The COVID-19 Pandemic is changing the Architectural Environment

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has caused architects to reevaluate their work, and what it might mean to design for a world that will never be quite the same, especially when it comes to how we gather in and use large public spaces, like parks, airports, hotels, hospitals, gyms, and offices.

But while the particular lessons of COVID-19 are still very much in the initial stages, a few ideas have already emerged.

Park for Social Distancing

Keeping our distance is crucial right now. However, getting fresh air and exercise is equally important to our overall well being. Because of this, landscape designers are dreaming up creative spaces we can all use safely in the future.

Studio Precht, a design house in Austria, has created a wholly new idea “Parc de la Distance." The park is designed as a geometric maze that closes in on the center of a circle. Each one is lined with massive shrubs to resemble a human fingerprint. Every lane has a gateway on the entrance and exit, which indicates if the path is occupied or free to stroll. The lanes are distanced 240 cm from each other and have a 90 cm wide hedge as a division.

Automated public spaces

Almost everyone predicts that public spaces will move toward more automation to mitigate contagion. Development of all types of touch-less technology—automatic doors, voice-activated elevators, cellphone-controlled hotel room entry, hands-free light switches, and temperature controls, automated luggage bag tags, and advanced airport check-in and security, will speed up. 

Advanced healthcare facilities

The biggest thing to come to light during this is the inability of hospitals to accommodate the number of sick people. So from a design perspective, we might see an ability to make a normal patient room more flexible to increase capacity or be easily converted into an ICU.

Architects have already started work to eliminate the traditional waiting area by creating alternative waiting nooks scattered around the building. This lets patients be somewhere else in the building—the library or somewhere —instead of sitting around on the same floor with other ill people.

The B.Arch from MIDAS is designed to create innovative architectural solutions to address the needs of the future. Know more at bit.ly/MIDAS_Admissions.