STEP-UP

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Amphitheatre
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Amphitheatre on the LVL 4, used for Interaction with each other but also gives these people a chance to showcase
their skills and earn something through paid performances that are open to the outside public.

Index
Sustainable Maintainence .......................................................................4-5
Thesis Statement .......................................................................6-7
Vissual Essay and Animation .......................................................................8-9
Historical Essay ....................................................................10-17
Preliminary Research
Fascade .........................................................................18
Site ..................................................................20-25
Exploration ........................................................................26
Precedents ........................................................................27
Program ..................................................................28-29
Axonometric Video ........................................................................30
Users .........................................................................31
Design
Health ..................................................................32-43
Live ..................................................................44-55
Section ..................................................................56-57
Skills ..................................................................58-67
Section ..................................................................68-69
Reflection .........................................................................71
Annotated Bibliography and Bibliography ...................................................................72-73
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4
We are born into a system that is meant to train people to be a productive worker, we study to get into a good college and study
more to get a better job so that we can work all our lives to sustain ourselves, our family, our needs and necessities.

Sustainable Maintainence
The idea of taking care of oneself and the people around us
is, continuously, is what we humans do to maintain our bodies,
whether it’s through physical amenities or good health not only
for the present but also for the future. Therefore, sustainable
maintenance can be seen as a long-term solution for the care
of a worker’s body and a workspace so that they can mutually
benefit each other in the work system.
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6
Contrast between homelessness and empty buildings creates a sense of disorientation and proposes a question on
the socio-economic conditions of the US, why are people still on the streets when there are so many buildings empty?

