Trends in the Environment Design of IT Centers in the Conditions of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the formation of IT centers’ environment, following the trends of decoration in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. As well as, to predict, and determine changes in the methodological basis for the creation of the interior environment of IT centers through design in terms of protecting the population from the coronavirus pandemic. The research methodology is based on the use of methods of generalization and systematization of scientific and theoretical information on environmental design in the context of the spread of coronavirus infection, as well as analysis of domestic and foreign experience in designing the object of study. The scientific novelty of the study is to clarify and systematize the basic techniques and features of interior solutions formation of IT centers in the context of protection against coronavirus infections. Conclusions. An activity office is a flexible workspace that provides employees with a variety of jobs, and they can use this space according to the tasks assigned to them. Trends in the environment design of IT centers in the context of the coronavirus pandemic are actively formed and disseminated among production managers and designers. The main priorities of the design are the safety of workers while maintaining their psychological comfort and efficiency, environmental friendliness, aesthetics, and the use of innovative materials and technologies. We consider the following to be the most effective design techniques: zoning a large room with the help of mobile transparent partitions or individual closed capsules for workers while reducing the size of the work area per person; the use of the method of “hot desking”, in which the space remains open, increases the size of the work area per person, but reduces the number of people who are in the office at the same time; introduction of contactless systems for passing between rooms and calling elevators (use of voice control devices with a speaker; smartphone, smartwatch, face recognition systems); installation of engineering structures for ventilation and disinfection of surfaces, which should be beaten by aesthetic design; application in coverings of walls, ceilings, and floors of rooms, and also surfaces of furniture of materials and technologies of antiviral cleaning. Infection control and safety protocols used during the pandemic are becoming the standard for new projects by designers and architects. Thus, the pandemic marked the beginning of a new era in office interior design.