Modular Furniture in homes – decoded

 

Modular Furniture in homes – decoded

The concept of modular furniture in residential design is not new. It has its roots in the industrial revolution in the 19^th century where mass production and standardization of various furniture items. The Bauhaus movement (1919-1933) in design focused on design & mass production of various items like chairs, tables , chandeliers & other household furniture. The term modular was popularized a theoretical premise of proportioning system in architecture by famous architect Le Corbusier in the modernist movement. The idea of factory made furniture utilized in living & work spaces gained more traction in post world war II phase in the world but gained more popularity through introduction of Scandinavian design systems & especially introduction of IKEA as a brand in early 1950s to its popularity in 70s & 80s in Europe & America. In a country like India where the ideas were introduced by institutes like NID & various furniture designers in the same period, the brands known for producing storage systems & seating systems  like Godrej ot Nilkamal became popular in urban areas much late in  80s & 90s. This maybe because of the overdependence of traditional systems based on craftsman & carpenters to make furniture utilizing materials like wood sections , plywood & upholstery  Definitely the era post 2000 has seen many more international brands like Pepperfry, Urban ladder, Evok, Usha Lexus, Godrej Interio, Home lane, Lifestyle etc coming into the urban market. Currently the emergence of large amount of non branded or locally made stores offering readymade furniture in cities speaks much about the popularity of the concept. Apart from the above branded furniture,  concept of locally made modular kitchen trolleys if much popular.

Following are the current reasons why modular furniture is popular today:

Cheap & readymade furniture on demand:

The main reason of popularity of modular furniture items among people remains to be the cost. As compared to  custom  designed furniture made on site utilizing traditional systems of interior designers & his team of craftsman, the average cost of making is at least 20  percent to 30 percent more than readily available modular furniture, especially in large cities for basic furniture items like wardrobes, TV units etc. The emergence of pre laminated engineered wood & medium density fibre board (MDF) as alternative material to commercial ply board used traditionally can further decrease the average price of furniture.

 Convenience of flexible systems of assembly:

Where young professionals &  millennials travel from cities to cities for jobs, rented accommodation is a norm amongst many. The tendency to buy furniture items that can be easily disassembled & reassembled is more here as it makes them easy to transport. Also it makes more sense not to spend on furniture in a temporary rental accommodation. The idea of going to a shop & buy a furniture item or order a modular system online is much easy than purchasing material & calling a carpenter at home who spends days making each item. Most standard brands offer post sales service of disassembly & reassembly. The made in factory parts hardly take any onsite time of assembly as compared to furniture work going on for weeks in the house. In households having small kids or elderly where carpenters and their team cannot be lodged for long time,  modular systems offer an ideal solution for furniture.

  Apartments with less ticket size fitting limited furniture of standard size:

If we observe the average size of apartments in large cities, affordable units with less ticket size of carpet area are high in number. A careful observation of floor plans of various apartments in large cities gives us the average grid width of habitable rooms. Most bedrooms come with an gross average usable width of 10 ft (3.0m) to 11ft (3.35m) with carpet areas ranging from 100 sq ft to 120 sqft size. Kitchens have average usable widths of 6.5 ft (2.0m) to 8.0ft (2.45m).  Living & dining rooms get combined offering a largest space in apartments but having average usabe widths of 11 ft(3.35m) to 12 ft (3.56m). These modest sizes lead to following furniture items that can fit in.

 Bedrooms : - Wardrobes  , Study tables , Dressing unit , Single beds & queen size Bed, Bed heads, Side units etc

 Kitchen :- Modular kitchen trolleys, Overhead storage systems,  Narrow Vertical units or tall units etc

 Living Dining : - Shoe racks, Sofa seating systems ,  Recliners, Centre tables, Corner pieces T.V Units, Dining table with chairs / benches & crockery storage systems etc.

 Most local stores as well as branded modular brands offer exactly the above in standard sizes & variations based on the materials & hardware used.

The almost standard patterns of room layout has to gradual standardization of sizes of most of the readymade & modular furniture. For e.g. – Wardrobes come in modules of 2 ft  -2.5 ft – 3.0ft leading to two door or four door systems having overall size of 5.0 ft to  6.0 ft. This fits well in a 10ft wide bedroom.

