Up until very recently, public space design was all about bringing people together in a way that would encourage social interaction. Designers of any public area would do their best to come up with new, inventive and playful ways of stimulating interaction between strangers – with little or no regard for keeping us at any predefined distance from each other.

Some places, like supermarkets or grocery stores, are intentionally arranged so as to keep our paths through a maze of shelves as long as possible. And if we come into casual contact with a large number of fellow shoppers on our way to the checkout – well, so be it!

As far as anyone can tell, that reality is gone now. With the arrival of COVID-19, designers will now need to channel their creative energy in the opposite direction – keeping us safely, even if somewhat cheerlessly, apart. The foreseeable future figures to be run by social distancing – or to phrase the term more accurately, physical distancing.

The world is facing the steep challenge of redesigning most public physical environments in a way that will make it easy and natural for everyone to keep that required distance. While there obviously isn’t a single good method of preventing contagious diseases from spreading, placing physical barriers seems like an obvious choice at our disposal – a first line of defense against epidemics.

But rather than surround ourselves with towering barriers and walls, why not turn to more natural solutions instead? Large, rectangular planters, with plants in them, will serve the purpose of physical distancing but they will also please the eye and make for a more relaxing, healthier setting – for instance, between restaurant tables or between check-in lines in hotels, in conference/meeting rooms, or just at home.

Take a look at some of our rectangular planters – with their timeless and yet intriguing shapes, hopefully they will provide you with ample inspiration for boosting social distancing in a smart way!

Intrigued and interested in seeing more? Check out our full offer of rectangular planters.