‘Collaboration and technology’ keys to post-COVID-19 office spaces – WTMJ

MILWAUKEE- When you return to your office space post-pandemic, a leading architect in Milwaukee says it’ll look much the same way that you left it more than a year ago.

“We teak some of the designs but I think most of the drawn-up designs that we planned pre-pandemic are moving forward as anticipated,” architect Matt Rinka said during WTMJ’s Vacs Facts 2.0 roundtable Tuesday afternoon.

Rinka is the leading architect on several notable projects both past and present in Milwaukee including The Moderne, the Bucks Entertainment District, The Couture, and the River One development in the Harbor district.

“Projects like River One have increased budgets on things like the HVAC System, we’ve added touchless and automatic doors and things like that but in terms of office space and things like that, designs have mostly remained intact,” Rinka said.

In terms of workspace, Rinka says companies have expressed a desire for more collaborative spaces that stress the sharing of ideas more than anything else.

“We’ve realized working from home that collaboration hasn’t happened,” Rinka said, “I think we’re really seeing CEO’s and decision makers realize how important that is for the future of their business.”

Rinka added that he doesn’t see companies that spent big dollars on recently opened office spaces, like Northwestern Mutual and BMO Harris Bank, investing a lot more capital in renovating their workspace.

You can find all of WTMJ’s Vacs Facts 2.0 Roundtable here.