 Elegant look within budget

Most furniture brands offer a good finish of factory made details to their customers. Standard branded hardware is utilized that offer durability. The cost variations within modular furniture is based on the degree of high finishes & quality of material used. Most modular brands offer streamlined design with minimum ornamentation which can go well in decor of most urban homes.

 Customizable as per needs:

Though modular furniture is produced in limited variations of sizes & standard popular colour schemes available in materials used, it does offer customization. Especially in items like wardrobes that can come in openable doors, sliding doors & corner storage systems, this leads to lot of space saving. Wardrobes offer multiple systems of storage & racks within their standard modules. Modular kitchen can be built today using various materials like Stainless steel & Tandem for drawers & a range of materials like acrylic , PVC or glossy laminate finished facia boards. In living rooms & dining rooms storage & T.V. units can be customized using smaller sized units within the assembly.  Dining tables offer range of finishes in tables as well as seating systems. Obliviously each degree of customization increases the costs.

 

What are the disadvantages of Modular furniture systems ?

• Though modular furniture gives multiple possibilities in terms of sizes, systems & arrangements, specific customization that is desirable for end users is not possible. Also additions & modifications may not be possible unless provision is not made by the manufacturer.

 

• Often, modular furniture systems offer limited colour palate and limited range of hardware systems. This can restrict design creativity while furnishing the interior spaces. Also this may not give you the factor of ‘Uniqueness’ as similar furniture systems may have been installed in your friends place.

 

• ‘Theme based’ interior spaces demand certain look of the various furniture pieces used, which may be difficult to attain using modular systems. For example there very few traditional looking modular systems available in affordable prices that can go well with an ‘Indian traditional theme’.

 

• As compared to made to order furniture built of site using good quality materials & hardware, customers may not be aware about the quality of base material like, ply boards engineered wood or Mdf  boards used.

 

• Since modular furniture like storage or furniture units are assembly systems, hardware like dowels, Allen wrenches, screws, nut bolts, rivets etc are utilized. As against on site furniture built using boards put together with nails & screws along with adhesives, the long lasting factor of overall assembly of modular systems may be (at times) limited. This may happen especially if the person assembling the overall furniture piece has limited skill & capacity to put together the units.

 

What could be ideal – Modular or built on site furniture?

There is not standard answer to this question. Available budget & Time can be two definite parameters on which one can take a decision. Ideally items like seating systems or dining table systems can be of standard modular manufactures & remaining furniture can be built on site. Also one can combine both systems gradually. This can happen especially if you are not doing the entire interiors of your home at one go. Multiple units can combine together to give the overall look in your homes. Selection of furniture systems also depend on the ownership factors. In case of rental premises, modular furniture can be an ideal decor. In case of self owned houses, where families are planning to live for a long time, involving on site making of furniture may be useful.

 

But definitely, It may be advisable to involve a trained and experience architect or an interior designer while taking decisions even about modular furniture especially regarding quality of materials used, sizes that may fit and overall colour palate used

 

Regards

Ar. Hrishikesh Ashtekar   

 

Disclaimer : Home furniture systems is a complex & personal subject. Above views by author are personal & do not claim any affinity towards any brand mentioned in the article.   

 

AI and Home design

 What role can Artificial Intelligence or AI have in Design of homes?

Valid question in the current  times where any piece of written article you may see may have come out of ChatGpt or any of open AI system software. Definitely like graphic design and art, Architecture and interior design cannot escape the impact. A simple text prompt to design a bedroom with minimalist style can give multiple options of strong visuals in the form of rendered 3D images. Below is a one of them through a quick online experiment through AI art generator. Similarly routinely available ChatGpt (chat.openai.com) can give a detail list of design elements to be used for a particular style and type of home interior.

                                     

There are multiple software for home design easily available under AI umbrella.

Few of them available online are as under:

magicroom.ai

collov.ai

www.reimaginehome.ai

www.roomgpt.sh

Most software ask for sign in or are paid version available for users. Similarly,  under software like BIM or Building Information Modelling, Grasshopper,  Sketchup etc, there are various AI tools that can help in 3d visualisation , fast and accurate calculation of material quantities , energy analysis in homes etc that can help the designers. AI tools can help in design and decision making process for the end user.

Will AI then replace the role of design and construction professionals?

