How new homes should be designed post-Covid

The Place Alliance surveyed people in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic (May, 2020) and after analyzing the data they collected online have reached some conclusions about how homes should be designed in the future. Their report is available at the website noted below.

Findings and recommendations made by The Place Alliance include: “Those living in houses (of any type) were more comfortable than those living in apartments, with those living in mid- (5-10 storey) or high-rise blocks (over 11 stories) being the least comfortable. . . . Dwellings were progressively less comfortable the newer they were, with the most recently built homes (built between 2010 and 2020) recording the lowest proportions of comfortable residents. . . . Access to private open space from the home was the strongest design-based predictor of comfort. Households with a private garden or terrace space were the most comfortable, followed by those with a private balcony or shared garden. . . . the pressures of lockdown have led to a desire amongst many for a greater degree of cellularity, including for a dedicated home office space. . . . new homes and newly converted homes should have mandated access to private open space, even if just to a balcony.  Without exception, all new and newly converted homes should be built. . . .  in a manner that prioritises good environmental conditions in the home: access to fresh air, daylight and good insulation against the transmission of noise. . . . new and newly converted homes should be built with provision for occupiers to comfortably work from home. . . . The aspiration should be for everyone to live within five minutes walk of a significant green space or park, and never more than 10 minutes. The aspiration should be for everyone to live within five minutes walk of a basic range of local facilities, including shops, and never more than 10 minutes. . . .Homes, facilities, and green spaces should be linked by connected, walkable, and green streets and by high quality walking and cycling infrastructure with, wherever possible, low levels of traffic.”

Place Alliance (Matthew Carmona, Valentina Giordano, Garima Nayyar, Jessica Kurland, and Clare Buddle. 2020.  Home Comforts:  How the Design of Our Homes and Neighbourhoods Effected Our Experience of the Covid-19 Lockdown and What We Can Learn for the Future. https://www.housinglin.org.uk/News/Home-Comforts-How-the-design-of-our-h…