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When we published our focus on multifamily housing, there had yet to be a client who wanted to change their project design in response to COVID. This changed when Nick Aello reported that a DC-based client felt that in order to be competitive in the market, they need to address the work from home concept through design of new units and amenities. Design Collective already had unit designs with a built-in desk area, but was now discussing how to incorporate work from home amenities in every unit type, whether it’s a built-in or custom furniture component. “We’re playing around with the idea of an island concept which could incorporate into multiple unit types,” Nick writes. “Pair it with a wine fridge and you are good to go for a productive day at the ‘office’.”
In addition to multifamily housing are implications in the placement of housing, as post-COVID design also relates directly to sprawl. Planner Caitlin O’Hara explains, “over the last few decades, the urban design and planning profession has challenged the concept of sprawl, placing a heavy emphasis on limiting greenfield development, retrofitting suburbia, and re-urbanizing our city centers. Parallel to this, society rediscovered the benefits and conveniences of healthy urban places, showing a desire for more walkable, diverse, transit-oriented environments. Cities experienced reinvestment, downtowns were reactivated, main streets transformed, and older, more centralized neighborhoods attracted new residents and businesses that wanted to be a part of a more mixed-use community. In contrast to this growth, income rates have failed to keep up with the cost of living. Home ownership remains out of reach for many, student debt is high, and now with a pandemic that will have lasting economic impacts, there will be an even greater demand for affordability. Today, statistics show that millennials are migrating to the suburbs, leaving more urban areas for “greener pastures” where there is increased job opportunity and a lower cost of living. We have to wonder; will the pandemic reverse the progress of more urban environments and create a resurgence of “bad growth?”