Let's say you go to a cafe and stand in front of a huge screen.  With a voice or text command, you order a pizza! You also customize your dressing and topping with olives, chili flakes, bell peppers, extra cheese etc. and ask the software to get you the pizza. You wait patiently but just within few minutes, you get a reply on screen that the order is ready. But instead of the pizza in your plate, all you get are Images of pizza you ordered on screen with different types of styles of dressing and toppings within your selection. Now comes the valid question.

"Can you now eat the Pizza??"

No!!!

Because while, with the visuals of pizza ,we're  still at  the step 1. After selecting one option,  there will be lot of backend work in the kitchen requiring to select the right base, cutting of vegetables , ordering correct cheese, making pizza sauce,  putting it together , backing at right temperature and finally serving it to you! Definitely a single software cannot serve you the pizza unless and until huge amount of backend automation  or actual work in kitchen , controlled by humans does not do the duties of cooking.

AI in my opinion has similar role in the realm of design of homes. While it can give you endless

 images of design options, supporting  engineering calculations etc but cannot replace the hard work carried out by Architects, designers, engineers, artisans,  transport operators , labor, cleaning agencies,  electricians , air conditioning experts etc at the backend to deliver you the home, you can live in. Also in design visualization which is the most important role of AI tools in current context, an important question remains - "How augmented reality of images can manage to replace actual human experience of space?"

Thus a tree just out of window will change the quality of natural light coming through it and pattern of shadows of leaves falling on your floor!

Ar. Hrishikesh Ashtekar

Disclaimer:
As an architect,  I do not advocate direct use of any of the software,  for which names and  links given in this article,  nor can ensure their safety and quality of end product in terms of its satisfaction and usefulness without consulting any knowledgeable person in these aspects 

Consulting Architect's role in Redevelopment projects & customized home

 Typically role of a consulting Architect in a Redevelopment project is from the side of society.  Broadly the role is divided into 3  to 4 stages viz:

A) Feasibility studies for redevelopment where even before the society contacts various developers or goes in for Self Redevelopment,   financial viability of project is worked out based on area of rehousing new tenements  of original residents and additional FSI required to house tenements for sale which will offset the project costs

B) Tendering stage where advice is required to work out RFP or open Tenders for prospective developers who would want to carry out redevelopment work. Architects role here is to work out  technical terms and conditions of tender and help scrutinise various proposals received.  This helps select the developer for redevelopment 

C) Design stage - Here role of consulting Architect is to work out exact requirements for project and give  inputs on designs worked out by developers.  Also check the drawings made by developers for municipal corporation sanction in accordance with finalized design. Architect performs critical role of explaining the technical and design aspects to society members 

D) Construction stage - Role of consulting Architect here is to oversee the site at critical stages apart from checking construction drawings from developer.  Important role is to also ensure that specifications and finishes agreed upon are delivered on site.

Redevelopment is a teamwork between the various stakeholders involved.

There are many societies who in the pretext of either saving money or having over confidence in themselves refrain from appointing a consulting Architect.  

Few are stories below I have encountered showing what are the after effects of such a kind of decision:

Recently,  a doctor couple who came to us for customizing their brand new apartment  in a Redevelopment project  in Pune were shocked when they came to know the additional amount required for civil changes. The developer had made arbitrary changes in the plan shown to them earlier which they realised only at time of handover. The reason - No consulting Architect was appointed by society who could make them aware of these issues

Another incident is of a relative who told me about them being given an additional area of 80 sq ft beyond the agreed carpet area in a Redevelopment project, for which the developer made them pay extra. Unfortunately a half room of 8 ft x 10 ft was given to them which does not make any sense for usage . The reason - No consulting Architect, s opinion was taken by society before finalizing the design

An old friend called me after many years to seek opinion on his apartment design given to him by the Developer for his Redeveloped building. The plan lacked any logical design sense. Even though a large 3 BHK , bedroom room sizes were mere 10ft x 10ft. Proportions of living room were strange. There was no common washbasin provided , nor utility  balcony was given. The reason - The society never cared to appoint a consulting Architect for the project. 

An apartment got redeveloped.  When the developer handed over new apartments,  society members were surprised when instead of a particular type of tiles promised for flooring and kitchen walls, different finish tiles were fixed. The reason - The society never cared to continue services of their consulting Architect till end of the project.