Thesis Statement
While US homeless population is increasing at a great rate; many
companies are not renewing leases of tall skyscrapers, post-covid,
leaving the buildings empty. In the Venn diagram you can see the
contrast between homelessness and empty buildings creates a sense
of disorientation and proposes a question on the socio-economic
conditions of the US, why are people still on the streets when there
are so many buildings empty? A long-term sustainable approach to
community development that can allow people to sustain themselves
and their future generation.
In this thesis project, I will be looking at how these spaces, that
have been emptied by society, can be reappropriated to alleviate the
conditions of homeless populations and maintain their body as a worker.
I will be looking at the Salesforce Tower, in San Francisco and understand
how this empty tower can be reoccupied by programs and initiatives
that provide for the unhoused population of SoMa, San Francisco, not
only through shelter but also health and skill development opportunities
for a more economically and physically sustainable future.
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Visual Essay
A long-term solution for the care of a worker’s body and continuity of
workspace so that they can mutually benefit each other in a system
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work pressure
Video
Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PC6CEizPAWn5SFxo_ac7EsBDF7Ixha-5/view?usp=sharing
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HIStorical essay
Health and Well-being of a Worker
Through Workspace Design
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Abstract
Our workplace is more than just a space where we get
our daily tasks completed, it is a place where socialization,
learning, and networking occurs. It doesn’t have to be an
office space or a factory and can simply be a small desk at
your home. The pandemic has hit humans in several ways.
One of them is through the rapid change in the workspace;
economically, socially, and mentally. This has not only
affected the work economically but also the worker’s mental
and physical health, productivity, and creativity as they
are locked in one place at home. The pandemic has made
us pause and think about what the future of workspace
design needs to be and how we need to create resiliency to
combat any situations like that of COVID-19. Resiliency in the
workplace can be termed as the capacity of a worker and
the workplace to recover quickly from any unseen physical
and mental obstructions faced by them. This paper will
explore how the future of workspace design needs to be
more resilient and focus more on the health and wellness
of the workers in the office space, outside the office space,
and through the physical design of the space itself.
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A person works throughout their lives, sometimes
less, sometimes more. Many events can disrupt the
workplace environment. The most recent one being
the coronavirus. In his article, Mind, and Matter, Blaine
Brownell says, “The novel coronavirus pandemic, has
disrupted the workplace in ways that few pundits
anticipated. Previously, design firms, industry
specialists, and academic researchers speculated on
the efficacy of open offices, team-based workspaces
and co-working, mobility, flexibility, communications
tools, and artificial intelligence”.1 After the pandemic
hit us, employees have started to fear crowded office
spaces, group work, and commute. The reading,
“Mind, and Matter” speculates that there will be a
shift in how people work. The new workspace trends
would be more tech -savvy, flexible and densifying
office spaces.2 Despite the vaccine and precautions
that have started to come into place, there is always
a mental scare about going back to work. This sparks
speculation about maintaining our health and wellness
from this virus, and if our workspace is healthy. WHO
defines a healthy workspace as “All members of the
workforce with physical, psychological, social and
organizational conditions that protect and promote
health and safety.”3 This paper will explore how
the future of workspace design needs to be more
resilient and focus more on the health and wellness
of the workers in the office space, outside the office
space, and through the physical design of the space
itself. Resiliency in the workplace can be termed
as the capacity of a worker and the workplace to
recover quickly from any unseen physical and mental
obstructions faced by them. Resiliency is associated
with greater job satisfaction, happiness, positive
employee engagement with the workplace.
The first dedicated office building was created in
the 18th Century in London known as the Old Admiralty
Office which was an open office space design used
to handle the masses of paperwork which was then
followed by the East India House on Leadenhall Street
in London, a HQ for East India Trading Company. 4
At that time the UK government mentioned that, “for
the intellectual work, separate rooms are necessary
so that a person who works with his head may not
be interrupted; but for the more mechanical work,
a room under proper superintendence is the proper
mode of meeting it”5 This discusses about how space
layout can help with people’s productivity. With the
pandemic starting in 2019, turbulence in the office
spaces has been prominent. According to the CDC
government article on “Mental Health and Work”, we
have become very uncertain about the future, causing
stress and anxiety which affected job performance,
communication, and engagement. Some people have
been suffering from depression and other symptoms
of diseases like obesity, migraine, eating disorders.6
While interviewing, Vanessa Poppa, 34, who was hit by
COVID-19 in December 2019 and works in a corporate
office said, “I’m scared to go back to work. I wonder
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if they are taking precautions. Are they going to be
taking temperatures? Is the person next to me going
to be sick? It’s caused me stress.” She also mentioned
how “I don’t want to be exposing the lives of my
mother and three kids who I live with.”7 This stress of
losing loved ones, because of a disease, only lessens
the desire to go back to work. Another example of
a workforce dismantling was after the September
11th attacks in New York when many people were
psychologically traumatized to go back to work as
there was a high level of fear and emotion. An NCBI,
article by Carol. S. North, “Workplace response of
companies after 9/11” states that “Managers felt illprepared
to manage the magnitude and the intensity
of employees’ emotional responses.” 8 This research
also concludes that the companies needed to provide
better mental health counseling and new methods like
psychological first aid applied by workplace leaders
and not mental health professionals focus groups at
work, and healing outside medical ways. This is seen
in large companies like Google and Salesforce that
have started to incorporate activities like yoga, the
group meets, picnics, and employee trekking, so that
people get to take a break from work but stay in the
office and work for as long as possible but also took
their mind of trauma from the 9/11 experiences. Both
these calamities caused mental health disruptions for
the workers, however, one was spontaneous cause and
effect while the other has occurred for a prolonged
period disrupting the physical space and mental
health. Therefore, in preparation for such situations
in the future, having a resilient physically designed
space and mental health programs and activities in
place is important. When asked in an interview by
Forbes, Suzette Subance Ferrier, managing executive
and studio creative director of New York-based TPG
Architecture said, “The future success of a healthy
workplace will be incumbent on smart planning
strategies and behavioral responsibility”.9 She
mentions how there will be an emphasis on flexibility
in the new office space. With the rise in technology
and more social awareness office spaces have started
to be more incorporative of the physical needs and
mental well-being of employees. Tripler Army, a
medical center in Hawaii, requires resiliency training
to reduce burnout and increase skills in empathy and
1”Blaine Brownell, “Rethinking Office Design Trends in a Post-COVID World,” Architect (The Journal, May
18, 2020), https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/rethinking-office-design-trends-in-a-post-covidworld_o.
2 ibid
3 “Healthy Workplaces: a WHO Global Model for Action,” World Health Organization (World Health
Organization, June 26, 2015), https://www.who.int/occupational_health/healthy_workplaces/en/. 4
“History of Office Design: From the 1700’s to Today: K2 Space,” K2space (K2space, November 1, 2019),
https://k2space.co.uk/knowledge/history-of-office-design/.
5 Ibid.
6 “Mental Health in the Workplace,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, April 10, 2019), https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/
workplace-health/mental-health/index
8 Carol S North et al., “Workplace Response of Companies Exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center Attack:
a Focus-Group Study,” Disasters (U.S. National Library of Medicine, October 16, 2012), https://www.ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4221248/.
9 Elizabeth Fazzare, “Architects Weigh In On The Future Of Office Design,” Forbes (Forbes Magazine, July
1, 2020), https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethfazzare/2020/06/30/architects-weigh-in-on-the-future-ofoffice-design/?sh=735ed18e3de4.=
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compassion for staff members who are in caregiver
roles. These sessions include mix classroom-style
lectures on topics like workplace efficiency and mental
health care, role-playing, and improvisational comedy
to touch on multiple learning styles.10 The coronavirus
has played a role in optimizing the workplace, giving it
a future of mixed-use development, where both virtual
and physical office spaces will evolve and exist. This
creates resilient workspaces as people and spaces will
be ready to use in the future, in case a virus of this caliber
hits society. The physical office space has become for
collaborations, team meetings, and strategic planning
as mentioned by Commercial Market Sector Leader
Kristina Crawley, when interviewed about reimagining
the workplace.11 She mentions how there will be greater
adaptability through technology, more options, and
optimization of the open offices for better productivity
and resiliency in case another catastrophe hits us.
Despite the flexibility of the workspace, physical
office buildings will still be prevalent. There will be a
behavior-based use of space and less stringent and
dedicated desk spaces. People would be given options
as to where they want to work and how they want to
work for their own mental health needs.
Virtual workspace has boomed after the pandemic,
work-from-home, which was once looked down upon,
has become a new trend in workplace design after
the start of the pandemic. Monaco, a longtime Detroit
commercial real estate broker comments on the idea of
work from home (WFH) and says, “I think we’re on this
what I call short-term euphoria, it’s cost-effective and
convenient….but it’s starting to wane.”12 There have
been many misconceptions about working from home.
Steelcase’s article on “Competing in a Post-Covid Era”,
states how WFH has led to low creativity levels, low
collaboration, isolation, and frustration of no work-life
balance.13 This has led to frustration, increased screen
time, and stress allowing for bad mental health in the
employees. Research by Verywell Health states that
“American homes were not designed to be offices,”
and long hours from working indoors have resulted
in headaches and muscular pain. Isolation and a
sedentary lifestyle also contribute to weight gain and
obesity.14 Even though large corporations have started
to provide funding for WFH setup, technology is not
perfect, and the intangible parts of the workplace are
still missing and they contribute so much to the way
companies think and innovation happens. There is no
work culture, company identity, or excitement to go
to an office and meet your colleagues to start your
day. Even though WFH has its advantages like no
travel time and comfort of home, Forbes held a survey
and in the article, “Working from Home Is Disliked By
And Bad For Most Employees” states that it has also
blurred the line between work and private life, reduced
interaction and has had a strong negative impact on
employees’ mental health.15 According to them, shortterm
euphoria is not going to last long and office spaces
with a hybrid model would be the future of workspace
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design. This would provide a quick transition to remote
work in case another catastrophe hits, thus creating
resiliency. Remote work is not limited to WFH. Coworking
companies like WeWork are trying to tap
into customers’ work-from-home fatigue and creating
a model with short-term leases, starting from hourly
rates, to still give a professional work environment
with the right furniture, lighting, and needs but is also
give the people a choice of what type of workspace
they want. “They don’t want to feel like they have to
be locked up in their homes.” says Gregg Scruggs,
author of the article “Road to Recovery”.16 This future
would also use the existing office space effectively
and create resiliency and enforce better mental health
and wellness in the workers with a change of the work
environment.
Talking about the existing office spaces and
how they can be re-designed to create resiliency
for employees, a need to look at technology and
workplace community is important to create a better
quality of work life. According to the journal article by
University of Montreal professor, Jacqueline C., The
Effect Of Workplace Design on Quality of Life at Work,
“the quality of work life is the degree to which the
experience of individual’s life satisfies that individual’s
wants and needs (both physical and psychological).”17
This can be seen through the diagram below which
represents the Workspace Comfort Pyramid.The
model above indicates that physical comfort is the
Figure 1: Workspace Comfort Pyramid
10 “Mental Health in the Workplace,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, April 10, 2019), https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/workplace-health/
mental-health/index.html.
11 Anca Gagiuc, “Reimagining the Workplace After the Pandemic: Q&A,” Commercial Property Executive (Commercial
Property Executive, January 5, 2021), https://www.cpexecutive.com/post/reimagining-the-workplace-after-thepandemic-qa/.
12 Elizabeth Fazzare, “Architects Weigh In On The Future Of Office Design,” Forbes (Forbes Magazine, July 1,
2020), https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethfazzare/2020/06/30/architects-weigh-in-on-the-future-of-officedesign/?sh=735ed18e3de4.
13 “Competing in the Post-COVID Era,” Steelcase (Steelcase, July 27, 2020), https://www.steelcase.com/research/
articles/topics/post-covid-workplace/competing-post-covid-era/#misconception-3.
14 BSN Cyra-Lea Drummond, “3 Surprising Health Risks of Working From Home,” Verywell Health, October 7, 2020,
https://www.verywellhealth.com/remote-work-health-risks-5080056.
15 Elizabeth Fazzare, “Architects Weigh In On The Future Of Office Design”
16 Greg Scruggs, “Co-Working Companies Are Trying to Tap into Customers Experiencing Work-from-Home Fatigue,” The
Washington Post (WP Company, February 23, 2021), https://www.washingtonpost.com/road-to-recovery/2021/02/28/
remote-work-flex-office-work-home/.
Figure 1: Diagram by Vischer. Jacqueline C. Vischer and Mariam Wifi, “The Effect of Workplace Design on Quality of
Life at Work,” Handbook of Environmental Psychology and Quality of Life Research, 2016, pp. 387-400, https://doi.
org/10.1007/978-3-319-31416-7_21.
15

