One inevitable consequence of this pandemic is real estate is going to morph into something it wasn’t before. COVID-19 has the potential to change nearly everything about how we live and work. On a MACRO scale, COVID has forced us to re-examine the over-all housing deficit in this area for both market-rate and affordable units, as well as illuminated the disparity of housing affordability. Approximately 375,000 housing units need to be added between now and 2030 to meet current demand, and two-thirds of these units are needed for low to middle income families. More than 600,000 Washington area families currently fall into the affordability gap, which is defined as those who spend more than one-third of their monthly income on housing. How to address this growing housing crisis is critical to the overall economic health and vitality of our area.
Regardless of economics, unit design must and will change to address this pandemic as well as future health crises. We foresee some of these changes to include:
- Intensified focus on modular design of residential housing units. This methodology has been around for decades already, but now more than ever it needs to be emphasized with greater urgency. This method of design and construction will allow greater development of housing units at the mass scale necessary to achieve the quantity of units our market will require to meet the demand over the next 10 years. This methodology also allows for greater quality control but with greater flexibility to modify only small portions of the unit that would otherwise be the same modular design used for multiple housing units.
- The demand for more unit design flexibility in the same square footage. This could include providing one or more work alcoves with connectivity, a drop down or pull out desktop and adequate shelving for files, printers, and other necessary devices.
- Less open floor plans and more divided space for privacy and safety.
- Creating a “decontamination zone” upon entering the space. This could include a resurgence of the “mud room,” or any space in which residents and guests remove their shoes and outerwear and is adjacent to a washroom to immediately wash hands before entering the main living space. In fact, the 1918 Flu Epidemic is attributed to the creation of the Powder Room for nearly the same safety function. This decontamination area can also be closed off from the living area with a sliding glass door, if desired.
- Create designated delivery areas for both packages and food delivery which is separated from the kitchen and living area.
- Visually separate workspace from personal space, including hard walls as well as moveable, partitional screens.
- Create “Zoom Zones”— designated, publicly-presentable space for work teleconferencing.
- Implement adjustable work surfaces to meet everyone in the household’s needs – children’s schoolwork, play activities, and sitting/standing work configurations.
- Design larger pantries and other food storage areas.
- Increase touchless surfaces and accessories, including expanding Smart Home technology.
- Implement easy to clean surfaces throughout the home and eliminate porous, bacteria-collecting surfaces.
- Upgrade air purification systems and provide greater outdoor air exchange and filtration. In addition, make sure operable windows with insect screens are provided in all rooms.
- Greater demand for balconies — both for access to the outdoors and fresh air, and as importantly, as collective social space to interact with neighbors at a safe distance. Balconies can be designed in different configurations for visual interest related to the exterior building design, as well as contain operable screens to further divide space and create visual privacy.
- Greater demand for outdoor courtyards and/or roof terraces to allow group gatherings at safe distances.
- Fitness centers will change to designated sign-out times only with limited, socially distanced equipment and an increase in outdoor physical activities such as yoga and meditation.
- Ensuring that mixed-use amenities (i.e. grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, etc.) are incorporated into the podium level of the housing development, or are at minimum located a relatively short walking distance from the housing units. For resilient housing to truly be resilient, it must have easy access to basic, community-driven amenities vital to a vibrant, neighborhood environment.
- In addition to the above, access to childcare and/or educational facilities for children is an absolute must for resilient housing and families. The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on working mothers, driving them out of the labor force, perhaps permanently. Providing safe, affordable, and accessible childcare will be a huge driving force in allowing our families, particularly women, to return to the work force during and following the pandemic.
- Finally, access to continuing educational facilities will also be crucial as part of a resilient housing community. The pandemic has shut down entire industries and will have lasting impact on working families. To help mitigate this impact, housing design needs to incorporate facilities that will provide access to continuing education, financial outreach, work-force training opportunities and even social outreach facilities to help provide the necessary tools to rebuild our work force from the toll this pandemic has taken.
In addressing these post-COVID changes in both market-rate and affordable housing models, the key is these design changes cannot be a luxury provided to some, but a necessity provided for all. In fact, it is not a matter of re-designing for this pandemic, it is resilience design for all that comes after.
Join us for our next webinar discussing the impact of COVID-19 on housing and what it has illuminated about affordability in this area.
Thursday, November 12th
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
The webinar is free and is eligible for 1 AIA HSW/LU CE Hour.
Registration link: https://nvite.com/HousingResilientDesign/d57d5
