For the last month we’ve been researching and implementing ways to make the physical space at the Atlanta Tech Village safer for everyone in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. While any building carries risk, there are a number of ways to make existing spaces better. We consulted several resources with two of our favorites being the Back to Work Toolkit and the Black Sheep Restaurant.
Here are 19 ways we upgraded our workplace due to Covid-19:
- Free re-usable masks for everyone
- Requiring masks be worn entering the building, the kitchens, and while riding the elevators
- Napkins to be used instead of skin to touch elevator buttons and open certain doors that can’t be automated
- Hand sanitizer with reminder signs in every community area
- Health declaration signs at building entrances asking people to not enter if they have any exposure or symptoms related to Covid-19
- Signs throughout the building reminding of the need for physical distancing
- Addition of HEPA air purifiers in all common areas
- Installation of automatic door openers activated by a contactless hand motion for dozens of doors
- 3D printed door handle modifiers to make certain doors openable via the elbow
- Removal of community doors, where possible, to minimize touching of shared resources
- Floor signs indicating one-way hallways and direction of traffic flow
- Stairwell signs indicating one-way walking (one going up and the other going down)
- Circles on the floor six feet apart in any area where a line might form like the coffee machines and the check-in iPads
- Circles on the floor in the elevators indicating where to stand and limiting elevator occupancy to no more than three people
- New side screens for desks that can’t be moved six feet apart in private offices
- Removal of certain chairs in conference rooms to promote physical distancing
- Removal of certain desks in co-working areas to make the remaining desks six feet apart
- Increased building cleaning frequency to multiple times per day
- Added non-toxic disinfecting misting once per day
We’ll continue to upgrade and make changes as more people use the building and new best practices emerge. Right now, we believe the enhancements make the Tech Village safer for everyone. We’re eager to continue helping entrepreneurs increase their chance of success through community.
David Cummings on Startups 
Great ideas. How are you all thinking about handling this when not everyone can come back until vaccines available, and need to collaborate more with half team at office and half remote? Perhaps that was the normal situation of teams before covid. Being one with high risk family members, I am very interested in this from a leadership perspective as well, when the rest of your team is at the office and you’re the one remote.