base of occupants’ workspace experience. This sets
the minimum required for the basic habitability of the
space. If physical comfort is not adequate in a space,
people feel that their well-being is being harmed. For
example, if a workplace is too dark and crowded, a
worker might feel claustrophobic and his eyes will also
be strained and thus, he will not be able to perform
well. Therefore, the future of workplace design needs
to keep in mind the aspects that make a physical
space more comfortable. For example, good indoor
air quality, natural lighting, and ergonomics can help
increase people’s mental and physical wellbeing by
inducing high productivity levels and happiness. An
example is seen through the study by Colarelli SM,
O’Brien K, Boyajian investigates the effects of natural
elements and direct and indirect. The graph shows that
with a high level of exposure to natural elements, the
relationship between role stressors and job satisfaction
was weaker than for those with less exposure to
natural elements. Therefore, we can say about how
natural lighting elements like windows and skylights
that bring in natural light in workspaces can improve
job satisfaction and mental health of workers. With
the immense mobility in the workspace environment,
it is necessary to track which part of the workspace is
being used the most. Using data-tracking applications
to gather analytics about how workers move around
and use an office can help with real-time improvements
allowing for space maximization and energy savings.
This is important as the future of workspaces will be
Figure 2: Natural elements exposure as a moderator of the relationship between role
stressors and anxiety.
Figure 3: Natural elements as a moderator of the relationship between role stressors
and job satisfaction.
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smaller but more widely spread out as people will have
a choice as to where they want to work. Adapting these
individual spaces to the needs of the workers who are
in the space at the moment will be necessary. This is
started to be done using motion sensors and digital
tracking products at North American headquarters
in New Jersey designed by Perkins and Will.19 As
technologies advance navigating, booking rooms and
parking at workspace would all be controlled through
them, making the worker’s time more efficient giving
them more time to focus on actual work and their wellbeing.
The future of workspace design will also focus
on how to create community-driven spaces. Spaces will
not be limited to just workspaces in the office but also
those that have networking events, panels, workshops
other career development resources will drive more
employees and a greater flow of connectivity. An
example of this is The Riveter, which is a co-working
company that provides members with networking
and career development opportunities in addition to
space to work.20 This combination would give people
the opportunity to not only have a space to work but
also to branch out and grow in their careers keeping
them in a better mental space. The focus will be people
and not the company.
Throughout history, the built environment has
transformed in response to psychological and physical
reactions to disease.21 The workplace which has been
a very important place economically, socially, and
mentally has been changing as well. A worker works
till retirement or sometimes even more and therefore
the mental health and wellness of the employee must
be maintained. COVID-19 has created a pause in our
workplaces when it forced us to change the way we
work. This in turn made people realize how the future
workplace environments need to be more resilient
not only as space but also for a worker’s health and
wellness. It is also necessary for the community, as a
whole, and to create innovative solutions for resiliency
as it has a direct effect on the workplace. This can be
created through hybrid work methods, optimization,
innovation, ready for spontaneous changes, and having
the future needs of the worker and the community
in place. Work is life long and if the worker is well
prepared, mentally and emotionally, it would not only
help the maintenance of the individual but that of the
company as well.
17 Jacqueline C. Vischer and Mariam Wifi, “The Effect of Workplace Design on Quality of Life at Work,” Handbook of
Environmental Psychology and Quality of Life Research, 2016, pp. 387-400, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31416-
7_21.
18 Mihyang An et al., “Why We Need More Nature at Work: Effects of Natural Elements and Sunlight on Employee
Mental Health and Work Attitudes,” PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science, 2015), https://journals.plos.org/plosone/
article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0155614.
19 Jljenniferliu, “From Privacy Booths to Smart Parking Garages: These Photos Show What Offices of the
Future Will Look Like,” CNBC (CNBC, February 5, 2020), https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/04/see-thetrends-in-office-design-that-will-change-the-way-we-work-2020.html.
20 Ibid.
21 ibid
Figure 2: Graph by Mihyang An et al., “Why We Need More Nature at Work: Effects of Natural Elements
and Sunlight on Employee Mental Health and Work Attitudes,” PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science, 2015),
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0155614.
Figure 3: Graph by Mihyang An et al., “Why We Need More Nature at Work: Effects of Natural Elements
and Sunlight on Employee Mental Health and Work Attitudes,” PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science, 2015),
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0155614.
17

