The last 15 months for many people has seen a change from a daily commute to work to working from home (WFH).
And spending more time, (most of the time actually), at home has highlighted some of the shortcomings of the internal design of our homes and their suitability for WFH.
One of the design trends that began in the seventies and originated from Scandinavia was a move towards “open plan” living, where internal walls were removed to “open up” the space. This idea of communal living space isn’t new – it has its origins over 1800 years ago when our distant ancestors lived in longhouses around a communal hearth and ate, slept and did a whole lot more besides (!) with no privacy whatsoever.
In many homes today, especially apartments, the kitchen is more than a food preparation area and forms a significant element of the living space which also includes lounge and dining space. And some of the challenges our ancestors faced have proved to be challenging to those WFH during the last 15 months, particularly during “lockdown”.
Perhaps the biggest issue is the lack of privacy – trying to hold a meeting on Teams, while one of your flatmates is on the phone and another is clattering around the place cooking. Some households have had to contend with having to home-school their children while trying to undertake their job-of-work in the same space – absolutely exhausting! I wonder how many found themselves cursing their open-plan living layout and craving the luxury of separate rooms for different functions – a closed-off kitchen where you can close the door on heat, cooking smells and noise. A home office space that allows you to leave your work at the end of the day, rather than have it perpetually strewn around you so that it feels like you are always at work or feeling guilty that you should be!
As we emerge from the pandemic we are left to ponder how many of the changes in our living and working practices were purely temporary and how many will become permanent. Do you think there will be any enduring changes to the internal layout of houses and apartments as a result of the WFH experience? Will kitchens remain part of “open plan” living or will we see a return to rooms dedicated to particular functions? Is open-plan, down the pan??