A Simple Tool to Redesign Public Spaces in the Age of Covid-19

Introduction

Keeping a safe distance from others to slow the spread of Covid-19 has become almost like a game: points for wearing a mask, kudos for finding the best spot for maximum social distance, and extra points for avoiding having to touch things in public spaces.

There is an abundance of options for combating the virus in physical spaces, such as installing plexiglass shields to protect cash registers or restaurant seats, applying markers to delineate safe distances, touchless door openers, just to name a few.

Applying any of these solutions costs business owners time and money as they need to figure out ways of rethinking their spaces according to them.

Such redesigns most likely mean a reduced capacity to accommodate customers and thinner margins of efficiency as a result.

Here is where Space Designer 3D’s Physical Distancing Tool comes to the rescue, with a solution that makes the dreaded redesigning of transportation systems, urban planning, and other places a smoother and more cost-effective process for small businesses and large companies alike.

The Physical Distancing Tool gives you circles and cylinders of varying radiuses representing the minimum space an individual is supposed to take up in order to stay safe in public places.

These circles, referred to in this presentation as PDT, have algorithms to help business owners redesign their spaces in a way that allows them to accommodate the maximum number of customers while adhering to safety standards.

Safe designs, especially when clearly communicated to the public, have the potential to relieve the customer anxiety and restore trust.

Companies may use it to fit their specific needs, whether they be events and gatherings, manufacturing companies, construction sites, hospitals, care and nursing homes, public institutions, supermarkets, shops, garden centers.

Our simple and flexible software tool allows businesses to create a reassuring Covid-proof layouts and floor plans quickly and efficiently without the need for investment in infrastructure.

Practical Uses

Tool: “Physical Distance” button, which will appear upon the click of a mouse. This PDT may then be moved around to anywhere on the design.

The program will automatically notify the user when there is a violation of the PDT and an object/person is deposited in the PDT .

The user can multi-select items to have the PDT around them.

The “Physical Distance” tool is a stand-alone entity (possibly integrated as an object property), and the radius of the PDT may be adjusted to the need of the user.

At the end of a project, the software will automatically approve the design and check for any anomaly where the PDT is breached.

Practical Examples

Bus stops :

The Coronavirus has not been kind to public transportation. While many people avoid it at the moment, it certainly isn’t a sustainable solution.

To ensure the safety of the passengers and the staff while at the same time maintain an efficient transit (mass transport, keeping on time with the schedule), the PDT can be used to plan and optimize the safest areas for people to wait for transportation and adapt seating arrangements accordingly.

Wedding venues :

One may agree that planning a wedding during a pandemic isn’t the best time, or the easiest thing to do. However, if a wedding must take place, it’s always possible to figure it out. Guests can wear masks. A hydroalcoholic solution station can be present in every room. Perhaps there can be a temperature check upon arrival… or perhaps the tool could help figure out how far apart the tables and chairs be spread out to keep the guests safely distanced.

The PDT can offer several layout options to plan for both the ceremony and reception.

3D Event Designer, our client, developed with our help entities that can “create, configure, or update their space(s) to meet the latest social distancing requirements to get their business reopened and employees back to work in a safe and responsible manner.”

While Covid-19 has been quick to appear and disrupt the general organization of the world, it is unlikely that things will return to normal just as quickly when the virus disappears.

The devastating effects will be felt for years to come, manifesting in fear of social events where anyone in attendance could be viewed as a potential spreader of the disease.

The year 2020 will have been unique in our history. Lockdown brought us back to basics… and our homes.

And one of the primary concerns of humanity has been to find a house, to have a roof over our heads, to feel good, safe and secure, while being connected to the rest of the world.

Having been into our homes more in recent months than we have in years, we have grasped its full value.

More than ever, we want to create a favourable environment, a place where every loved one can feel good. Quarantine has been a time for reflection. The time for action has come.

We will go out again, but we will go safely, and use the tools available to us to ensure everyone’s safety.