Image: Staging Concepts
COVID-19 has led to a new norm of social distancing that will undoubtedly play a major role in how people publicly gather in the coming months and years. As church services, sporting games, live theater productions, and other events slowly return, it’s likely that many of these venues will require design modifications to adapt their settings and accommodate new social spacing requirements and requests.
“When it comes to staging and seating, in many cases it’s no longer business as usual,” says Cindy Albrecht, director of sales and marketing for Staging Concepts, a leading provider of portable staging solutions. “Our clients are coming to us with requests for solutions that allow for additional social distancing, and we are continuing to take steps to plan for future changes and accommodations that venues will seek for the comfort and safety of their guests.”
Examples of potential future design and staging requirements, as they apply to churches, may include the following:
· Increased demand for camera platforms and media risers. Tech teams will need to be adequately spaced out and accommodated in a whole new way.
· The addition of inserts or tables at theater-style venues. Future design considerations may require a small insert between seats to help space out attendee seating.
· The installation of stanchions or other similar dividers. These can be used to form lines and to help facilitate the number of people entering or exiting a building at one time.
· The use of more temporary and custom staging equipment, such as rolling staging platforms, risers, and portable seating. Temporary equipment can be used to quickly re-design a space as needed for events or during a health crisis. Staging Concepts reports that it offers portable platforms, ADA ramps, railings, and stair units that can be configured as needed.
Image: Staging Concepts
According to Albrecht, key factors for staging and designing seating areas at venues will be flexibility and modularity. “These non-permanent solutions will give architects, designers, building operators, and facility managers the ability to install and test solutions at their venues and then adjust or change them if needed,” she notes. “Flexible options also are less costly than permanent solutions that require pouring concrete.”