In quarantine, but not in sadness. Architects and designers about remote work. Part 3

While some have moved their workplaces to the bedroom, living room or kitchen, others prefer the silence of the office that has remained empty. PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA, quarantined and not sad, continues to introduce you to quarantined and carefree architects and designers, forced to conduct their activities in a remote format.

 

In the third part — Victoria Yakusha, Oleksiy Iskos, Danuta Krill, Antonina Kaplia, Artur Scharf and Artem Zverev.

Previous parts: 

In quarantine, but not in sadness. Architects and designers about remote work. Part 1

In quarantine, but not in sadness. Architects and designers about remote work. Part 2

 

Victoria Yakusha

Architect, Yakusha Design

Kyiv, Ukraine

Victoria Yakusha at her home desk

How do you cope in the conditions of increased quarantine, when it became possible to go out only in case of extreme necessity, only in masks, not to visit sports fields, parks, etc.? 

The most difficult thing in this situation is not the quarantine itself and the physical restrictions associated with it, but the awareness that the world around is fundamentally changing, new habits - to consume less, cook at home more often, use your home for work, distance learning, even playing sports - have a high chance of becoming a new routine.

I look at the situation with positivity and openness. I feel that we are all getting rid of imaginary values ​​and artificial needs. All this will seriously affect our business: the focus improves, deep goals are revealed. This crisis, like all previous ones, is a good opportunity to check yourself and your team - have we not forgotten in which direction and to which goal we are all going? We in the team spent a lot of time on these issues.

What does your workplace look like? Have you somehow set it up for long-term work from home? 

It's very minimalist, I only have a computer, a piece of paper and a sketch pencil on my desk. I love when there is nothing extra in my space, nothing that would distract attention from creativity.

In addition, most operational processes have long since moved to a mobile phone: from it I communicate with the team, which for the most part has also been working from different locations and even countries for a long time, from it I communicate with customers in messengers and by mail. Everything is as concise and mobile as possible.

According to Bloomberg, working from home has turned into an extra hour or two of work a day for many. Did you start working more or less?

Rather, nothing has changed, free time has not appeared, since we often practiced working from home before. As for other changes, I started communicating with clients significantly more to understand exactly how we can be useful to them, what transformations they are going through, how we need to adapt our product or service so that it is as useful and timely as possible for them. 

How did the quarantine affect your work?

The first thing we did was review our expenses and reduce them as much as possible. Unfortunately, part of the architectural projects was frozen, but we continue to work as usual and communicate with customers every day.

The number of new requests for our furniture collection has decreased, but not as critical as we feared. Some of the customers frankly surprised us and even inspired more optimism - despite the closure of borders and strict restrictions in some countries, our FAINA furniture was ordered to Paris, New York and even Ireland in just the last two weeks. This suggests that the work we have put in to promote the brand abroad over the past four years is actually bearing fruit, even in the face of the global crisis.

Victoria Yakusha at her home desk

How do you deal with distractions (children, pets, relatives, refrigerator, etc.)?

It is true that in the conditions of quarantine and restrictions on movement, many entrepreneurs have faced the new challenge of working in conditions where family is nearby 24/7. My family is quite large, children demand attention and care for themselves all the time. It is exhausting, requires more tolerance and flexibility from me.

However, it was the family that proved to be my greatest support at this moment of trials. Children actively participate in creative issues, offer their own ideas, do something with their own hands and inspire me a lot!

How did you use the extra free time (if it appeared)? What do you do in your spare time? How do you fight boredom from self-isolation?

One of the projects, which was born in the first days of the quarantine and which has a little time left before its implementation, is a cycle of stories about our furniture, which we are creating in collaboration with a famous Ukrainian writer (we will announce all the details soon). We thought that in times when the world is going through critical moments, people will always look for solace in stories, fairy tales, and legends. In them, you can travel to distant unexplored countries, empathize with the heroes, go through trials with them, and in the end always rejoice in victories and achievements.

That is why we are preparing stories based on the Ukrainian epic, which will teach us humanity, self-belief, kindness and dedication to one's talent. We hope to inspire people, help them get through these times of transformation a little easier, and maybe find some answers to their inner questions.

How do you think the global lockdown and quarantine will affect design?

I really hope that quarantine will help us get rid of artificiality, copying and lack of meaning in design. I really want people to feel how important is the space in which they live, work, relax with their family, how much it can affect your mood and even psychological state and why it is so important to surround yourself with real, natural and soulful things.

