Studies have been undertaken in various industries – business, healthcare, architecture, education, transportation and tourism – to maintain social distancing and avoid contamination by using advanced monitoring technologies for such research projects.
The education of architects must include pandemic-induced consequences in their curriculum so as to prepare future professionals for this new normal. This may require changes in how architectural and urban design courses are taught.
The Impact of the Pandemic on Architecture and Design Practices
As architects and designers consider the future of their field, certain trends have emerged that suggest what may lie ahead for their respective fields. Many architects and designers are starting to focus on new types of building – spaces more connected to nature that promote wellbeing; others are exploring methods of increasing building hygine; these could include air filtration, adsorption, plasma-catalytic hybrid systems or even ozonation for healthy spaces.
Architects are also reconsidering their business models. Instead of attending big trade fairs, they’re opting for direct marketing strategies with less travel expense incurred as well as digital tools to collaborate on client projects.
As such, flexible working spaces have become increasingly necessary in response to this virus outbreak. Architects are exploring methods of building home workspaces with greater mobility in mind as well as improving office design with contactless pathways, hygienic materials and advanced filtration systems in order to minimize its spread.
The Impact of the Pandemic on Urban Spaces
The pandemic caused dramatic lifestyle shifts for individuals worldwide and altered urban space design, planning and use. Researchers are currently studying its impacts to gain an understanding of major impacts to city living while drawing lessons that could improve future resilience and urban planning during pandemics.
COVID-19 experience forced people to rethink what constitutes a healthy and sustainable built environment, particularly within closed spaces. Ventilation, daylight exposure, occupancy rate and materialization were identified as critical parameters for virus transmission; additionally new functional points like sanitizing stations, temperature check points, disinfection tunnels and isolation rooms were implemented as key safeguards against infection.
Additionally, the pandemic reignited citizens’ need for open spaces worldwide – residents choosing to spend more time outdoors than before due to outdoor spaces offering both tangible safety and mental comfort during periods of lockdowns.
The Impact of the Pandemic on Public Spaces
Many urban spaces have recently reopened following several months of lockdown, although their use is subject to certain restrictions; specifically, non-residential buildings must maintain sufficient distance between people to prevent crowdy situations from developing.
These restrictions have typically been implemented to combat disease transmission and ensure public safety, but their consequences could last beyond this immediate need. These measures may alter how public spaces are used or even how cities are planned and designed.
COVID-19’s experience has revealed a range of new guidelines that could be used to create cities resilient against future pandemics while simultaneously improving quality of life in cities. These guidelines include developing precise design indicators and spatial standards which would simultaneously build city resilience against potential pandemics while simultaneously increasing quality of city life overall. Furthermore, establishing new ways of understanding public space’s connection to human health was found essential.
The Impact of the Pandemic on Education
Reopening schools and recovering from COVID-19 will require more than money; it will necessitate reimagining our education systems to support long-term student success.
Losses caused by this pandemic will impede this generation’s career prospects, limit economic opportunities, and limit life choices well into adulthood. Without steps taken to recover their lost knowledge, they will enter the workforce without possessing all of the essential skills, behaviors and mindsets to thrive in it.
OECD PISA 2022 results demonstrate the negative repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on education were widespread, leading to declines in math and reading scores across all countries, especially for low-income and rural area students. Further, districts offering predominantly virtual instruction experienced greater declines than schools offering in-person instruction – suggesting that online learning systems must provide equitable results for all.
