Session 3 / Singapore Live Program: New Solutions for the New Normal

Andrew Brahney
Head of SMART Futures
Ramboll, Singapore

The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted social and economic global norms and accelerated many of the key trends shaping the building industry. The ongoing aftermath of uncertainty has led to a sharp drop in real estate investment volumes and commercial rental prices. Owners/operators and tenants are grappling with several key questions and searching for solutions and strategies on how best to move forward. While the economic impact is unprecedented, with billions of dollars of dry powder capital in the market and record low-interest rates, there are significant possibilities for owners/operators to pivot and take advantage of new opportunities.

The design and development community is emerging from the defensive stage of pandemic response to a more forward-looking approach and creating new, innovative responses. Repurposing existing design tools, and incorporating new thinking around user experience design and technologies, we can create spaces that feel safe, operate effectively, and add value for developers and operators; thereby allowing premises to resume operations and adapt to this new normal.

This presentation explores some of the key questions that we have found from collaborating with key partners from the owner/operator community and presents the “New Solutions Toolkit.” The toolkit is a growing collection of holistic, practical solutions, which address current challenges, as well as longer-term sector-specific trends, ensuring that these designs provide lasting resilience and a roadmap to future opportunity.