MC
ASSIGNMENT 22
THE NEW NORMAL ANALYSIS AND ADAPTATION OF EXISTING RESIDENTIAL HOUSING IN THE POST-COVID AGE TO THE EMERGING MULTIFUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS. ANALYSIS OF URBAN HOUSING IN SPAIN AND ITS ADAPTATION TO TELECOMMUTING
Fig 1: Dilok (2020) [photograph]
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INDEX TASK 1…………………………………………………………………………………………………3 TASK 2…………………………………………………………………………………………………7 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………..14
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TASK 1 MARIA DEL CARMEN CORRAL LODEIRO 72546664
PROLOGUE With the imposition of virus prevention and containment measures by governments, almost all countries have recommended the promotion of telework for those jobs or tasks that are compatible with it. Before the virus, only a few companies allowed their employees to telework, but now that it has been proven that it is technologically possible and that it has many benefits for concentration and conciliation, experts agree that this way of working is here to stay. But are our homes ready to telework?
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ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to collect data on users to serve as a basis for conducting analyses of the resilience of existing residential housing to the new multifunctional requirements imposed by the COVID-19 crisis, with attention to the adaptation of housing space to teleworking or remote study. This information is relevant both for us, as interior designers, and architects, and necessary to formulate guidelines for the development of new spaces in the context of a versatile and adaptable interior planning to the needs of the client. To do this, a quantitative survey will be developed and delivered in the form of a questionnaire through the Google Forms platform, which will be published on social media networks (Twitter and Facebook) as the most effective way to get it to its recipients.
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The information will be collected from the available number of participants, identifying people who are working remotely or studying from home, who will be allowed to answer a series of specific questions about how they are coping with the closure and teleworking or studying at home. There is also a section for interior design and architecture professionals, where the questions regarding the clients' demands on this issue are asked. (survey form will be delivered to them by DM)
While the selected topic is very hot, we will still have to wait to see academic publications that fully address this topic and discuss it in detail. However, several researchers have published works that explore how the phenomenon is evolving and point out possible ways to react to the new situation.
ABSTRACT The sources of information reviewed for this research are:
-“New dynamics in the Home. The e-paper about the future of shared spaces”. Issue 4. August 2020 -“Does working from home work? Evidence from a chinese experiment”. Nicholas Bloom,James Liang,John Roberts, Zhichun Jenny Ying (Stanford University, 2015) -Cities and the Public Health: Our New Challenge in Urban Planning. Andre Brumfield and Carlos Cubillos, (2020) -“Las casas post coronavirus. Tres expertos nos dan su visión acerca de cómo cambiaran nuestras casas después de esta crisis”. Patricia Gubieda .Published at decoesfera.trendencias.com, May 24, 2020 - El Covid 19 cambia el diseño de las viviendas. Vanessa Ezquerra. (2020) -“Rethinking ‘home’ post-pandemic”. Annalise Varghese, Maram Shaweesh, April 29th, 2020 -“Workhome. Combining Dwelling and Production in the City”. Thesis Programme. Jan Szkarlat, Rasmus Pikk. Spatial Design, Perception & Detail, IBD. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation. (Spring 2017) - “Privacy in the Private Sphere.” Moira Munro, Ruth Madigan . Housing Studies 8 no, 1 (1993) - “Working at Home,” Kathleen Christensen in Women and the Environment, edited by Irwin Altman and Arza Churchman (Plenum Press, 1994): -“COVID-19 Could Leverage a Sustainable Built Environment”. Manuel Duarte Pinheiro and Nuno Cardoso Luís. - «Las razones de la forma en la vivienda masiva». Cuadernos de arquitectura y urbanismo, Ignacio Paricio Ansuátegui. , 1973, Núm. 96, p. 2-18 - “The 2020s "will see the return of the real" argues Aaron Betsky”. Betsky, Aaron . Dezeen Magazine , Jan 2, 2020.
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“THE CREATIVITY OF THE SPANIARDS AND OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION DOES NOT HESITATE TO INSPIRE US IN ORDER TO CONFRONT THE CONDITION OF RESTRICTION THAT WE ARE LIVING IN.
