Proposal Status
Ready for Committee Review
Proposer First Name
Andrew
Proposer Email
adixon@highmark.co
Proposed Session Description
In the COVID-19 era, what’s the key to improving health, ventilation and energy efficiency in offices? The answer is collaboration between manufacturers, engineers and building owners. Representatives from these key stakeholders will join a roundtable and discuss how to work together to achieve healthy and energy-efficient offices. The format will be a roundtable panel discussion hosted by a moderator, with interaction between panelists and attendees as a top priority. As such, the moderator will field questions throughout the panel discussion and host a Q&A afterward. In addition, the session can include a digital walkthrough of a brand-new office in Manhattan utilizing the latest technologies supporting health, ventilation and energy efficiency.
Why is this session important?
Healthy buildings are more important than ever in the COVID-19 era, especially offices. However, many hurdles exist to create offices that support better health, ventilation and energy efficiency. The only way this can be achieved – and enable workers to return safely – is if all key stakeholders work together to find solutions. Yet, a further hurdle is the fact that the industry is siloed. This roundtable will enable critical actors to come together and discuss how to collaborate on making offices healthy for workers, as well as energy efficient.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
Creating healthy offices for all to use is essential in the COVID-19 era. If some offices support health but others don’t, this will cause a further rift in the community and foster inequality. Every person has the right to go to work in a safe environment. How to achieve this is the underlying goal of the session.
Learning Objectives
Understand the diverse perspectives of manufacturers, engineers and building owners on improving health, ventilation and energy efficiency in NYC’s offices.
Explain the best ways to collaborate between key stakeholders to find solutions to achieving healthy NYC offices and a safe return for workers.
Review the main challenges to improving health, ventilation and energy efficiency in NYC’s offices.
Discuss different approaches and technologies available to overcome challenges to improving health, ventilation and energy efficiency in NYC’s offices.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 2 - Some prior knowledge helpful.
Strongest Content Connection - NYC 2021
Anything else you'd like to tell us about your session proposal?
The session will be completely non-promotional, focusing solely on providing educational information to attendees. We look forward to creating a valuable session that answers attendees’ questions on this topic.
Reviewer 1
Grant, Tristan
Committee Decision
Being Considered
MAYBE
MAYBE This could be interesting, directly addresses IAQ / ventilation in a post-covid office place. widely applicable to NYC commerical / office market, potentially transferable to other building types, definitely to other regions. Will draw on diverse expertise and bring together various perspectives to discuss the challenges. Because so much of the covid-safe protocols require rethinking or retrofitting mechanical systems, especially ventilation, there's tension between code, ownership, engineering, and the physical space constraints, and hearing from a set of panelists on their respective priorities / concerns about this movement may help uncover some of these latent conflicts.