Kenneth Gruskin, owner and principal of architecture and marketing firm Gruskin Group, has envisioned a new avenue for firms as businesses increasingly shift to virtual spaces.

With remote work the new normal, Gruskin sees an opportunity for architects to play a role in how new virtual environments and overall representation of companies are designed and communicated. Specifically, his idea entails the personalization of video conferencing calls with customized, animated backgrounds. 

“And, along with everything else, it’s a way for us to stay involved with companies that are shedding their physical footprint,” Gruskin said to ROI-NJ. “It’s just a good way to stay in touch with clients … that might not be the big Facebook and Amazon companies that are still buying up real estate.”

The demand for companies to embrace these prefabricated backgrounds is to maintain professionalism and communicate a brand identity during virtual meetings, which is difficult to coordinate and fully express remotely. Gruskin points to potential risks that could arise without a fully professional environment, mentioning the story of an attorney who lost an account because “it didn’t sit right that someone was working out of their dining room, and they were paying these high fees.” While this is more of an extreme case, Gruskin’s “virtual branded office” concept could add a greater benefit to companies rather than only preventing distasteful perceptions from clients or partners. 

Gruskin’s concept would mirror the models of popular video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, by offering both standard, free options and bespoke options at a price. According to Gruskin, feedback has so far been positive. 

“We have one client, a therapist, who wanted to make sure that the background, as people talk about their feelings, was part of helping achieve good outcomes,” he said. “Well, that client’s patients all commented on how they found it calming. And she commented that she felt relaxed herself with it as well.”

It appears that Gruskin has discovered a straightforward way for architects and firms to be involved in this monumental shift away from offices. The capabilities and demand for virtual environments are already present, so why not?

“You can design things in a way you can’t in real life, and it’s obviously very different,” he said. “There’s no fire safety ordinance to worry about.”