terry Corcoran tcorcoran@hartfordbusiness.com Y ou're sitting at your office desk and your mind is wandering — perhaps to that less-than-stellar round of golf you shot last weekend. But what if you could walk down the hall and take a few practice swings in the new golf simulator your company installed? That scenario will soon become reality for the 45 employees of Connecticut Wealth Management in Farmington when the firm finishes renovating its roughly 11,000 square feet of office space in the building it owns at 281 Farmington Ave. The renovations at CWM will not only aim to make it a fun place to work — there'll be a pool table in addition to the golf simulator — they're also designed to foster collaboration and help recruit and retain new talent. COVID-19 has changed the office workspace and companies like CWM are enlisting architectural and design firms to devise spaces where workers will want to come and new recruits will want to stay. "This space we're creating is truly about collaboration," said Dennis Horrigan, partner and co-founder of CWM. "How do we create an environment that fosters as much collaboration among team members as possible? This is going to be a magnet for people to want to come into the office so we can collaborate, share our ideas and thoughts. It will also make it a better place to pass along our culture to our newer employees." More shared spaces The post-COVID office space involves more shared spaces and smaller work areas, said Jillian Tara, associate and senior interior designer at Phase Zero Design in Simsbury. "We're getting away from the idea of having a large open office with a bunch of benching systems because if you're facing someone, you don't have any privacy and it's loud," Tara said. "So having a little bit of separation is important. It's about more shared spaces." COVID changed how we work and, in turn, changed the workplace, Tara said. "We realized after the pandemic that we're all productive in different ways, so whether you're fully remote or hybrid and in the office a couple of days, it's different for everyone and we need to start accommodating for those needs." Companies also want an office that won't become obsolete in a short time, said architect Thomas Quarticelli of Amenta Emma Architects in Hartford. "Businesses are at a point where they want to future-proof their space as much as possible," Quarticelli said. "They don't want to realize in six months to two years from now, there's too much space or too many walls. The best way is an open flexible plan. Post-COVID, that's how we'll continue." The future office will be like the one CWM is creating, Quarticelli said. "You want the office to be a destination. You want those employees to be excited to go to work," he said. "If we're going to leave home and go to the office, it's Executives and employees at Connecticut Wealth Management show off the company's planned office redesign, which is currently under construction. Jillian Tara HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER