What was the impact of covid-19 on architecture in 2020?

Table of content

• The concept of architecture and design 
• The dynamics of Saudi Arabian architecture
• Old architectural elements during pandemics
• Impacts of covid-19 on:
  • Workspaces design
  • Interior house design
  • Public spaces and urban design
  • Covid friendly places 2020

The year 2020 had an effect on all of us, after all, it is not every year that a worldwide pandemic occurs, Covid-19 left its impact on everything, economics, social welfare, transportation, jobs, and both mental and physical health, it was not the first pandemic in human history, but most of us got extremely used to the social urban life we hold, religious and cultural customs, that none of us asked ourselves this question, 

How do we cope with our everyday activities and fit covid-19 within it? 

How do we separate from each other, after we were very used to close social interactions and fast-paced urban life? 

It is for sure that our lives’ ‘new normal’ became full of quarantine, self-isolation, and social distancing, our private, public, family and work lives changed drastically not only for Saudi Arabians, but for millions around the globe as well, we received many guidelines from governments and medical institutes, but the effects coronavirus has left on architecture and urban design plays a huge key role in our lives, in 2020 and beyond.

Let us dive in together and get to know more how of the impact of covid-19 on architecture design, displaying diagrams, real cases in 2020, and how that would take place in Saudi Arabia.

The concept of architecture and design 

To understand the impact of covid-19 on architecture, you must understand the origins of architecture which deeply connected to human needs, psychology, ideology, political and religious views,

Buildings in the first place emerged because the first humans needed shelter from the dangerous environmental factors, and slowly as human knowledge evolved so did their needs, a person no longer needed a shelter only from wild animals and trees, but also a place to cook food, a place to read, a place to sleep and a place to pray, slowly man started to worship a god, therefor a prayer space was needed, so historically architecture was always connected to mankind evolution.

The following are the most famous and well known architectural styles in chronological order

• Prehistoric
• Mediterranean and Middle-East civilization
• Ancient Asian
• Classical Antiquity
• Early Middle Ages
• Medieval Europe
• Asian architecture contemporary with the Dark Ages and medieval Europe
• American architecture contemporary with the Dark and Middle Ages
• The Renaissance
• Revivalism and Orientalism
• Industrial
• Modernism
• Postmodernism
• Futuristic

To be clear of the impact of covid-19 on architecture in Saudi Arabia, get to know the fundamentals behind Saudi Arabian architecture.

Dynamics of Saudi Arabian architecture

Factors that shaped Saudi Arabia architecture

To understand the way architecture developed in this country, one must understand the history behind it, as Makkah and Al Madina are a path of travel and a holy location, foreign architecture often influenced these areas, the same goes for Jeddah, but what are the main elements that shaped the architecture of Saudi Arabia?

• Religion and culture.
• The harsh climate.
• The regional importance Saudi Arabia plays to other middle eastern countries.
• The influence of western cultures had a small part on the architectural development in earlier stages, and a significant role to play later on.

Old architectural designs during pandemics

The influenza pandemic known as the Spanish flu, one of the deadliest diseases that affected humanity, took place during 1918, many died, and it was such a contagious disease such as the coronavirus, the image you see above is a real image, taken at an American hospital, it shows how the interior and dynamic changed as each and, every bed was divided by a piece of cloth, while it is true that a simple piece of clothing wouldn’t protect others, but it was what was available, people halted interactions with each other during that time.
So what about now? what was the impact of covid-19 on Architecture and how architecture will change from 2020 and beyond?

Impact of covid-19 on architecture – 2020

Workspaces design

The impact of covid-19 on architecture when it comes to workspaces origins from the need for a prophylactic design, since masks and gloves barricade our bodies like a second skin, it is only natural that social distancing is a must when it comes to an office layout, Taped spaces for waiting lines are needed for people to maintain social distancing at all times, the most prominent features that would change in the office space are the following:

• No more open offices – at least screens should block the spaces between desks.
• Meeting rooms and chairs should be prepared for social distancing.
• No offices at all in some cases, Twitter employees have the option to work from home forever.

Interior house design

Home is where you spend most of your time, if you were working from home then you probably spend all-day home, the impact of covid-19 on architecture of home spaces took the following:

• More balcony spaces
• The emerging of home offices for remote work
• No open space design, keeping rooms separate in case of isolation needs
• More green spaces, as one needs a breath of air while in quarantine or isolation

Public spaces and urban design

Our public streets will change forever, there will be no more social gatherings in public spaces, even tourist attractions such as open cafes and historical attractions, will have social distancing rules at least, the number of people gathered in one place will change.

Impact of covid-19 on architecture – 2020 Buildings

German café Rothe

Ad-hoc strategies have emerged as more businesses reopen. A German café tested out hats with pool noodles attached so that guests would know not to get too close to one another.

Dutch Restaurant

A Dutch restaurant built greenhouse-like glass booths around its outdoor tables to shield diners and waitstaff from each other.

It is very likely that architecture will change during the future years, the impact of covid-19 on architecture hit very hard, as more spaces will follow quarantine measures in their designs, less open offices and spaces, more pavements for cycling instead of car use in urban life, and no large gatherings at any space in any given time without proper social distancing, if you liked reading this article on Bayut Saudi blog, please check out our other articles about 2020, such as Amazon Saudi platform launch in 2020, and more covid articles, if you need any help, please leave us a comment below