Home Design and Lockdown Depression

The bottom line of this research is that we need larger spaces and look out onto greenery, awe also need natural lighting, better acoustics, art, greenery and privacy…

Design-depression links have been identified using data collected via web-based surveys in Northern Italy during a pandemic lockdown that lasted over two months: “houses became the only place where people slept, ate, worked, practiced sports, and socialized. . . . . living in apartments less than 60 square meters with poor views and scarce indoor quality is associated with, respectively, 1.31 . . .  1.368 . . . . and 2.253 . . . . times the risk of moderate-severe and severe depressive symptoms. . . . .

Housing design strategies should focus on larger and more livable living spaces facing green areas. . . . Small apartments without habitable balconies, with a poor housing quality such as a little natural lighting and acoustic comfort, a low thermo-hygrometric comfort, the absence of soft qualities in the living quarters (e.g., art objects, green plants), and living spaces that do not guarantee adequate privacy during phone calls for work or personal reasons, were much more frequent in individuals with moderate-severe and severe depressive symptoms.”

These findings should inform future home design decisions.

Andrea Amerio, Andrea Brambilla, Alessandro Morganti, Andrea Aguglia, Davide Bianchi, Francesca Santi, Luigi Costantini, Anna Odone, Alessandra Costanza, Carlo Signorelli, Gianluca Serafini, Mario Amore, and Stefano Capolongo.  “COVID-19 Lockdown:  Housing Built Environment’s Effects on Mental Health.”  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, in press, doi:10.3390/ijerph17165973