These are strange days indeed. The world has slowed down & new paradigms of live & work are emerging. People are working from home. Schools and colleges are at home. Each trip outside is with a suspect and fear of contracting the deadly disease of Corona .
What should be the nature and design of the post Covid 19 homes?
Everyone is talking about social distancing, being as as far as possible from neighbors, having high tech gadgets installed in the lobby to scan the incoming person for infections, sanitizing the goods coming in the house, hygiene etc. Interestingly, if we see the cultural history of any of the houses in India, these aspects were very much part and parcel of life. There was place to wash oneself before entering. There was a public outer courtyard with a living room for guests and inner courtyard with rooms around for family members. There were separate storerooms for storing goods.
It is impossible to have such large houses in today's world but can we go back to these patterns of life? for the health and hygiene reasons? Heard that in Japan, wearing masks & adhering to social hygiene norms is in the culture and was the main reason, why they could fight the pandemic so well.
These days, when we don't know what the future lies, there are certain common hygiene patterns observed by every household in their own way where the key of surviving safely in this pandemic lies.
Let us understand these hygienic patterns :
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| Patterns in post Covid homes |
SANITIZE:
The most critical pattern in the pandemic. As persons we need to sanitize our bodies when we come from outside. Clean our hands and feet, which was a very common pattern in the past houses in India as homes had a washing place before you entered the house. Is it possible to create these pattern in our modern homes?
Other critical thing is to sanitize the goods coming the homes. We all need a corner in our homes, or especially in the lobby before you enter, most ideal for houses which have an entrance verandah or porch. To those houses which may have a small entrance lobby, a small shelf to keep the goods for some time or to spray the ethanol spray on the courier received. Tech savvy can install infra red systems to sanitize goods. Even if not possible to have a place in lobby, it may be worth having an airy corner in the house dedicated to sanitization.
STORAGE:
This pattern is of importance as the long time storage required for goods especially during sudden and long term lock down period . For houses having a separate storage area, it is very easy , but for small size modern houses or apartments, a dedicated storage area for additional grains, groceries and vegetables can be created in case storage cupboards are not available . This pattern brings importance on the presence of storage facilities in the house.
SELF RELIANCE:
I think the importance of Self reliance was best brought forward during the Covid times as domestic help was and still may not be available in many homes. People cleaned their own houses and utensils and cooked their own food. It is important for the houses today to connect with these paradigms of self reliance. A laundry area and space to wash & iron your own clothes makes good sense. A terrace with a small kitchen garden to grow vegetables like lemons, coriander, leafy vegetables, chillies etc is a must.
OPTIMIZATION:
Multi functional spaces gather importance in the during or post Covid home . Work from Home, School from home, Exercise from home, Celebrate from home and all things which we did in real spaces have now begun to happen online. The conversion of study area in the house to an office space, kids study tables to online school facilities, dining table in some cases converted to online school space is best optimization of space. In the long run as actual interaction is not possible, facilities for online interaction in terms of the technical requirements of a larger screen, space for laptops or desktops and a very good internet connection is a must. To achieve privacy, temporary movable partitions may help. Insertion of house pods with various facities can also be an answer to the space crunched and homes with more number of family members. As gyms and yoga centers remain closed, an area for doing the daily physical exercise or for meditation in the living rooms or terraces will also be required.
All the above patterns if applied to existing homes, will give multiple forms of home customization which may be temporary or can be long term based upon the situation .
Hrishikesh Ashtekar