Interestingly,  all people care for is that maximum of the free additional area  given to them by developers against   their existing tenement. No one cares about Design of the tenement and the anticipated quality  of apartment they may get in future 

There is a saying in English- " Penny wise, Pound foolish". Most society members end up saving the 'Penny cost' of appointing a consulting Architect but end up being foolish in the longer run

Hrishikesh Ashtekar

ReplyForward

Self renovations- advantages & risks involved

 

                  Image courtesy - Wagle ki duniya - Sony Sab channel

In a recent episode of Hindi sitcom – ‘Wagle ki Duniya’on Sony Sab television channel, one of the protagonist takes things in his own hands during an undergoing self renovation of his own house in a multi storied apartment. Even though the contractor refuses to break a part of the external wall of the house, he himself hits the hammer leading to part of the wall collapsing below on his neighbour – Mr Wagle’s car. Leading to a stiff quarrel between the neighbours, any attempt done to explain the risks to their building by a structural engineer invited in the society office goes in vain.  Here I would like to thank the producers of the serial to raise an important issue of ‘Self Renovation’ and the impending risks thereafter.

In the historic times, it was quite common of our ancestors to build and repair their own homes. It is perfectly natural for us to think that we have all the knowledge to start renovating our own house using available material & labour. One of the biggest advantages in renovating our home by ourselves is that we can take quick onsite decisions into changing spaces or selecting various finishing materials as well as fittings. Also you end up taking full responsibility of the decisions taken during renovation where you explore your creative skills of defining your living spaces that are close to your functional & cultural requirements.

The main difference is that as against historical times where people used to live in low rise buildings. in today’s context, most of us live in large apartment complexes with multi-storeyed buildings having a common RCC (reinforced concrete) frame structure and complex interconnected network of building services of drainage, water supply, HVAC, fire protection, storm water drainage, solar water heating etc. While it was easy & less risky to do renovate low rise buildings , renovations in houses located in the complex buildings of today demand involvement of professional architects & civil engineers in the job.

Let’s divide the types of renovation in two categories:

A) Superficial renovations involve mainly Interior work like painting, furniture work, wall paneling, false ceiling, change of electrical or plumbing fixture & fittings, adding safety doors, changing door panels, changing sliding windows etc.

B) Extensive renovations – These involve civil changes in wall locations, breaking walls , building new walls, change in use of rooms , dealing with leakages, changing plumbing systems, changing wall or floor tiles in toilets or rooms, air conditioning rooms  etc.

While the ‘A’ category of renovations can easily be dealt own your own with fair creative skills of selection of right colour, materials & fittings , the category ‘B’ of extensive renovations are technical in nature. This requires professional guidance from architects & engineers.

Here are few guidelines for you while going in for Extensive Self renovations:

1)      Have a holistic plan on paper before starting out with respect to what & how changes will affect your home

2)      Understand the complexity – Older the house, more will be the complexities & risk involved. For e.g. – Simple decision of painting may require checking for dampness using moisture meters

3)      If you visualize extensive renovations in your home, involve a professional Architect & civil engineers for a pre inspection & possibilities of what all can happen. For old homes, it is fairly common for plaster to come off or additional damage to walls if they have to be broken

4)      DONT BREAK or TAMPER with the COLUMNS, BEAMS, SLABS & EXTERNAL WALLS. This will cause damage to entire building.

5)      For RCC frame structures, don’t just assume that internal partition walls could be removed. Especially for old buildings, even partition walls between rooms may carry structural load. CALL a professional STRUCTURAL ENGINEER for INSPECTION before breaking partition walls.

6)      Ensure that safety nets are installed while breaking any part of wall where debris is likely to fall on lower terrace of street. In case debris are likely fall within your house, dump heaps of sand on the floor, so that flooring tiles don’t get damaged.

7)      For extensive CIVIL RENOVATIONS, always TAKE BUILDING PERMISSIONS from LOCAL MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES by involving Architects

8)      During electrical work of any kind especially if you are adding multiple light points & additional power points for air conditioning system, dishwashers, home workshop etc, consult electrical engineers for overall loading. The entire electrical system of your house is generating from distribution board or DB where main supply from building is given.

9)      When you are relocating kitchen, toilets or adding additional toilets in old houses, please have a clear understanding of location of drainage & water supply system of your building since connections to drain pipe & water supply pipe will have to be considered before you take such decisions. Plumbing connections done in a faulty manner will lead to leakages

10)   If you are planning to have temporary covering of terrace using steel framework, the overall RCC framework of the building needs to be studied as additional load will come on it.

