Post-COVID Architecture Research

Dear Colleagues,

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic, with a global death toll in excess of 5 million, is still raging in many countries, with many communities in varies forms of lockdown, the focus of architects, property managers and urban planners needs to shift to the post-pandemic world that will emerge.

At present, many countries, in search of stimuli to restart their COVID-19-ravaged economies, provide subsidies to the construction industry, which results in new builds and major revitalization projects. Of concern is that most of these are conducted along the lines of ‘business as usual’, perpetuating designs that were conceptualized before the COVID-19 pandemic. SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic, is only one in a line of coronaviruses that has affected humans, and it will not be the last. However, there seems to be little consideration whether the existing designs are appropriate for futureproofing human existence in urban and suburban settings.

The highly transmittable Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has shown that even passing, fleeting contact can be sufficient for the virus to spread. This, for example, raises concerns for communal areas in building complexes such as passageways, stairwells and elevators. It also raises concerns for open-plan office designs. Likewise, how do we allow for the self-isolation of infected persons in residential settings, while safeguarding the other family members? The various lockdowns have shown the value of green spaces, both communal green spaces such as parks and private green spaces. How does this influence the design of future multi-owner/multi-tenant apartment complexes?

This is the time to rethink how we design our future personal and wider urban environment and how we modify and adapt existing structures. Failure to do so will lock in old design. Clearly, solutions will also be geographically specific and culturally appropriate, informed by and derived from local design and building traditions. 

This exciting Special Issue of Buildings will focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. We are looking for case studies and conceptual papers that address one or more aspects of the following to reduce the opportunities for virus transmission.

Prof. Dr. Dirk H.R. Spennemann
Guest Editor

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