For us, this means an increase in demand for authentic things made by local craftsmen, original interiors and architectural projects. This is exactly what we strive for in the studio, so we can already offer clients everything they need.

 

Oleksiy Iskos

Designer, Iskos - Berlin

Copenhagen, Denmark

Oleksii Iskos works at home

What measures have been introduced in your country to combat the spread of the epidemic and do you follow all these recommendations and prescriptions?

Schools, universities, public institutions, libraries, swimming pools, shopping centers are closed. Services related to close contact do not work: beauty salons, tattoo studios. Mass events, concerts and festivals have been cancelled. Restaurants are open for take-out only. All grocery stores are open and small hardware stores are also open, but with a limit on the number of customers inside. Transport also works, but they advise no more than 10 passengers, and this is followed: there is almost no one in the subway, in buses too, in Copenhagen, most people travel by bicycle. Everyone who can is working from home.

In principle, in addition to the main prohibitions, they try to get around recommendations. People mostly follow them, and I certainly do too. The local authorities try to control the situation not by police and fines, but by means of reasonable measures. For example, two nearby parks have been separated: one for those who walk, the other for those who run. One-way traffic was established around the lakes, where there are also many people. Life, of course, is severely limited, but it has not died — I have seen long queues with respect for the distance to the bookstore and for ice cream. And in general, there are a lot of people on the street.

Did you have to move your office home?

I established a rule for myself a long time ago that I separate work and home, so I don't have a home office, and a work computer with all programs is also only in the office. Now you have to adapt. When necessary, I occupy my wife's home office, she used to work at home from time to time, so she has it. For the first time, we are sitting and working next to each other! Everything else happens in the living room, in the dining room, in the kitchen - on paper, on the iPad, in the phone and in the head. Sometimes when, for example, I need to send a drawing for production, I have to go to the office, but I limit such trips to a minimum. 

What does your workplace look like? Have you somehow set it up for long-term work from home?

I did not make any changes in the house. In general, the design process can be roughly divided into two stages: idea development and product development. Many people are involved in the second stage, conditions and space are needed for models, prototypes, samples of materials, etc. And to work on an idea, you mostly need a head, a hand and a pencil. Well, also the Internet and e-mail. Now I mostly do it, and you can do it almost anywhere, even sitting on the balcony.

Oleksiy Iskos' home workplace

According to Bloomberg, working from home has turned into an extra hour or two of work a day for many. Is this about you?

In the first week of the quarantine, I decided to clear all the debris in communication: I sent all the urgent letters, then the letters that I postponed until "Monday", and then those that were waiting for a "good moment". Took an awful long time! And after that, I decided to take the opportunity and spend more time with my family, so my working day is no more than 4-5 hours, and the weekend is three a week. Although you can't turn off your brain, and thoughts about projects swirl in your head at any time of the day.

How did the quarantine affect your work?

All the projects are moving forward, but the pace has slowed down - everyone is waiting and watching how things will turn out in the world. Instead, there was time to look for new ideas or to think about those that were previously out of reach - the same ideas that were sketched in a notebook with a few lines and never progressed further.

There is also an opportunity to engage in research, analysis of interesting materials and technologies. It is interesting that when you send requests now, the answers usually come very quickly: it seems that everyone is sitting at home in front of the computer and does not know what to do.

What are the biggest challenges you face working from home and how do you overcome them?

I am a night person - I go to bed late and get up late. Quarantine did not improve the situation, so I try to arrange "meetings" mainly in the afternoon.

Did you have to learn new tools for communication and planning?

Most of the issues, as before, are resolved via e-mail. Sometimes we hold video conferences with various clients. The programs are different — from Discord to old-school Skype. Video conferences are usually shorter than in-person meetings, but worse because a lot of non-verbal information is lost. I have a feeling that no one particularly likes them.

Oleksii Iskos works at home

How do you deal with distractions (kids, pets, relatives, refrigerator, etc.)?

I happily distract myself with my children - when will I have the opportunity to spend so much time together? They have classes at school online from 9 a.m. to 14.30:XNUMX p.m., they are interested, and at this time they are not particularly bothered. Sometimes they ask to help with lessons. The son - because it is difficult, the daughter - because she herself is bored.

Yes, the consumption of tea and coffee in the kitchen has increased, but that is the best place to talk on the phone and read e-mail.

