In a time where the global impact of the coronavirus has affected our ability live, work and do business, UK Construction Week asked the design community to share experiences of the new reality we are currently living.
UK Construction Week writes:
….we got in touch with SBID’s professional network of Accredited designers and manufacturers to provide a platform for the design community to share experiences of the new reality we are currently living and how they are managing through the virus; from the challenges that companies are facing to, most importantly, what they are doing to adapt to business interruptions and respond to the pressures of social distancing, remote working, and loss of income.
Across April we will be sharing these unique perspectives across the industry to help us come together as we navigate this period of personal and financial uncertainty and hopefully, inspire and encourage others with ways they too can act and respond to the situation at hand!
How has the reality of social distancing affected you and your business operations?
Simon Campbell, managing director, Portview: “While the government remains somewhat ambiguous in regards to the closure of construction sites, we took the precautionary action to temporarily close all of our sites to ensure the welfare of our team and community. We are continuing to work closely with our clients and supply chain to support their needs and advise them of our contingency plans for when we return. In the meantime, our teams are working on the administrative and technical aspects of our projects remotely, whilst we await further guidance from the government on relaxing social distancing measures.
It is regrettable that we are not able to create amazing spaces for a while, but with time, we will again. We look forward to coming back stronger than ever and creating beautiful new spaces that everyone will be able to enjoy with their friends and family so much more. I believe, that if there is one positive thing to come out of the crisis for the industry, it will be a revitalised appreciation of space and an increased appetite for experiential environments that bring people together and enhance their social wellbeing.”
Sophie Stevens, founder & creative director, SGS Design: “Following the initial shock of leaving our lovely Studio our team comprising of 5 designers, procurement manger and myself are now all established at home and working efficiently remotely. We decided to close down the Studio quite early in the gradual lock-down so we had a chance to experiment and make a return visit to collect anything we’d overlooked before it was too late. Our biggest challenges are partial site closures and reduced or no access to live projects, being unable to visit suppliers (although most have been fantastic and are still working hard to provide everything we need) and no face-to-face contact with clients to share designs and samples for sign-off is tricky.”
Sarah Holey, marketing manager, Parkside Architectural Tiles: “The situation is changing all the time, but at the moment the majority of the Parkside team are working from home, using Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp to stay in touch. Our supply chain has been affected as some factories are currently under production lockdown, although they can still ship stocked product. That said, our sampling department is still able to operate safely, so we are continuing to despatch for now. Our ethos has always been about collaborating with our clients and recent events have made that even more important. We’re focused on staying in touch and supporting our partners, but of course, our number one priority is to protect the wellbeing of our staff.”
Averil Blundell, founder, Averil Blundell Interior Design: “We are lucky that all of our current projects are currently at the initial pre-build stage (although one of our main projects was due to start on site imminently) so although the current situation will likely push back site start dates, the majority of our current work we can do from our computers. The social distancing restrictions do however mean that we aren’t able to meet potential clients to discuss future projects which will also have a knock on effect on our pipeline of projects. The Studio is at my home so we are lucky that we can still get access to our reference library etc without having to travel.”