ABSTRACT These texts address concerns relatively similar to those the world faced at the beginning of the last century: the urban theories that emerged in the 20th century related to industrialization and the meteoric population growth of cities, the outbreak of cholera epidemics in the most vulnerable areas of cities and the Spanish flu pandemic. (Corral, 2019), which brought significant improvements and projects whose development was suddenly interrupted by the civil war in Spain and the subsequent increase in investments based on unbalanced urban development plans. (Paricio, 1973) This old trend, which emerged at the end of the 19th century with the Social Hygiene Movement, is linked to new concerns, such as sustainable development, efficient energy use, home automation or the benefits of biophilic design in terms of well-being and productivity. (Wikipedia Contributors, 2020) Fig 2 Pulet/ Intriper (2020) [photograph] MARIA DEL CARMEN CORRAL LODEIRO 72546664
THUS, DURING THE MORNING OF THIS SATURDAY, A NEIGHBOR HAD THE GOOD AND GENEROUS IDEA OF O F F E R I N G A WO R KO U T SESSION FROM THE T E R R AC E S O T H AT H I S NEIGHBORS COULD TAKE THE STEPS FROM THE BALCONIES, AND IN ADDITION TO FILLING THE TIME THEY COULD WORKOUT SAFELY FROM THEIR HOUSES. "THE NEIGHBOR PROPOSED IT TO THE WHATSAPP GROUP THAT WE ALL HAVE SO AT THE MOMENT IT WAS UP THERE, IT WAS AMAZING," SAYS JORGE PULET, WHO FOLLOWED THE WORKOUTS FROM THE WINDOW WITH HIS WIFE DURING THE HALF HOUR THAT LASTED AND D I D N O T H E S I TAT E T O RECORD IT AND PUBLISH IT TO INSTAGRAM.” (VELARDE, 2020)
MOTIVATION AND PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH. UNIVERSE SCOPE
Spanish general population over 18
Social media (Twitter & Facebook)
PROCEDURE
Online survey.
SURVEY TIME
5 minutes.
DATES OF SURVEY WORK MARIA DEL CARMEN CORRAL LODEIRO 72546664
SEP 24-30/2020.
TASK 2 MARIA DEL CARMEN CORRAL LODEIRO 72546664
"THE DWELLINGS OF THE 21ST CENTURY WILL BE MORE GROUNDBREAKING, SMALLER AND SIMPLE." NERI & HU Zabalbeascoa (2020)
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From a multidimensional viewpoint, the consulted literature discusses the issue, covering different levels of research ranging from urbanism and urban mobility (Brumfield et al, 2020) to a recent revision that proposes the rethinking of housing space and the redefinition of working and living in this new era. All the authors agree to point out the significant redesign of the current model of housing, where things as critical as natural lighting or the quality of indoor air will be brought back to relevance. Professionals, like Vanessa Ezquerra, taking a look into the near past, emphasize the importance of recovering the mud room in the entrance of the houses, as the first barrier of containment in the home. (Ezquerra, 2020). Just as modernism was influenced by tuberculosis, COVID-19 and our common experience of remaining indoors for months and months will impact architecture's near future. As pointed by some authors, the value of environmental growth , energy conservation, and property of materials will be a major concern. (Duarte et al., 2020). With regard to the conversion of housing into a workplace, there are different opinions based on the experience of recent months, in which, on the one hand, emphasis is set on the beneficial increase in productivity, linked to the freedom of employees to perform at their own pace (recent experience tells us that this has not been the reality in all cases), and on the other hand, shared work spaces are claimed as a source of creativity and exchange of ideas.(Bloom et al, 2015).
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Fig.3 Welin/Alvar Aalto Museum (n.d) [photograph]
The conversion of the traditional housing as conceived, to a multifunctional space, implies a change in mindset and design. As Beatriz Colomina observes, spaces that in the past were devoted to particular uses, such as the kitchen, the dining room or even the bedroom, are being reclaimed as accessible work space. (Colomina, 2020). David González and Alberto Torres state, in an interview with Decoesfera, that the rooms that will be most adapted in the post-covid19 era are the bedroom and the living room (Gubieda, 2020), although outside Spain the kitchen is being considered as one of the new hybrid or multifunctional spaces. (Crawford, 2020). If telecommuting becomes a long-term option, it will also be necessary to adapt the home space into the new needs. As mentioned by Szkarlat and Pikk, "the binary separation between life and work is breaking down and becoming more fluid. Advances in infrastructure and the digital world allow people to work in different environments. The dinner table, the couch, the bed, a café, libraries, rented or shared desks, studios, airports, airplanes and even places abroad. It is a phenomenon of the zeitgeist and everything indicates that this practice will continue to spread. “ (Szkarlat et al., 2017) MARIA DEL CARMEN CORRAL LODEIRO 72546664
Fig.4 Mariscal/EFE (2020) [photograph]
As mentioned by Christensen, a growing body of literature has been researching work at home since the 1990s; however, there has been little realistic reaction from the housing industry, a lack reflected in the ongoing challenges faced by those working from home (Christensen, 1994). Also, the question about the so-called digital gap and its evident socioeconomic nature is mentioned in some authors' reflections. Home connectivity could be out of reach of a significant part of population:� Today, people are tied to computers for jobs, while electronic communication has become a lifeline to the world outside the home outside of work hours. However, for the elderly, the disabled or the economically disadvantaged, this dependency on technology as a way of interacting and engaging socially might not be feasible.� (2020, Varghese et al.). Often highlighted is the need for privacy and separation of spaces. The need for "privacy in the public domain" in the home is defined by researchers like Moira Munro and Ruth Madigan. Latest "affordable" apartments and houses prefer to relegate the bedroom or bathroom to private spaces. These areas may be places of refuge; however, individuals employed in the private sphere may still want to be linked to the rest of the home (Munro et al., 1993).
