Over recent weeks, noises from the government regarding a relaxation of the 2m social distancing rule have been growing louder. Towards the end of last week and over the weekend the noise has grown even louder still. Boris Johnson stated in a school-video (19/06/20) to ‘watch this space’ on 1-metre social distancing and then on Saturday (20/06/20) Chancellor Rishi Sunak stated that the outcome of the (2m social distancing) review will “make an enormous difference” to businesses “keen to see a change”.
It therefore seems possible or perhaps likely that the 2m social distancing guidelines will be relaxed, perhaps even later this week, with many media outlets referring to a 1m social distancing guideline as a likely recommendation. This is based on the WHO guidance to ‘maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and others’ and this guidance having being adopted by other countries including China, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Singapore. Albeit many other countries have adopted higher distances than this such as Australia, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal all adopting a 1.5m distancing rule.
For this article we have decided therefore to investigate what impact such a reduction in social distancing guidelines could have upon teaching space capacities. We must state this is not a recommendation to plan for 1m social distancing, rather this is simply a demonstration of the capacity difference.
(Added 23/06/20) The actual capacity for each teaching space will be impacted on by many factors and therefore we highly recommended that each space is designed with the demand in mind and space norms not used. The room shape, room size, door position, av position, furniture, lecturer style, learning style, teaching activity and safety measures e.g. screens will all impact on the capacity that can be achieved. If you are looking for help planning you teaching space designs please do get in contact.
Seminar Rooms
The following graphic displays a 50m2 seminar room and how 2m and 1m social distancing guidelines would impact on the capacity of this space.
When 2m social distancing guidelines are applied we estimate that this space can accommodate 4-8 students + 1 staff member depending on whether there is a need for a corridor within the room. This indicates a requirement for between 6.3m2 and 12.5m2 per capacity.
1m social distancing guidelines result in the capacity of this seminar space doubling, with 11-18 students + 1 staff member now able to occupy this space. There would therefore now only be a requirement for between 2.78m2 and 4.55m2 per capacity.
(Added 23/06/20) Please note, the workplace plans above have been designed to accommodate a lecturer who would direct the class from a lectern and not travel along the front row. This may be a workable delivery style for some activities but for those where the staff must/want to utilise whiteboards, space should be provided at the front of the room to allow the lecturer to safely do so. The following diagram displays an example workplace design for this same space, accounting for this extra requirement.
Enabling the lecturer to travel along the front row does not negatively effect the room capacity in our example 2m socially distanced space. However any increase in the amount of space wanted to allow the lecturer to travel safely, would most likely result in the front row of seats needing to be removed (or not used) resulting in a significant capacity reduction. If the social distancing requirement was to be reduced to 1m, the capacity of this example space would increase to a maximum of 16 students. As shown above any need for student circulation space within each space results in our example room capacity being reduced.
This simple comparison including different requirements (lecturer movement and circulation space for students), helps to highlight how all factors must be considered when planning the future workplace designs for each teaching space.
Lecture Theatres
The following graphic displays a lecture theatre that has been designed to accommodate 120 students and how 2m and 1m social distancing guidelines would impact on the capacity of this space.
When 2m social distancing guidelines are applied we estimate that this space can accommodate 19 students + 1 staff member. This indicates a capacity loss of 101 students with only 15.83% of the capacity available to be used.
1m social distancing guidelines result in the capacity for this space increasing to 25, an increase of only 6 capacity. The need for every other row of seats to still remain vacant has meant that despite social distancing requirements having halved in this example, capacity is only boosted slightly. In our example lecture theatre 1m social distancing enables 20.83% of the designed capacity to be occupied.
Computer Rooms
The following graphic displays a computer room that has been designed to accommodate 12 students and how 2m and 1m social distancing guidelines would impact on the capacity of this space.
When 2m social distancing guidelines are applied we estimate that this space can accommodate 3 students + 1 staff member. This indicates a capacity loss of 8 students with only 25% of the capacity available to be used.
1m social distancing guidelines result in the capacity for this space increasing to 6. This is an increase of 3 capacity and double that recorded given 2m social distancing guidelines, however 6 less capacity that that designed.
It is important to recognise that this design does not offer the students a safe passageway to all work spaces unless preceding seats on that row are empty. Removing the furniture for those workspaces not being used would help to provide a safe passageway for all students at the start, end and also during each class.
Are you looking to provide your students and staff with a safe working environment?
We can help.
We offer an experienced workplace design service that will help you to maximise the capacity of your space onsite whilst ensuring you students, staff and visitors are provided with a safe working environment given social distancing guidelines. For each project we explore how each space will be used in order to determine the ideal furniture requirement and layout that can be achieved.
For non-fixed furniture teaching spaces we are able to offer an immediate start with our team producing space designs once we have determined how each space will be utilised. For those spaces that include fixed furniture we are currently (depending on local restrictions) able to offer an onsite room layout survey service in order to determine room design and capacity, however we have limited capacity to do so and the distance from our Bristol office is a limiting factor.
Please do get in contact to find out more.
Email: ben.moreland@educationsacpeconsultancy.com
Phone: +44 1172 303468