18
FASCADE

Preliminary Research
19

SITE
The Tall Tower
Walking on the street full of tall buildings and the
smell of a freshly grilled hot dog. As you get closer
to this slender glass building with pearlescent metal
accents, the smell gets stronger, making you stop and
look around for the food carts there. As you stand there
while eating your hot dog, you try to look up from the
Salesforce Transit Park and gauge the building. Your
neck keeps going back but you can’t see the top of
this tapering tower. The Salesforce tower, situated in
the SOMA district of San Francisco, CA, is 1,070 ft high
and has an area of 1.4 million sq ft.1 Where on one side
the SOMA district is surrounded by tech headquarters,
museums, and sports centers, there is a dark side to the
district which consists of over 24% of the population
being unsheltered, making it the home to homeless
for almost 100 years.2 Going around the building you
see white-collar workers coming in and out. There is a
sense of quietness which is disrupted by the occasional
sounds of the automobile on the streets. This tall tower is
accompanied by a Salesforce Transit Center at its base.
This is not only a transportation hub but also a park
plaza where people from the tower and the public can
relax, meditate and do other social activities. Both these
buildings together represent a novel approach to the
public-private space and a sustainable design strategy
20

through seismic safety, HVAC, cooling, recycling, water,
and solar systems. Soon the Salesforce company will
leave the tower and create a large amount of empty
space. Going back to you stretching your neck to see
the top of the crown of this 61-story building, it may
intimidate you at first but the longer you stay there,
you get accustomed to its materiality and surrounding.
If you look farther on the streets, you would see cloth
and metal tents of the unhoused people which create
a striking contrast to your view of this beautiful glass
and metal tower and at first you may just want to ignore
it but imagine if we could move these people into the
empty space of the building? Wouldn’t that create a
better scenery and a better life for these people? Afterall
this tall tower has enough space.
If you ever get a chance to go to the 61st floor, also
known as the Ohana floor, you would be awestruck
to see the panoramic view of the city. If no, you can
always experience this building from a plane, sit on the
window side and see how the golden dawn hits the glass
tower making it shine taller than ever. You will then get
to see that “sculptural crown”, which is an unenclosed
latticework of structure, and decide for yourself if the
plane ride was worth it or not.
21