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Fig. 5 Julliard/ Elle Decor (2020) [photograph]
I would like to echo here the idea put forward by Lyndon Neri in the opening quote of this essay about his vision of housing the future: smaller, more basic, more groundbreaking. Perhaps this is the most effective and dignified way out of the housing mentioned above. At the same time, this assertion brings us back in time to the Rietveld Schrรถder House (Fig.6) (Corral, 2019) (See Assignment 8) and leaves us at the doors of the future that are being built on the tables of architects and designers who are already planning the vision for the future.
ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS ARE CONSIDERING THE IDEA OF THE SLIDING WALL AS ONE OF THE MAIN ELEMENTS IN NEW HOUSES, ALLOWING THE KITCHEN, FOR INSTANCE, TO BECOME AN OFFICE WITH A SINGLE GESTURE.
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Fig. 6 Poelstra (2018) [photograph]
Finally, Aaron Betsky, president of the Taliesin School of Architecture, adds a major reflection on the future of building space: “ “I wonder whether this will be the decade in which the very notion of architecture as the production of buildings will dissolve, and whether the differences between the designs of landscapes, interiors, movies, objects and furnishings, and graphics will perhaps not disappear, but begin to sort themselves in new ways”. (Betsky, 2020). In Spain it is often said: "As long as the tail does not pass, everything is a bull”. (ain’t over ´til it’s over) I think it is still too early to make categorical statements. Architects, interior designers, urban planners and other professionals have the direction of the way forward and previous experience that illustrates effective models. However, as this review of the literature shows, most of the authors are not Spanish. In Spain, the first concern has been the work spaces and indoor dining, relegating the existing housing to a second plane that looks ahead and shows mostly solutions that for many people are unfeasible, obviating the need to review that large mass of housing built since the 60s with models based on purely speculative objectives. Professionals write in blogs, professional magazines, webinars and events that echo these ideas and offer valid solutions for a segment of the population with a comfortable economy. But here I am still waiting for the answer to the aging of social housing and the socioeconomic gap that is now fleeing from this large housing stock and its inhabitants left strained to the doors of the new normality, on the last bell of New Year's Eve 2019. MARIA DEL CARMEN CORRAL LODEIRO 72546664
STAYHÖME IS A STANDARDIZED PROTOTYPE FOR INCORPORATING TERRACES ON THE FACADES OF THE EXISTING BUILDINGS OF THE URBAN PLOT, WHERE IN MANY CASES THERE IS NO BALCONY IN RELATION TO THE STREET. THESE TERRACE MODULES THAT STAND OUT FROM THE CURRENT FACADES SEEK NOT ONLY THE CONNECTION WITH THE NEIGHBORS IN FRONT BUT ALSO THE CONNECTIONS VIA DIAGONAL VISIONS WITH THE NEIGHBORS OF THE BUILDING ITSELF. LIKEWISE, THIS SYSTEM IS A CUSTOMIZATION SYSTEM FOR THIS SPACE OF TERRACE FOR EACH PERSON, ACCORDING TO THE DIY CODES. AN INTEGRATIVE IMAGE STRUCTURE IS BEING PURSUED THAT ENABLES SEVERAL POSSIBILITIES, WHERE THE NEIGHBOR HIMSELF CAN DISCUSS HIS NEEDS AND HOW HE WANTS TO CONNECT TO THE REST. (QUINTANO, 2020)
Fig. 7 Quintano (2020) [illustration]
EPILOGUE
Fig. 8 Lacaton & Vassal, (2019) [Illustration]
Fig. 9 Lacaton & Vassal, (2019) [Illustration]
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PROUST WROTE THAT “THE REAL VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CONSISTS NOT IN SEEKING NEW LANDSCAPES, BUT IN HAVING NEW EYES.” (PROUST, 1923) IT WASN'T IN VAIN. FINALLY, IMMOBILITY GAVE US THE GIFT OF AN EXCITING JOURNEY: THE ONE WHICH FOCUSES MORE ON COMMUNITY AND THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL NATURE THAN EVER BEFORE: TO APPRECIATE THE PLACE WE LIVE THERE. TO REDISCOVER IT. TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE DO IT.