11)   Leakages in your home may have many reasons. It is important to know if they are happening from external walls or through pipes or toilets and close those appropriately before you undertake painting or furnishing work of the house.

12)   Removing door frames or window frames is complex affair during renovations. Frames are embedded in walls during or immediately after construction. Hence it is not as simple as changing the door or window panels. There are likely chances that during removal of frames, part of surrounding walls may break down.

13)   Any part of new wall built next to an old wall will also require re plastering. There are techniques used in construction on how to do the plastering of new walls. If both construction of new walls & plastering is not done carefully, cracks may develop in due course of time.

14)   In case you are adding additional storage water tanks in toilets, please check if lofts on which they are supposed to be installed can carry additional loads. Many times both of water tanks & inverters, lofts can be added in steel fabrication but we need to ensure that the walls on which the fabrication brackets are to be installed can carry additional loads & enough support is given.

15)   In many old houses, where you are planning to have old cement terrazzo tile flooring or kotah tile flooring removed & replaced with vitrified / ceramic tiles, please note that the entire process of removal  of old material, disposing debris and levelling of surface is complex job. There are techniques where new tiles can be installed on old flooring using adhesives.

16)   Finally one should understand that every demolition job done during renovation creates construction waste & debris which is our duty to dispose them off in a responsible manner. We should check that contractors & labor involved are not throwing them in society compound or lakes & streams thus harming the environment.

Most renovations falling under category of type A – Superficial or Interior works are relatively less risky, though taking professional advice from designers may help enhance the beauty of the spaces in your house.

Ar. Hrishikesh Ashtekar

What constitues Home Customization?

If you are purchasing an underconstruction apartment or your are renovating your own home, Home Customization is the key concept for you.

Home Customization means converting the standard home you got from developer to a home that is more suitable to you and your family.

Following things are steps of home Customization:

A) Civil changes
1) Change location and heights of internal walls
2) Changes location of room doors
3) Change toilet layouts
4) Changes to accommodate utility areas in dry balconies

B) Electrical and data cabling
1) Changes in electrical layout based on your own interior layout
2) Identify and provide additional electrical points as per your requirements
3) Provision for Home automation and data cabling for WiFi
4) Location of Inverter or connecting your home to DG sets

C) Plumbing
1) Changes in Plumbing layout to suit modified toilet layout
2) Making Provision for hot water through geyser either electrical or solar or gas
3) Location of Gas Bank
4) Provision for Washing machine and dish washer
5) Provision of additional sinks in utility

D) Finishes
1) Have alternative finishes for walls and doors
2) Have optional choices for kitchen dado tiles
3) Have optional choices for toilet tiles
4) Have different sanitary fittings than those provided by developers

E) Interiors
1) Detail design of furniture and falseceiling
2)  Selection of various finishes
3) Selection of light fittings and fixtures
4) Design for Special requirements like Projector systems, home automation fittings , home theater and audio visual rooms 

‘Patterns of Life’ (POL) analysis – use in design of homes

 Pattern of life (POL) or behavior pattern describes a recurrent (e.g., normalcy) way of acting by an individual or group toward a given object or in a given situation[1]. 

Considering that people may have recurring habits and behavioral patterns in their homes based on multiple factors like age , sex, cultural background, religion, rituals, genetic influences, associations , interests , , work systems, hobbies etc, it is possible to identify certain typical behavior patterns that can be the basis used to create their living environments. An attempt to decipher life patterns has been made in the book ‘Pattern Language’ by Prof. Christopher Alexander[2]  in 1977, where around 253 livability patterns were identified  within scale from Region to individual homes based on contemporary readings of people and spaces mainly in the western world. Another inspiration to develop the idea, is the concept of ‘Emergent’ or ‘Self organized’ systems that let human beings to organize themselves spontaneously in terms of social networks or physical orders[3].

The idea put forth is that, if data by families regarding multiple patterns of their life and how they use different spaces within their homes is analyzed, it may be possible to derive space syntax[4] based on the social logic of people within the family. This gives unique codes and ideas in terms of associations between spaces, furniture, building elements and people that may formed as the basis of customizing various living spaces in their homes.

