Architecture after Corona virus
- Mohamed Osama
- Sep 25, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 19, 2020
Published at Architect's Life Facebook page
What do you think architecture will be like after the Corona Virus pandemic? This question has been looming over the profession for a while now, since the coronavirus breakout started earlier this year and forced cities into a lockdown, We found ourselves trapped inside our homes and most of us were forced to study and work online, we only leave our homes to buy groceries or to go for a walk or even run and ride bikes, and this change in our behavior makes us question our built environment and if it is suitable for us, it makes us realize that we maybe need a change in the way we build and shape our environment.
Pandemics and Architecture
Pandemics have always pushed cities to evolve. In 14th century Europe the bubonic plague (the black death) wiped out third of the population that inspired a change in the urban environment and led to the birth of the Renaissance. As a response to the plague; Cities were cleaned, streets became wider and larger public spaces were created, and Architects, Planners and Surveyors took control over the city. In the 18th and 19th century pandemics and outbreaks like Cholera and Smallpox forced cities to evolve once again. Indoor plumbing along with citywide sewer systems were created to solve the waste disposal problem. Boulevards became broader and suburbs began to form. In the early 20th century, diseases like Spanish flu, typhoid and tuberculosis shaped our cities. Modern architecture was pushed by the fear of disease as well as function; its single use zoning, smooth cleaner surfaces and well lit rooms are all means to a cleaner and a healthier environment.
Cities
So how will cities evolve after the current pandemic?. Many planners are worried that people will be fearful from public transport and gravitate towards private vehicles, but others see an opportunity as the pandemic made it become clearer than ever that we need more space for people. We realize how narrow are the sidewalks and that Cars take the most space in the city, and if we want more healthy cities, we need to give the space back to people. Some planners say that decentralization is the key to solving the transportation problem as public transport is not itself the problem, but people going to the same places in the same time is what makes public transport crowded, so many argue that decentralization and making cities more walkable are the best choices for our cities today especially after the pandemic as it showed us that we can work and communicate without necessarily being in the same place. Also many people have realized how dangerous and unhealthy our mega cities may be, and that raised many questions and doubts about the way we design our cities and how our economy works. Is it logical that more than 50% of the world population lives in less than 2% of the world’s landmass?. Do we actually need high rise buildings anymore?. Isn’t it better to build cheap flexible modular buildings than to build huge expensive permanent structures?.
And many more questions are waiting to be answered.
Decentralization of Services, Rotterdam
Homes
As we found ourselves trapped in our homes, their design issues and shortcomings became obvious to us more than ever. We needed to study, work, exercise and spend most of our time indoors and most of our homes were not ready for that, as there are no spaces dedicated for these activities, and our homes also need to be a safe place from disease; so designers started to think how to change our homes in order to meet our needs and keep us safe from future disease.
So what are the improvements that designers propose?. It may be the end for the open floor plan as home users need more privacy and space to work, so more separable spaces are more suitable for that, A space for a home office and increasing the number of desks in homes is so important as more people will be working from home and they need suitable spaces so the can be productive, after the lockdown people realized how much they crave nature and how there homes are separated from it, so a connection to nature will be one of our priorities as it is necessary for our health and well being even if it is just a small balcony with some plants in it. And as health issues become so important designers are proposing solutions to create more healthy interiors, one of the proposals is bringing back the vestibule as it would be the space to take off your shoes and sanitize yourself before entering the main space, it could be a transitional space between between the outdoor and the indoor.
Home layout after the pandemic
Workplace
As the lockdown is ending and employees are returning to offices, we need to ask ourselves how to keep them safe and at the same time keep the work running. Many designers are looking into the challenges that face the workplace post the pandemic and some of them even see opportunities as a lot of employees are willing to work from home which leaves valuable space in the office that can be used to keep it safe for the employees. In this post we will explore three proposals from three different design firms and see how they imagine the post pandemic offices.
Perkins and Will interior design director Meena Krenek worked with her team on a proposal reimagining the workplace. She started by rethinking the purpose of the workplace, that instead of just offering a workstation for employees, it should offer more flexibility and be a place for meetings and communication, as the workstation will not be necessary anymore as more employees will be working from their homes, so her design proposal focused more in creating “fluid work environment” as she said, and that will be achieved by a modular design to create flexible spaces that will allow employees to configure it according to their needs.
