Urban Spaces and Home Design in a post-Coronavirus age?
As the world approaches the two month-mark of lockdown and government-enforced home quarantines, people are developing a new relationship with their homes. Spaces that were previously used only for a couple of hours of recreation and sleep at the start and end of the day have now been transformed into work-from-home offices, school classrooms, gyms, and in some cases home restaurants. Our homes provide shelter from the chaos of the outside world, it is the place of refuge that we return to after a long day spent in the bustling city. But what happens when we are forced to live out the activities we would normally conduct in external places inside our home?
Throughout history, we can observe a direct correlation between diseases and transformations in our living spaces, whether domestic or urban. We can thank the introduction of the grid-system of town planning to cholera outbreaks in the nineteenth century that highlighted the issues of old sewage systems and overcrowding. Or the streamlined-look of Modernist architecture with its preference for metal, glass and plastic, all easy to clean in the wake of tuberculosis infections.
AMIE 1.0 by SOM, 2016, © SOM
We can be certain that our homes will change drastically again as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. This may be a newfound appreciation of the comforts of the home-space for many, but for others - especially architects and designers - this period is also an opportunity to spot areas for improvement, ways in which creativity can be used to make living safer, self-sustainable, and more efficient.
Out with the New and In with the Old
Exterior of the Habiter 2030 House by Habiter 2030, 2019, © Habiter 2030
Already, architects are speculating that this might be the end of the high-rise multi apartment building as we have come to know it. These buildings were built to accommodate a large number of people in one city block, without necessarily keeping hygiene at the forefront of their considerations. The communal spaces in these housing models have currently become a potential hazard for the people who live in them. Not to mention that these stacked living spaces in which they are inadvertently forced to be in close proximity to others are not ideal for isolation. For many, the current situation is prompting a re-appraisal of the disadvantages of small urban living.
Since their inception in 2016, French architectural association, Habiter 2030, have been working on design solutions that could transform the dated, cramped terraced houses typical of northern French cities. These houses were mainly built between 1850-1950 for industrial workers and their families. As such, they were small and constructed from cheap materials for affordability, but not for durability or environmental sustainability. Habiter 2030 are committed to making the houses run completely on solar power shown in their 2019 design, including the hot water and kitchen appliances like the oven. Energy efficiency, which is the biggest problem in these houses is also solved by the externalisation of the hot water pipes, so that they release heat into the rooms as the water runs through the system, and noise blocking double-sided curtains that have a reflective side and a non-reflective recycled linen side. The curtain functions as a space divider, whilst allowing certain areas of the house to be made warmer or cooler, depending on the season and preference of the owner.Rather than demolishing these houses, Habiter 2030 are working to update them for the needs of the twenty-first century city-dweller and at the same time retaining the street-scape of the cities with individual houses instead of the population-boom necessitated city houses.
Inside the bedroom of the Habiter 2030 House by Habiter 2030, 2019, © Habiter 2030
Does Size Matter?
Size is of concern to architects, however, with the population’s exponential growth and more people moving into cities. SOM is a US-based architectural firm of interdisciplinary creatives. They debuted a 3D printed polymer living pod in 2016. Not only is this structure lightweight and transportable, it can be assembled anywhere requiring no additional structural support.The pod is around the size of a large motorhome, connected via a closed-loop battery system to an electric vehicle. Polymer is a safe and durable material, meaning that the house can withstand any environmental impact and become self-sustaining even when moved off-grid into hostile environments. Tiny house living and transportable homes have been popular for a while, but it is possible that a post-Coronavirus world will see a large number of people seeking housing solutions which allow them greater mobility, especially after a long period of restricted movement. A smaller, transportable home like SOM’s polymer pod could become the new normal.
AMIE 1.0 by SOM, 2016, © SOM
The vision of returning to self-sustaining houses far removed from the welfare structures of modern urban society is made even more believable with clever design inventions like Natufia’s indoor hydroponic garden. Going beyond the concept of farm-to-table, this compact garden lets you grow your food inside your kitchen, meaning that you can harvest everything fresh and use it immediately. The system is an upright planter with 32 cups where the seedlings are planted. Everything is automated and controlled by intelligent sensors which distribute water and nutrients to each plant based on real-time data and the specific needs of each. It is as low-maintenance and space efficient as kitchen gardens can get.
Hydroponic Garden by Natufia, © Natufia
Long Term Social Distancing
Even as governments around the world are easing strict lockdown measures, people are still being urged to keep social distancing practices. What does this mean for architecture and interior design? Arjun Kaicker, head of analytics and insights Zaha Hadid Architects is already projecting a future of wider corridors and pathways in workplaces, more partition between spaces, and contactless design solutions. Contactless solutions have already been implemented in the ZHA designed Bee’ah Waste Management Building in the United Arab Emirates, including smartphone operated lifts, automated doors and facial recognition sensors which allows for great security without the need for keys or fingerprints.
Bee’ah Waste Management Headquarters by Zaha Hadid Architects, 2014-20, © ZHA
Other proposals for urban spaces that allow for social distancing include Austrian Studio Precht’s imagined Parc de la Distance, taking inspiration from a fingerprint and Baroque pleasure gardens. The hedgerows guide visitors to be at least 2 metres away from each other at all times, with footpaths that are only wide enough for one person. Each lane is marked with an entrance and exit gate with indicators that flash up if the path is occupied or free. Whilst the park itself is built for physical distancing, visitors conduct their walks alongside each other, hearing each other and walking in each other’s footsteps.
Parc de la Distance by Studio Precht, 2020, © the artists
Likewise for domestic architecture and design, Near Future Laboratory have imagined an IKEA catalogue where intelligent appliances monitor and adapt to your mood, and drones are widely available for household tasks. The catalogue also shows a man sitting at a computer in a VR headset, making for an interesting proposal for the future of human interaction in light of the current popularity of applications like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. In a future where people will be kept physically distant, interactions could move into the virtual space. Would this mean that our homes could also move to the internet, becoming physical and virtual at the same time? Even beyond our homes, entire cities could be connected through the internet. Certainly, with the emergence of Smart Homes by Google and Amazon we are already seeing the use of intelligent softwares in home management. It is very easy to imagine that Near Future Laboratory’s mood-tracking sofa could be realised with the option to track your health instead, relaying information to health organisations and monitoring the spread of illnesses across the population from the comfort of the home.
An IKEA Catalogue from the Near Future by Near Future Laboratory, 2015, © the artists
The world is coming to the terms with the inevitable changes that are ahead of us.
The extent of these transformations are still a mystery however. Homes have long stood as symbols of stability in our society, but perhaps that stability will look different now. It may not be measured by the size or look of the building or by its location, but by how well it adapts to the twenty-first century needs - keeping us safe and connected, whilst also being environmentally conscious.