How did you use the extra free time?

First of all, I spend more time with my family — this is the most positive thing about quarantine. Someday, children will remember quarantine as the time when parents stopped saying, "Wait, not now."

How do you deal with sadness from self-isolation?

There is absolutely no sadness, there is always something to do. From the new — started playing chess online. I get really frustrated when I make a stupid mistake on the board, and I get a lot of satisfaction when I manage to come up with a good combination. A great way to get a lot of strong emotions.

How do you think the global lockdown and epidemic will affect design?

There are enough theories on this topic now, but it seems to me that it is still too early to talk about it - we are still somewhere at the beginning of events. I suggest that there may be two parallel movements. On the one hand, experiencing the fragility of ordinary life, people will want simple, functional objects that can give them a sense of stability. On the other hand, after experiencing a period of limitations and losses, people will want some kind of compensation, and they will be attracted to design in which aesthetics are at the forefront. That is, on the one hand — intelligence, and on the other — beauty, which may not save the world, but can make it a little better. This is my very subjective feeling. Everything can be completely different.

 

Danuta Krill

Designer, Hochu rayu innovate design

Lviv, Ukraine

Co-founder of the Hochu rayu bureau, Danuta Krill, works from home

How do you cope in the conditions of increased quarantine, when it became possible to go out only in case of extreme necessity, only in masks, not to visit sports fields, parks, etc.?

It is not easy, especially awareness of a certain closed space. And this is not about the walls of the apartment, but in general about the sudden closure of the world. But, on the other hand, the quarantine brought us closer to the close circles of our families. And it's great, because it's time for the closest people, for whom there was always a lack of time in the usual crazy regimes. This is an opportunity to share with your children your daily profession, to learn to combine work and home literally. This is the time to understand what real balance is and whether it is really necessary. Doesn't the search for balance supersede the concept of the very happiness of being who we are. 

What does your workplace look like?

Our workplace migrates with the child, depending on which room he plays in. But the wigwam, which we built together on the balcony during the quarantine, became a favorite place. It is now our family seat of strength. Joint crafting with the baby of his experiences, bright memories (albeit subconscious) - what could be a better inspiration for work?

By the way, this is also an interesting quarantine insight with a child — his world is physically very small. She has enough space in the apartment for her joyful and playful comfort. We, the adults, are constantly expanding our horizons, and now we have the opportunity to fully immerse ourselves in the small world of a child.

According to Bloomberg, working from home has turned into an extra hour or two of work a day for many. Is this about you?

Yes, some time was really freed up and immediately filled with new things. It's all a very tentative feeling. On the one hand, we spend less time traveling from home to work or meeting with clients, but on the other hand, we want to use this time as much as possible for training, development, and household chores. For example, in the usual mode, we practically did not cook at home, but now we do it every day with pleasure. In addition, when you have a small child, you give the rest of the free time to her. As a result, only nights are left for studying and self-development, as in student times.

How did the quarantine affect your work?

We continue to work, we also have new projects. We managed to transfer the main work processes online and not stop during the quarantine. But it is much more difficult for some of our customers, because this is retail, which is now mostly closed. Some of the projects have been frozen, so for now we are mainly focused on working with new concepts.

Did the company have to cut costs or resort to layoffs?

It is necessary to review the budget of the bureau, to reduce expenses, but these are absolutely logical steps in the conditions of the global crisis. It is important for us to support our team right now, so we are not considering layoffs yet.

What are the biggest challenges you face working from home and how do you overcome them?

Perhaps the main difficulty is maintaining a positive tone and motivation of the team. We must stick together in times of crisis, inspire each other, and believe that every crisis is also a time of great opportunity.

Did you have to implement new communication and management tools?

This time gave us the experience of working remotely as a team and showed us that distance can actually bring people together. While we're all testing online workflows, new tools, and apps, we're itching to get everyone back together live in our office space.

Every week, as usual, we have working meetings online. It is very energizing when we all call together and discuss work issues for the week. They started using Zoom for this.

We have also been working in Trello for many years, which also greatly simplifies the organization of the online workflow.

How do you deal with distractions (children, pets, relatives, refrigerator, etc.)?

This is the most difficult. We have to share - someone works, someone has a child. We go to work in another room.