REFERENCES MARIA DEL CARMEN CORRAL LODEIRO 72546664
References Bloom, N., Liang, J., Roberts, J., Zichun, J.Y. (2015) “¿Does Work from home work?. Evidence from a chinese experiment” [Online] Available at: https://academic.oup.com/qje Accessed 23/08/2020 Brumfield, A., Cubillos, C. (2020) “Cities and the Public Health: Our New Challenge in Urban Planning.” [Onlne] Available at: https://www.gensler.com Accessed 12/09/2020 Chayka, K., Crawford, I. Coromina, B. (2020) in “New dynamics in the Home. The e-paper about the future of shared spaces”. Issue 4. Published by Vitra ,August 2020 [Online] Available at: https://www.vitra.com/ Accessed 23/09/2020 Christensen, K.“Working at Home,” in Women and the Environment, edited by Irwin Altman and Arza Churchman , pages 133-166 (Plenum Press, 1994) Corral, M (2019) Art Rage Against the Machine [Online] Available at: https://issuu.com/home/published/art_rage_against_the_machine_ Accessed 13/08/2020 Duarte, M, Cardoso, N (2020) “COVID-19 Could Leverage a Sustainable Built Environment” [Online] Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5863 Accessed 9/09/2020 Ezquerra, V. (2020) “El COVID cambia el diseño de las viviendas” [Online] Available at: https://www.vanesaezquerra.com Accessed 21/08/2020 Gubieda, P. (2020) “Las casas post coronavirus. Tres expertos nos dan su visión acerca de cómo cambiaran nuestras casas después de esta crisis”. [Online].Available at: https:// decoracion.trendencias.com, Accessed 16/09/2020 Munro,M., Madigan, R. (1993) “Privacy in the private sphere” Journal of housing studies, Vol 8 [. Published online 12 Apr 2007 [Online] Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/ 10.1080/02673039308720748 Accessed 18/09/2020 Paricio, I (1973). «Las razones de la forma en la vivienda masiva». Cuadernos de arquitectura y urbanismo, Núm. 96, p. 2-18, [Online], Available at: https://www.raco.cat/index.php/ CuadernosArquitecturaUrbanismo/article/view/111631 Accessed: 1/09/2020 Szkarlat,J., Pikk, R. (2017) “Workhome. Combining Dwelling and Production in the City”. Thesis Programme. Spatial Design, Perception & Detail, IBD. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation. [Online] Available at: https://kadk.dk Accessed 20/09/2020 Varghese, A., Shaweesh, M (2020) ““Rethinking ‘home’ post-pandemic”” [Online] Available at: https://archiparlour.org/ Accessed 12/09/2020 Velarde, D. (2020) “La clase de fitness improvisada en la que participaron decenas de vecinos desde sus balcones en España” [Online] Available at: https://intriper.com Accessed 13/08/2020 Wikipedia contributors (2020) Biophilic design [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilic_design Accessed 13/08/2020 Wikipedia contributors (2020) Domotics [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_automation Accessed 13/08/2020 Wikipedia contributors (2020) Efficient energy use [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficient_energy_use Accessed 13/08/2020 Wikipedia contributors (2020) Social Hygiene Movement [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_hygiene_movement Accessed 13/08/2020 Wikipedia contributors (2020) Sustainable Developmentt [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development Accessed 13/08/2020 Zabalbeascoa, A. (2020) “Neri&Hu: "Las casas del siglo XXI serán más rompedoras, pequeñas y vacías” [Online] Available at: https://www.arquitecturaydiseno.es Accessed 13/08/2020
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images Fig
Reference
1
Dilok (2020) The New Normal [photograph] Available at: https://stnonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/NewNormal-Web-1536x1024.jpg Accessed 13/08/2020
2
Pulet,J. (2020) Fitness class in the neighbourhood courtyard during lockdown in Sevilla [photograph] Available at: https://intriper.com/ Accessed 13/08/2020
4
Mariscal, S (2020) Madrid's normally busy Gran Vía, nearly deserted on Friday after 13 days of lockdown. [photograph] Available at: https://english.elpais.com/ Accessed 13/08/2020
3
Welin, G. (1933) Paimio Sanatory [photograph] Available at: https://aaltopress.files.wordpress.com Accessed 13/08/2020
5
Juilliard, S (n.d) Untitled [photograph] Available at: https://www.elledecor.com/es/decoracion Accessed 13/08/2020
6
Poelstra, S. (2018) Rietvel Schröderhuis [photograph] Available at: https://static.dezeen.com Accessed 13/08/2020
7
Quintano, L. (2020) Stayhöme [Illustration] Available at: https://www.instagram.com Accessed 13/08/2020
8
Lacaton & Vassal (2019) Le Grand Parc, Proyecto ganador premio Mies Van der Rohe 2019 [Illustration] Available at: https://fad.cat Accesed 20/09/2020
9
Lacaton & Vassal (2019) Le Grand Parc, Proyecto ganador premio Mies Van der Rohe 2019 [Illustration] Available at: https://www.domusweb.it Accesed 20/09/2020
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