Developing an Assessment Tool to Measure the Readiness of Office Buildings Design to Mitigate the Spread of Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases such as what has spread globally in the past few years, the COVID-19 and its causal virus, SARS-CoV-2, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) became a global worry because of its health risks and obvious economic and social implications for countries all over the world. Many organizations around the world have reacted to the challenge, responding quickly to protect employees and adapt to a new method that even the most comprehensive business continuity plans did not anticipate. The questions that need to be answered are; how can firms return to normal activities in a safe manner? How can we tell if the offices are ready to reopen or not? Therefore, it is necessary to understand the criteria that affect the readiness of office building designs after the pandemic. The aim of this research is to develop an assessment tool that can measure the readiness of office building designs after a pandemic and provide guidance to architects and decision makers. This research identifies and priorities the criteria that affect the readiness of office building designs after a pandemic. The study uses analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique based on data obtained from architects and specialists in the built environment. Data collection and analysis was conducted in two steps. The first step involved identification of criteria that affect the readiness of office building designs after the pandemic and then investigate the interrelationships among these criteria. In the second step, AHP was used to determine the weight of the criteria’s importance in terms of contribution to the office building designs readiness. Finally, an assessment tool is developed to measure the readiness of office buildings design after the pandemic. The outcome from this research is an assessment tool that helps decision makers to ensure the building readiness in order to welcome back their employees in a safe environment and highlights which design criteria need modification and improvements.