Sometimes we have business calls from the wigwam to the tent. Because Leo, Yura's son (Yuriy Kyryliv - together with Danuta Kryl and Vitaly Kyryliv is a co-founder of the Hochu rayu bureau. - Ed.), has now built himself a temporary hut in the apartment. Such a space within a space coolly switches and concentrates, by the way.

Co-founder of the Hochu rayu bureau Yuriy Kyrylov works from home

What do you do in your spare time? How do you fight boredom from self-isolation?

We try to focus on the positive and on the opportunities that have opened up now. For example, we travel around the neighborhood by car or walk in the field.

How do you think the global lockdown and quarantine will affect design?

On the one hand, now each of us is trying to preserve our usual regime, our usual life as much as possible. Do not lose pace, develop, just change the location, continue to do your work.

On the other hand, no one can yet understand what the world will be like afterwards. We live at the peak of VUCA (Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity — Ed.). Uncertainty has filled our space and everyone is looking for their own answer.

We are definitely living through one of those decisive moments in history, the scale of which will be visible only in the distance of time.

It is interesting and scary at the same time.

The price of a new experience for the world can be very high.

And it is design that is one of those tools that make it possible to adapt to changes, pass them through your own experience and generate new solutions for the world. Being a designer in such a time of change is very interesting. What can we do to meet the challenges and needs of the world? What should our design be? We are still moving according to the inertia of the previous experience of ordinary time, because the changes are happening too quickly. But the ability to perceive, understand and rethink them will make it possible to create the design that will correspond to the world AFTER.

 

Antonina Kaple

Architect, TSEH Architectural Group

Kyiv, Ukraine

Have you switched to remote work due to the quarantine?

Our entire company has switched to remote work since the first day of quarantine. We agreed on this and prepared during the last two working days before it started.

What does your workplace look like?

Personally, my workplace remained in the office, where there are currently no other people. Everything that is possible, I decide on the phone or using a tablet. I did not arrange my home workplace: because of the children, there is no way to focus on the long-term work process, and the nanny and grandmother are also in quarantine. Thanks to technology, it is now possible to check mail, correspond in messengers and talk on the phone at any point. When I need to concentrate at the computer, I have to, taking all precautions, go to the office (it's nearby, and there is a car).

According to Bloomberg, working from home has turned into an extra hour or two of work a day for many. Is this about you?

As a leading architect and director, I have the same amount of organizational work left. But the project has decreased, our architects work in this segment, who can fully engage in this from home, who have already organized workplaces there.

How did the quarantine affect the work of your company?

Due to the quarantine, several of our projects have been frozen, some may be stopped in the future after the current stage, if the quarantine continues. Therefore, one of the employees had to be asked to temporarily go on vacation at his own expense. But we are all in touch, we correspond every day in a joint group. And even those who do not have their own project now do something useful for the company in their spare time. I believe that I was very lucky with the team in this regard, in such a situation a lot is revealed!

Did you have to implement new communication and management tools?

Among the new programs, I had to install the Zoom application for video conferencing according to the new project. I try to replace the frozen projects with new ones as quickly as possible, as much as possible in the conditions of quarantine and economic crisis, which scares everyone.

At the suggestion of customers, they mastered a good document management service - "Vchasno", which will allow signing documents with a digital key-seal. I liked it: fast and convenient.

For one of the projects, which is being implemented in another city of Ukraine, they switched to author supervision online through video meetings instead of visits.

Empty office of TSEH architectural bureau

How do you deal with distractions?

Personally, I can't deal with my distractions, my children. 

How did you use the extra free time (if it appeared)? What do you do in your spare time? How do you deal with sadness from self-isolation?

I devote all my free time to my children. A new hobby has also appeared: I grow seedlings to grow flowers and spices on the balcony. At the beginning of the quarantine, I ordered seeds and pots with delivery via the Internet. She started to cook a lot, a robot vacuum cleaner helps to clean. There is no time for sadness, I try to think positively.

How do you think the global lockdown will affect architecture? How will approaches to design change, taking into account the probability of the recurrence of pandemics?

In the future, I think there will be less construction during the pandemic, especially large ones. But the process will move, although it will change. Everything will become more distant. We will have to adapt, the most flexible and professional architectural companies and developers will survive. The projects themselves will become more economical and investment-friendly, we have already been approached for the design of economy housing outside the city.

