Architecture is defined by its humanity. This is especially true in a year defined by the Corona virus pandemic and global calls for social distancing .As the world is slowly reopening and with easing lockdown measures everyone is adapting to new realities. Imposing drastic adjustments to our lives, the corona virus has introduced a new “normal”, altering our priorities and changing our perceptions. Driven towards questioning and evaluating our environment, we are constantly reacting and anticipating a relatively unknown future. Though we can’t say exactly what the future will look like, we can examine current trends, tactics and concepts that have played huge roles during the pandemic. These new trends may have long lasting impacts on the way cities are designed.

Assessing the current scenario, the impact can be positive and negative. From a positive perspective overnight we found ourselves in a virtual mode of working, and very quickly we were able to not only maintain operation but also thrive. It has opened up our minds to think long-term about the way we work and how that needs and can change. Also the architects and designers are leveraging their technologies, facilities, and research skills to aid in the fight against the pandemic. Many have turned to what they know best: design and innovation. This time of crisis has forced the world to rethink its approach towards designing future spaces keeping the well-being of the global population in mind. It may lead to some paradigm shifts on some well defined global principles which are relatively unchanged till now such as urban densification, transportation, social distancing and many more.

Whereas on the other hand, the lockdown has also left its adverse effects on the architects and designers as projects at all levels have come to a grinding halt. While the projects in the drawing stage have been halted because of the lack of confidence of the project investors, the ongoing projects are also stopped because of displacement of labor in this state of emergency throughout the world, budgets and economic turmoil. As the international supply chains will remain restricted, finding newer markets for the supply and achieving self-sufficiency will be necessary for the foreseeable future. 

Architects see the pandemic as an opportunity are fundamentally rearranging their priorities both from a project and a design perspective. There is an industry wide shift towards building healthier cities and with that it is becoming a lot easier to convince clients of the vital importance of sustainability, safety and resilience in master planning as well as other commercial projects. Also, we will see a continued demand of people craving their own open spaces, gardens and land. Also if we talk about the indoor environments, there will be an impact on the way offices and houses are designed, used and created. Although this period of uncertainty will be rewarding for the brave. Those who are bold enough to push the boundaries of design with health at the epicenter of creativity.

COVID-19 has changed the way we used to visualize, ideate and implement things. A lot of construction activity will happen outside the site and newer construction techniques will be implemented. Pre-engineered structures would be preferred over the conventional ones and machine-based processing will be encouraged. People will explore more voice-activated controls along with automation eliminating the need of physical touch. Worldwide people are working from home due to which large office buildings and skyscrapers have been abandoned. Now that work is being done remotely some are re-evaluating the need for such spacious and expensive spaces. Also people are confined within their homes, so the automobile usage has been on all time low leaving a positive impact on the environment. Another design approach that has been popular is adaptive reuse, the process of using existing structures to serve new purposes. Along with modular construction it’s proven to be very effective in creating emergency facilities. From creating make-shift emergency facilities to reorganizing one’s home that’s better suited for working remotely flexible design has also proven to be essential.

It will be interesting to see the long-term impact on approach to architecture. This could pave the way for a different type of architectural business, with social endeavor and public wellbeing at the centre. Architects and urban planners are going to have to carefully rethink the structure and functioning of our cities. Now that more people understand just how essential the basic needs really are, it should be easier to successfully implement sustainable projects of all sorts. At present the challenge is rather to rethink concepts such as densification and adapt them to the present set of conditions. It’s also important to use available space more flexibly than in the past.

The pandemic is a wake-up call for architects to reconsider the way that spaces are created. The current scenario in the architecture industry suggest that it is opened up new design and innovation opportunities while it took a great hit on realistic construction world. This pandemic will reshape the possibilities of building and in many ways our lives, as we know that there will be a period of uncertainty before everything get back to normal.