Esther (Ye Rim) Choi

Thesis - COstudiO

Environmental Design

2021

Thesis started with the questions as following. What would life be like post Covid-19? How would the definition of job and workplace change from this pandemic? Will working remotely be a permanent option? What are the benefits as well as the difficulties? What would be a solution to those vacant office spaces?The idea starts from the worldwide pandemic, also known as Covid-19, that shut the whole world down within months. As a result, it caused a major paradigm shift in communication. Synchronous, as well as asynchronous video calls replaced in-person interactions. Therefore, a vast majority of companies and schools have moved to working and studying remotely. Imagine a future where working remotely was permanent. Individuals would be able to work remotely anywhere from home to as far as the other side of world. What would happen to those vacant office buildings? The solution would be COstudiO. This studio space is designed to fit site-dependable various studios and workspaces that could replace and repurpose the definition of workplace in the future. Programs were carefully organized and designed into the site by researching different creative programs and everything needed in these spaces. The name COstudiO was partially derived from Cowork spaces as it has similar concepts however, another meaning would be CO2, carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is essential to the earth yet very harmful. It is essential because it traps the heat from the sun to stay close to earth however, global warming is the result of too much carbon dioxide. Likewise, it is essential to have studios where individuals can express their thoughts and expressions through art and design. Also, to bring back the history of art culture into West Toronto. However, the down side of this would be the carbon footprint from the site as it contains numerous studios that hold machineries and other equipments.