Most likely, competition will increase in the design market. Perhaps the scales will prevail in the direction of more mobile architecture and prefabs. Now it makes more sense in houses that can be assembled neatly somewhere (using special equipment and without violating quarantine measures), simply brought and installed on the ground. Our Mobile Expo Lab project, which we once implemented with our clients, will become more relevant. People will want to live in nature, at a distance, not in apartment buildings, especially those who have children. But many will not have budgets for the construction or purchase of large houses. All actions will become more conscious, in any spheres, not only in architectural design and investments in construction.

 

Artur Scharf and Artem Zverev

Architects, YODEZEEN

Kyiv, Ukraine

Artur Sharf and Artem Zverev, founders of YODEZEEN

How do you cope in the conditions of increased quarantine, when it became possible to go out only in case of urgent need, only in masks, not to visit sports fields, parks, etc.?

Arthur: Personally, I feel a certain emotional discomfort. When in the last 10 years you have been in constant active movement, having 3-4 business trips per month, then quickly adjusting to a different lifestyle turns out to be more difficult than I thought. But in this case, clear planning, even of your home life, helps. I determined for myself that if you strictly plan each day, efficiency increases, the influence of distractions, unplanned conversations decreases.

Here it is important to understand that the pandemic is not a creative retreat. And all the restrictions that are being introduced and have been introduced in the last couple of months are an urgent need.

What does your workplace look like? Have you somehow set it up for long-term work from home?

Arthur: I work where it is convenient. It can be a bed, a sofa or a kitchen island - the main thing for me in this matter is comfort and the ability to concentrate. 

Artyom: To manage many issues, a phone in my hand has been enough for a long time, so I don't feel any particular discomfort regarding the organization of the work process at home.

Artem Zverev's home workspace

According to Bloomberg, working from home has turned into an extra hour or two of work a day for many. Is this about you?

Arthur: We are always working hard, regardless of time of day or location (home, office or business trip), often 14 hours a day for the past 10 years. So in this case, nothing has changed for us. We have always been focused on our projects, our team, our customers at all times of our company, and this overtime story is definitely not about us. 

How did the quarantine affect the work of your company?

Artyom: Of course, the crisis caused by the pandemic affected the work of our studio. We very quickly transferred everyone to the remote mode of operation, provided everything necessary, slightly changed the interaction processes. Some projects were stopped due to the impossibility of continuing construction work, the implementation dates for other projects were postponed, but the work and tasks did not decrease as a result. It became more difficult to carry out the author's supervision, because each object has its own characteristics - somewhere an empty apartment, and somewhere access is limited, and it takes more time to solve organizational tasks. We focused more on project work and on the new opportunity to hone many processes, bring them to perfection.

I cannot say that the number of requests has decreased. Moreover, I think that right now many people understand that a calm and measured life can change in one day, and therefore it is no longer necessary to postpone your dreams and plans in a long drawer.

Arthur: I would also note that now I have more time to analyze: my projects, ideas, interactions within the team, analysis of our strengths and weaknesses. The time has come to improve details, find and apply new solutions. We have not stopped looking for new employees, as we are gathering a strong and talented team. We had time to develop new ideas and projects within the studio.

It has become more difficult to communicate with the team, because personal communication, teamwork on projects and tasks, the opportunity to hear and discuss, even argue, are always important, but in personal communication it is always more effective to understand each other. Personal communication cannot be replaced by any new developments and software. And even a video call is not always a good substitute for a personal conversation.

Arthur Scharf's home workspace

Did you have to implement new communication and planning tools?

Artyom: I think that we do not have much change in this matter, because, given the large number of clients from all over the world and our constant business trips with Artur and the team, we use a standard set of communication tools: Zoom, WhatsApp, Telegram, Skype.

How do you think the global lockdown will affect architecture? How will approaches to design change, taking into account the probability of the recurrence of pandemics?

Arthur: This is a rather difficult question for our field now. There will definitely be changes, but their level depends primarily on the further development of the situation in the world. If we talk about the consumer component, then, I think, many people around the world will begin to actively close their unfulfilled dreams, rethinking life values, will begin to understand that there is not so much time to create the house of their dreams or the business of their dreams.

Artyom: From the point of view of the design of living spaces, the issue of creating additional space for storing things in apartments and houses may come to the fore, elements of external protection may be added, issues of air conditioning and ventilation of premises will be reviewed, moreover, many people will begin to rethink their housing, wanting to create multifunctional apartments and houses.

In public places, points for checking human health, points for disinfection, etc. may become mandatory, places with a large area, open spaces will be preferred.