22

SENSE OF PLACE
23

salesforce tower
Tallest buildng in San
Francisco
Crown lit at night
Topmost floor- The
Ohana Floor
hangout for employees
offered for free to Bay
Area nonprofits that want
to hold fundraisers or
special events
Seseimic Safety
Sustainbility
Neighborhood
development
Financial Feasability
Materiality
Clear glass-Curved
Pearlescent metal accents
a slender, tapering silhouette
24

SITE-HISTORY & DEMOGRAPHICS
2019 Total Unsheltered Population
by District
South of Market Distrct:
Major Headquaarters of Tech Companies
Museums
Arts and Sports Center
South Beach
Hub for the LGBTQ community
For more than 100 years SoMa has
been the home to homeless.
Lots of Social Service/Govt Aid/
Shelters
Total Population of SoMA: 15,143
24% of the population is unsheltered
Today, 62 percent of the city’s
6,686 homeless live in supervisor
district six, which is made of
largely of SoMa
Largest number of unsheltered
population
Public/Salesforce Employee Recreation
and train station
Demographic by Race
29.8% Asian
27.35 White
22.7% Hispanic or Latino
11.5% Black
An increase in the homeless population by 18%
https://timeline.com/for-more-than-100-years-soma-has-been-home-to-the-homeless-5e2d014bdd92
Homeless Age group in SOMA
25

EXPLORATION
Volume connectivity varied heights
26

PRECEDENTS
Hidden Homeless by Morris + Company
London,UK
St Johns Program
Sacramento, CA
Commjunity First Village by Mobile Loaves and Fishes
Austin, TX
27

Program
SKILLS
27400 sq ft
LIVE
24920 sq ft
17475 sq ft
HEALTH
28

29

AXONOMETRIC
30
Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yfdj1k3LZ6_jvQd5Qb8mjfaZayR4ujF0/view?usp=sharing

USERS
31

32

1HEALTH
Health is an important part of a workers body. A worker is no good and cannot function
properly if he/she has no physical and mental wellbeing. Homeless people go through
several mental anf physical injuries, trauma and situations that lead to depleating health and
addictions. Our Health Center not only has emergency wards and in patient rooms but also
have meditation, a track and vounselling and physiotherapy areas for every generation
33

34

HEALTH
Health is an important part of a workers body. A worker is no good and cannot function properly
if he/she has no physical and mental wellbeing. Homeless people go through several mental anf
physical injuries, trauma and situations that lead to depleating health and addictions. The Health
Center not only has emergency wards and in-patient rooms but also have meditation, a track and
counselling and physiotherapy areas for every generation.
35

36

Axonometric
Link:
https://drive.google.com/
file/d/1wTpWCUFCOwYM-
3FrhYFukoNxAatcQMCsK/
view?usp=sharing
37

Staff Lounge
Pharmacy
Resting Space
Group Therapy
Admin
Personal
Counselling
Storage
Doctors Office
Emergency Wards
In-Patient Rooms
Reception Lounge
Personal Counselling
Nurse Stations
Talk Spot
Meditation Studio
In-Patient Rooms
Floor Plan 2 Scale: 1/16”=1’
38

Resting Space
Running Track
Walking Track
Physical Therapy
Area
Felt Mirror Wooden
Slats
Exam Rooms
Mezzanine 2 Scale: 1/32”=1’
RCP 2 Scale: 1/32”=1’
39

Meditation HUb
40
This meditation hub allows the center’s members to focus to focus on their mental health, allowing people to try and
overcome trauma, negative thoughts.

Healing colors
Durable materials
Sliproof floors
Acoustical ceiling
41

Track
The track, surrounds the inner perimeter of the building is used by the members to run or walk to get some physical actvity/
therapy.
42

A
A’
Open Office Workshop Area Stage Kids Classroom Computer Room
Lvl 5
Mezz 4
Lvl 4
Mezz 3
Lvl 3
Mezz 2
Lvl 2
Track Shared Suites Staff Lounge Resting Space
Section A-A’ Scale: 3/32”=1’
43

44

LiVE
2The most important space for a homeless person is for a warm place to stay the night or/and day. Our
center not only provides shelter but also gives them the option of choosing and personalization, give
them a sense of belonging which they must have lost living on the streets or crashing at someones
house. Along with that we provide three different types of suites which they can choose according to
their comfort and whether they are here with a family or alone.
45

46

LiVE
The most important space for a homeless person is for a warm place to stay the night or/and day. Our
center not only provides shelter but also gives them the option of choosing and personalization, give
them a sense of belonging which they must have lost living on the streets or crashing at someones
house. Along with that we provide three different types of suites which they can choose according to
their comfort and whether they are here with a family or alone.
47

48

Axonometric
Link:
https://drive.google.com/
file/d/1etHRyGKcDsjYPfcF03hUIP9Xek4xS_Ai/
view?usp=sharing
49

Shared Suites
Group Seating
Laundry
Personal Seating
Storage
Family Suites
Food Display
Turnstiles
Cafeteria/Cooking
Class
Reception
Admin
Lounge
Private Suites
Floor Plan 3 Scale: 1/16”=1’
50

Lounge
Shared Suites
Family Suites
17"
14'3"
16'8"
16'8"
Admin Sleep
Recreation
Area
16'8"
17"
Private Suites
Mezzanine 3 Scale: 1/32”=1’
14"
17"
17"
16'8"
5/2/2021 2:19:39 AM
14'3"
RCP 3 Scale: 1/32”=1’
51

Cafeteria
52
This cafeteria serves as a restaurant for the outside public on the weekends and enables the members of the center
to showcase their skills while earning some money.Idea of community and earning some money using their skills.