Perkins and Will Proposal
The proposal focused mainly on social distancing in the office and what are the means to do so without disrupting the workflow and keeping the office healthy and safe for the employees. In this proposal only one third of the employees will be present in the workplace and the other two thirds will be working from home, that will them to increase the spacing between desks and maintain social distancing in the office, they are proposing other means of protection like Transparent plastic screens around desks and hands-free door opener, and using meeting spaces instead of meeting rooms, and make sure that the spaces have proper ventilation.
Weston Williamson Proposal
The third proposal by Woods Bagot architecture firm like the other two proposals focuses on the fact that more employees will be working from their homes, but this proposal doesn’t focus on safety like the previous one it focuses more on work culture and performance, and he introduces four ideas. The first model is called culture club and in this model he imagines the workplace to be a club like space with grouping of sofas and coffee tables, as employees are expected to work from home and come to the workplace only when it is necessary to cooperate in-person, the second model is called in and out, it relies on rotation between employees as some work from their homes and others from the workplace this model will rely on separation between desks to keep the employees safe, the third model is called community node in this one all employees will be working from office but instead of one big office, they will be in several local offices near the employees houses and it will rely on communication between the different offices, this model is addressing mainly the transportation problem by creating community based offices employees will not have to commute and finally the last model is called the collective layout which is an open-plan office which resembles co-working spaces.
Woods Bagot Proposal
Schools
The good thing about the pandemic is that it made us realize the power and opportunities we have with today’s technology, as students were forced to study from home, we realized that most subjects does not necessary require the students to be present physically in schools and that raised questions about what schools should be for and what their spaces should be like, do we still need the ordinary class, where teachers present data from text books in the age where data is available more than ever?, or we need schools where students learn how to think , process the world and communicate?. These questions are raised by designers as well, they are looking for new solutions that will protect students from disease and improve the quality of education. Design firms started to work on proposals regarding schools after the pandemic and we will explore one of these proposals in this post.
(CLTH) has proposed pop up classroom concepts where tents are assembled in the outdoor to ensure good ventilation for the spaces, the tents can host different classes and activities as the layout of their interiors changes creating flexible spaces and enough space for social distancing, this proposal is aiming to give schools the flexibility it needs to keep learning energetic and fun, and at the same time keeping the students safe from disease and connected to outdoors, the proposal is not aiming to give all the answers but it is aiming to spark a discussion and considering more flexible spaces that encourages the freedom and safety of education.
CLTH Proposal
Restaurants
After the pandemic the food industry suffered a lot as restaurants and cafes were forced to close due to the virus breakout, and now after the end of the lockdown restaurants and cafes are still suffering as people still fear that they might get infected from them, so they are losing clients and therefor money, so what will be the future for restaurants and cafes?, and what architecture can do to make them healthy and safe again for people, that’s what we will explore in this post ,we will see some of the design proposals for restaurants and how designers are dealing with the current health dangers of cafes and restaurants.
Their main goal was to make changes in restaurants so they can minimize the risk of infection for the employees and clients alike, they adapted 5 key strategies to reach their goal; updating food safety and sanitation codes, designating exchange points, creating variety of seating configurations, amending current zoning regulations and designing legible signage. They found a threat in bar seating as they are difficult to keep it safe from contamination so they remove it from their layout, they added barriers between tables to decrease the risk of airborne infection, also they propose extending dining areas to the outdoor if possible and they suggested that restaurants should localize their food production to minimize the risk of infection through contact between the employees and the suppliers.
Mass Design Group Proposal
The Architect Masterton-Smith suggests that if restaurants are to survive, they have to move outdoors as the concern of infection increases restaurants have to reduce their indoor areas, he says that restaurant may not have enough money to make indoor changes to keep the clients safe, so in his proposal he suggests that taking space from the outdoor might be the solutions and creates better and safer experience for the clients, he is imagining car free streets where the road that was once for cars will be for shaded seating with colorful umbrellas and plants as barriers between tables and the sidewalks will be free for pedestrians.
Masterton-Smith Proposal
Conclusion
The pandemic gave Architects and Planners the opportunity to rethink and revaluate as the things that they once took for granted has changed for ever, maybe this pandemic is a wake up call for us to think about our behavior and its implications on society and the environment maybe it is going to spark the change ,the paradigm shift we need towards a happier and healthier environment, maybe this pandemic wasn't a catastrophe at all but rather a wake up call for us to change the way we think about our Urban Environment and our way of living.
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