Designing spaces for a COVID19 World!

For us at the FF&E industry the world slowed down when the Hospitality and Restaurant businesses momentarily closed because of the pandemic, but it “CHANGED” when they re-opened. The fact that to this date we are still dealing with COVID19 serves as a constant reminder that this “pandemic” threat is no passing matter. We will have to learn to live with this or with the possibility of a new virus in the future. How we prepare for it may save our businesses.

Here at KANNOA we are design driven, we are always looking for design solutions to problems. Why would this pandemic challenge be any different? If you were the mayor of a City you would likely be calling the City Council asking them to work on revising protocols, ordinances and construction standards to allow for social distancing. If you are designing a new layout for a restaurant chain you are likely considering how the space would look, feel and function when faced with current and expected social distancing guidelines. If you work for KANNOA you are analyzing materials, adjusting manufacturing processes and most importantly you are designing new products to fit the new reality your customers are facing.

True, the pandemic will push us all more to the outdoors, and KANNOA products as they stand today will serve this immediate need well. But as protocols change, architects and designers will look for ways to blend more the outdoors with the indoors to expand their spaces, and a new breed of products will come to market to help integrate and accommodate this need.

 For the past 5 years KANNOA has been pushing more and more this blend of spaces, and thanks to its KANNOA|SPACES division it has evolved its offering to include a comprehensive indoor and outdoor portfolio of products for its customers. Armed with the lessons learned from these years and the knowledge that the “change” is here to stay, we are designing products to fit new spaces, those that will become the standard as we move along.

Written by: Antonio Turco-Rivas 08/12/20