Relaxing colors
Durable materials
Comfortable Rooms
Acoustical ceiling
53

Coridoor
54
High-Low Ceiling Dynamics created to show a sense of safety but also a sense of community. Personalized frames
outside each suites and locks allow for a sense of belonging and also safety.

Living suites
Private Suite
200 sq ft
Family Suite
500 sq ft
Shared Suite
300 sq ft
55

Section
Section
56
Section B-B’
Physiotherapy
Room
Emergency
Room
Physiotherapy
Area

Lockers
B B’
Mezz 4
Lvl 4
Mezz 3
Lvl 3
Mezz 2
Lvl 2
Cafeteria/
Cooking Class
Scale: 3/32”=1’
57

58

3Skill Development/Work
Most people become homeless due to financial problems, lack of skills in the changing world.
Our skill development program helps them develop and enhance skills of their choice while also
helping in job search, resume building and starting their own business. Dependents and kids of
in the center also get a chance to study, enhance themselves and earn some money.
Our work program consist ofa cafeteria, where cooking enthusiasts can learn and sell their
foods. Another one is the amphitheatre for people with performing arts skills.
59

60

Skill Development/Work
Most people become homeless due to financial problems, lack of skills in the changing world.
Our skill development program helps them develop and enhance skills of their choice while also
helping in job search, resume building and starting their own business. Dependents and kids of
in the center also get a chance to study, enhance themselves and earn some money.
Our work program consist ofa cafeteria, where cooking enthusiasts can learn and sell their
foods. Another one is the amphitheatre for people with performing arts skills.
61

62

Axonometric
Link:
https://drive.google.com/
file/d/1g0mNPfIe3VERe-
J4fZjgufcnMTprYdbFI/
view?usp=sharing
63

Dance Studio
Music Room
Group Study
Stage
Check-in
Personal offices
Turnstiles
Admin
Amphitheatre
Green Room
Floor Plan 3 Scale: 1/16”=1’
64

Classrooms
Computer Lab
Open Office
Library
Potted Garden
Perforrated
Ceiling
Wooden Slats
Mezzanine 4 Scale: 1/32”=1’
5/2/2021 1:58:47 AM
RCP 3 Scale: 1/32”=1’
65

Open Office
The open office space with a library allows for community learning and skill development.
66

Energetic colors
sustainable materials
Nature
Open Spaces
67

Section
Personal Office
Family Suites
In Patient Room
68

Potted Garden
C C’
Mezz 4
Lvl 4
Mezz 3
Lvl 3
Mezz 2
Lvl 2
Exam Room
Laundry
Talk Spot
69

Skill development
Activites like Music and Dance promote community and skill development on the SKILL level of the program.
70

reflection
Over the past few months, I have learned about how sustainable
maintenance can shape a worker’s life. Researching about the unhoused
people and the current crisis of COVID-19 has made me realize that
there is no one solution for these big problems. However, taking smaller
steps could at least be a start and a talking point. My capstone project,
Step Up, is designed to not only house unhoused people but also takes
charge of their health and skill development so that they can have a more
sustainable and self-reliant future. Something that I believe worked the
most was this whole idea of creating a space that is not only a shelter
but more. I think dividing the spaces into different floors and then
focusing on the problems associated with each program, the health, the
life, the skills, is something that helped me a lot throughout the process.
I think in the future I would like to keep researching these problems and
adding more programs like grooming, and outdoor space, workspace,
etc. I would also like to focus on the building itself and how that could
be made more sustainable through my design.
Over the past 4 years, our interior design cohort has stuck together and
supported each other not only during stress, deadlines, and breakdowns
but also during achievements and happiness. We have made each other
laugh and have also cried together. I hope we all stay in touch and keep
supporting each other in our future endeavors.
71

