“From hospital architecture to living in a place like a hospital"
- Colomina
The pandemic took over the world like a tsunami, with rapid waves of back-to-back variants, the Corona virus has taught us important lessons in almost every field.
From imagining spaces to be nodes of creativity, interaction and entertainment, the pandemic has made us rethink the very concept of architecture, which is to provide a socio-economically stable place of comfort. We now look at places on the lines of separation, distance and workability.
Housing
Housing standards have changed to the point that open planning is not advisable, individual and enclosed modules are preferred. Looking at the same house you have been living in for the past twenty years, somehow, seems very different and new now. We have been forced to pause, breathe within the same four walls and everything seems more detailed and fascinating, blind to the fast paced world that we have so far thrived in.
It is essential to understand that housing requirements now have to accommodate both domestic and professional aspects, with the concept of home office and working from home, the house has to encapsulate the needs of an office in addition to serving as a safe resting space.
Bedrooms located far apart help re-imagine the space as an office with adequate audio insulation. Kitchens have to cater to the touch-free utilization of products and appliances to reduce impact of spreading. More visual connect with the outside will facilitate better psychological comfort to someone locked inside the house for months, balconies, verandahs, natural light and ventilation can bring about a sense of being outside.
Office
Virtual meetings and discussions, spaced out cabins and working from home scenarios have dynamically changed the way office spaces are designed. What an architect usually looks to provide in an office usually vs what is needed in a post pandemic work space -
open planning with cabins vs isolated cabins with outdoor connect
interactive & activity zones vs isolation zones & efficiently spaced out nodes of interaction
conference rooms, meeting halls vs provision to attend the meeting from the cabin itself
Technology as a sense of human aid vs technology as the base of human function
Entertainment and commercial spaces for rejuvenation vs spaces of quiet and calm senses
It is evident that the office is now a place of pure productivity and service, and is proven that all other activities can be efficiently carried out right from home itself. Rethinking offices to have very few working hours to accommodate just the necessary amount of work and reusing the house as a part time office is the scene at the market today.
Commercial
Public parks, theatres and other entertainment facilities remained closed during the peak of the pandemic. Once the regulations started easing, people started to flock to these spaces to compensate for the six-month-indoor stay. How do you create a safe space of activity without compromising the space or the safety of the public?
Commercial spaces have employed the social distancing mechanism to satisfy this goal. The problem with this is the fact that there is no space for expansion, a small theatre can hold only around 100 people without social distancing, instead of increasing the space, these centers started repeating the number of events. The theatre shows ran several more times than usual while accommodating socially distanced viewers. The parks remained open longer with count restrictions, similarly hotels and restaurants started spilling onto the road with the usage of dead-ends and outdoor spaces for socially distanced placing of tables.
Other architecturally driven owners redesigned the spaces with individual cabins accounting even for the gap between the placement of two chairs. Commercial spaces are essential to community, they act as a motivation and sense of energy to keep the society running. It is extremely important to ensure the that commercial spaces thrive in a safe and profitable manner.
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