Annotated Bibliography
Bliss, Laura. “What Happens When a City’s Largest Employer Goes ‘Work From Anywhere’” https://www.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-12/what-will-remote-work-do-to-salesforce-tower. Bloomberg City Lab,
February 12, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-12/what-will-remote-work-do-to-salesforce-tower.”
This Bloomberg article, “What Happens When a City’s Largest Employer Goes ‘Work From Anywhere” talks
about Salesforce, one of the largest employer of San Francisco. It talks about the idea of tech companies going
work from home and how they have started to not renew their leases for office workspaces. This has not only
affected office workers but also the community around them that relied on these workers. It is astonishing to see
how a company like Salesforce positioned itself as a focal point of downtown San Francisco for which the place
is known but now it has shifted to de-emphasizing the office. This makes me want to question the fact about
how these buildings will shift their design for a better and more resilient space. Through this, I would also explore
if these spaces would just be workspaces or living spaces as well and what other activities could be added for
self-maintain as well as space maintenance.
“Competing in the Post-COVID Era.” Steelcase. Steelcase, July 27, 2020. https://www.steelcase.com/research/
articles/topics/post-covid-workplace/competing-post-covid-era/#misconception-3.
This article by Steelcase is great for pros and cons on Work from Home in Post-Covid Era. It uses both qualitative
and quantitative data to show how work from home is not as convenient as it is shown to be and explains
the misconceptions people have about it. This article has several types of research that show how a majority of
people want to work from the office but are too scared of the consequences. It also talks about how work from
home is affecting their mental health and leading to depression in many workers. I could use this research to have
facts and statistics about work from home vs work in an office and how they affect people’s mental and physical
health. It also talks about how the post-covid workspace model will be a hybrid model and having strategies to
enforce that is necessary. Thus, the idea of space maintenance and how remote spaces can be transformed to
create better work environments in the future.
Fazzare, Elizabeth. “Architects Weigh In On The Future Of Office Design.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, July 1,
2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethfazzare/2020/06/30/architects-weigh-in-on-the-future-of-officedesign/?sh=735ed18e3de4.
This article from the Forbes magazine, “ Architects Weigh In On The Future of Office Design”, talks about how
retrofitting offices post-Covid is not enough. These spaces need to be strategized according to the multipurpose
use, functionality, and behavior of the employees. It talks about hope the company TPG is rethinking solutions
and the main reason people want to come back to the office to work is for teamwork and collaboration. It highlights
some technology and how the future of workspace design could be and could combat any future catastrophes.
The repurposing of empty office spaces for the community could be a solution that would be sustainable
and also good for the community. I could use this article to support my thesis in regards to the resilient future of
office spaces and that of the surrounding community. The research could be helpful to see the potential solutions
that the future of workspace solutions thrives on.
“History of Office Design: From the 1700’s to Today: K2 Space.” K2space. K2space, November 1, 2019. https://
k2space.co.uk/knowledge/history-of-office-design/.
This article talks about how office design is continuously changing. It talks about the history from 1729 separate
rooms to open spaces and to modern design. This is a helpful article for some precedent into the history of office
design and how to become better for the health and wellness of the workers. I could use this to compare with
the situation we have now and take some insights from the past to think about the future. It talks about how time
and nature causes office design changes and adapts to different situations for the people, by the people. It has
also become very personal, and the idea of suiting everyone’s needs is necessary to bring about a more efficient
and creative product while keeping in mind the wellbeing of the workers. This can be related to today and affect
how people work whether it is work from home or office spaces.
Levy, Ari. “Working from Home Is Here to Stay, Even When the Economy Reopens.” CNBC. CNBC, May 11, 2020.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/11/work-from-home-is-here-to-stay-after-coronavirus.html.
This interview from CNBC, “Working from home is here to stay, even when the economy reopens” talks about
the various fields for the best predictions they had for post-pandemic workspace. This article gives an economic
aspect that I could use in my essay. It talks about both pros and cons of remote working. As companies invest in
more remote tools, the negative effects of work from home on the company’s financial growth due to work from
home is increasingly seen in this article. It talks about how offices are going to come back slowly and finding a
hybrid solution is necessary. Not everyone has the resources to work from home which connects to my thesis
about how the office should be converted into a space that can be used by the employees without them worrying
about the workspace equipment.
“Post-pandemic, will more office space be the future of workplaces?” Crain’s Detroit Business, April 6, 2020.
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A619852937/ITOF? u=nysl_me_newsch&sid=ITOF&xid=d9f39c85.
This article, “Post-pandemic, will more office space be the future of workplaces?” talks about how post-pandemic
office spaces should stay but be redesigned for longevity and resiliency. The idea of working remotely seems
very convenient now but the article suggests that it started to wane off on people as technology is not perfect.
This article shows several examples of how shutting down offices is affecting real estate brokers, agents, and
businessmen. It talks about productivity and how work from home has decreased that by 40%. I think this article
would be great to talk about physical space and how it affects not only the health of the worker but also the
community. Using work from home as an idea that is fading away especially for the younger generation, having
resilient office space design that goes back to the old cubicles has started to become more evident.
Kumar, Tanishkaa, and Vanessa Poppa. Going Back to work. Personal, February 27, 2021.
I had taken this interview with an old collogue of mine from MSKCC, named Vanessa Poppa who works at a company
in New York where hybrid work experience started in January and she explains how she was really scared at
first as she lived with her elderly mother and 3 children. She spoke to me about her challenges and fear and how
the process of going back to work was and what all precautions were taken by the company and her. I think I can
use this primary source in the essay to bring about a real-life experience to my statements, allowing for a stronger
argument. Adding an interview to the essay would provide more credibility to what is being stated about how
thecoronavirus has affected the mental health of people who are asked to go back to work and what measures
can be taken to help them cope with it.
Wilk, Peter. “Workplace Reimagined: COVID-19 to Reshape the Modern Office Experience,” May 20, 2020. https://
www.ehstoday.com/covid19/article/21132221/workplace-reimagined-covid19-to-reshape-the-modern-office-experience.
This article, “Workplace Reimagined: COVID-19 to Reshape the Modern Office Experience” talks about the shift
from Work from Office Space to Work from Home. It also focuses on the fact that even though WFH provided
flexibility, and office space allows for better collaboration and productivity. It talks about how these spaces can
be transformed for part-time use and can also help cut down the sq ft used. New designs like these would be
efficient in layout and resiliency in usage. Thus maintaining the already existing spaces. The article also throws
light upon how leases and costs would work post-pandemic as many companies have been severely impacted
in terms of economy and renewing the lease for empty spaces will only add to the financial burden. I think this
article would be helpful in my research as it will give an introduction about how office spaces are changing and
what can be done to renew the idea of working to make it most beneficial for a worker.
72

Bibliography
Brownell, Blaine. “Rethinking Office Design Trends in a Post-COVID World.”Architect. The
Journal, May 18, 2020. https://www.architectmagazine.com/practice/rethinking-office-designtrends-in-a-post-covid-world_o.
Bliss, Laura. “What Happens When a City’s Largest Employer Goes ‘Work From Anywhere’”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-12/what-will-remote-work-do-to-salesforce-tower.
Bloomberg City Lab, February 12, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-12/what-will-remote-work-do-to-salesforce-tower.”
“Competing in the Post-COVID Era.” Steelcase. Steelcase, July 27, 2020. https://www.steelcase.
com/research/articles/topics/post-covid-workplace/competing-post-covid-era/#misconception-3.
Cyra-Lea Drummond, BSN. “Surprising Health Risks of Working From Home.” Verywell Health,
October 7, 2020. https://www.verywellhealth.com/remote-work-health-risks-5080056.
Day, Megan. Timeline. Timeline, June 29, 2016. https://timeline.com/for-more-than-100-yearssoma-has-been-home-to-the-homeless-5e2d014bdd92
https://www.hines.com/properties/
salesforce-tower-san-francisco.
Feiner, Lauren. “San Franciscans Started a Legal Fight to Stop a Homeless Shelter, but Now Big
Tech Billionaires Are Pouring Money in to Support It.” CNBC. CNBC, April 1, 2019. https://www.
cnbc.com/2019/04/01/tech-leaders-donate-money-to-support-homeless-navigation-center.
html.
Fazzare, Elizabeth. “Architects Weigh In On The Future Of Office Design.” Forbes. Forbes
Magazine, July 1, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethfazzare/2020/06/30/architects-weigh-in-on-the-future-of-office-design/?sh=735ed18e3de4.
Gagiuc, Anca. “Reimagining the Workplace After the Pandemic: Q&A.” Commercial Property
Executive. Commercial Property Executive, January 5, 2021. https://www.cpexecutive.com/
post/reimagining-the-workplace-after-the-pandemic-qa/.
“History of Office Design: From the 1700’s to Today: K2 Space.” K2space. K2space, November
1, 2019. https://k2space.co.uk/knowledge/history-of-office-design/.
CNBC, May 11, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/11/work-from-home-is-here-to-stay-after-coronavirus.html.
“Mental Health in the Workplace.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, April 10, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov workplacehealthpromotion/
tools-resources/workplace-health/mental-health/index.html.
North, Carol S, Betty Pfefferbaum, Barry A Hong, Mollie R Gordon, You-Seung Kim, Lisa Lind,
and David E Pollio. “Workplace Response of Companies Exposed to the 9/11 World Trade
Center Attack: a Focus-Group Study.” Disasters. U.S. National Library of Medicine, October 16,
2012. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4221248/.
“Post-pandemic, will more office space be the future of workplaces?” Crain’s Detroit Business,
April 6, 2020.https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A619852937/ITOF?u=nysl_ me_newsch&sid=I-
TOF&xid=d9f39c85.
Randall, David. “Who Still Needs the Office? U.S. Companies Start Cutting Space.” Reuters.
Thomson Reuters, July 22, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-results-realestate/
who-still-needs-the-office-u-s-companies-start-cutting-space-idUSKCN24N2NL.
Scruggs, Greg. “Co-Working Companies Are Trying to Tap into Customers Experiencing Workfrom-Home
Fatigue.” The Washington Post. WP Company, February 23, 2021. https://www.
washingtonpost.com/road-to-recovery/2021/02/28/remote-work-flex-office-work-home/.
Kumar, Tanishkaa, and Vanessa Poppa. Going Back to work. Personal, February 27, 2021.
Vischer, Jacqueline C., and Mariam Wifi. “The Effect of Workplace Design on Quality of Life at
Work.” Handbook of Environmental Psychology and Quality of Life Research, 2016, 387–400.
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Wilk, Peter. “Workplace Reimagined: COVID-19 to Reshape the Modern Office Experience,”
May 20, 2020. https://www.ehstoday.com/covid19/article/21132221/workplace-reimagined-covid19-to-reshape-the-modern-office-experience.
Jljenniferliu. “From Privacy Booths to Smart Parking Garages: These Photos Show What
Offices of the Future Will Look Like.” CNBC. CNBC, February 5, 2020. https://www.cnbc.
com/2020/02/04/see-the-trends-in-office-design-that-will-change-the-way-we-work-2020.
html.
Katz, David. “The Case for Live-Work Buildings Work Design Magazine.” Work Design Magazine,
September 4, 2020. https://www.workdesign.com/2020/09/the-case-for-live-workbuildings/.
Levy, Ari. “Working from Home Is Here to Stay, Even When the Economy Reopens.” CNBC.
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Tanishkaa Kumar | Capstone| Spring 2021