The three broad types of variables at the intersection of which POL could be understood are

1)    People – various members of the family

2)    Spaces & Objects – different spaces in the household  along with the related objects like furniture as well as temporary objects of use in various activities

3)    Activities – changing associations between people and objects in various spaces

  The POL studies need to be understood for various spaces in the house not only for routine daily life but also special occasions and situations like festivals or lockdowns where they undergo temporary changes.

 

POL as the basis of creating responsive living environments:

The various fields where designers are involved into creation of living environments have an approach where the spaces are considered to be static environments frozen in time. Thus the visual feel of the rooms, objects, furniture, light, color and finishes attain prime importance. The linear approach where the designer responds to series of requirements of the clients through various drawings and 3^rd dimension views ends up shaping a sculptural edifice where the users living in the newly defined space adjust with time. The critical point at which requirements are finalized is overlooked and the design is worked upon within the available standardized alternatives of room sizes, shapes, fixed furniture pieces, modular systems, movable seating, working and eating furniture, light fixtures etc.

 

POL analysis gives unique patterns of life of different families that serve as starting point to see design of living environment as flexible and modifiable spaces. Homes are not static entities but dynamic spaces where there are multiple patterns of activities happening throughout the day. These activities and their patterns also change contextually with respect to special occasions like festivals.  Families may have their own unique patterns of storing, cooking, serving and eating food. The kitchen platform and dining table may double up for many things.   The recent pandemic and lockdowns where most people spent larger time at homes used their living rooms, terraces, dining areas in more multiple ways beyond the intentions meant. The WFH & SFH (Work / Study from Home) activity were carried out in multiple ways and multiple spaces in our houses. Apart from these daily activities, the Asian culture has multiple family events and festivals where friends and family gather together to celebrate. The extent of use of spaces in multiple ways is usually inversely proportional to the average size of homes. Thus we find families living within frugal means in smaller houses being compelled to use living space in multiple manners. Above all enforces a belief that homes and living environment are more like living organisms which should have spaces and living environment that respond to the ever-changing momentary reality of the users. This logic is similar to the way we change user interface and apps in our mobile phones for different purposes.

POL analysis leads to study and reorganization of multiple types of data based on the unique life of the inhabitants and their family. The end result in such a kind of an activity in terms of design and execution may not be in form of typical spaces but may be in form of rooms and living spaces which allow flexibility , incrementality and modifications in fixed as well as movable objects , through which it may be possible to the end user to respond to their unique patterns of life that are dynamic..

 Hrishikesh Ashtekar

Architect Urban designer 

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[1] https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/8745/1/Pattern-of-life-from-WAMI-objects-tracking-based-on-visual/10.1117/12.2015612.short

[2] A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction is a 1977 book on architecture, urban design, and community livability. It was authored by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein of the Center for Environmental Structure of Berkeley,

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_order, http://csis.pace.edu/~marchese/CS396x/Computing/Ashby.pdf

[4] Social logic of space – Bill Hillier & Julienne Hanson

Responsive living environments

 

Every building has components that are fixed and static and components that are movable in response to the changing weather conditions as well as needs and requirements of the people occupying it. Responsive environments refer to living and working environments that offer the opportunity to people occupying the space to change the space and the functions whenever required as per their needs. Within any living space there is a hierarchy of control of static as well as movable components. For example in a house, the static elements will be the walls, tiles, roof, staircase, sinks, and kitchen platform and plumbing fixtures in toilets. As against this the movable elements will be the doors, windows, curtains, light fixtures, ceiling fans, air conditioning, music system, taps and furniture where the user has got an opportunity to control as per one’s needs in the requirement to temporarily alter the function of the space, change the feel of the space   or control the comfort conditions of the house. The role of the designer traditionally has been to imagine a house as a static entity where the user interprets the space on his own based on his or her requirements by making need based changes in the space by modulating movable components. Here the ability to modulate is limited to the possible changes that can be done within the existing framework of static living environment. In the current context, responsiveness is equated to sensor based or software based user experience design where the internal environmental conditions or services such as water, electricity etc can be controlled through either manual or remote application of technology.   

Can design move beyond this technology oriented approach? Can the designer play a more prolonged role beyond handling over the project to the client?

Can living environments be designed to become more emergent, based on systemic research based interpretation of data of the various users while using the spaces?

These questions could not have very simple answers as multiple type of people interact differently with their living spaces based on their culture , ethnicity, social backgrounds, affordability etc. Thus one standard policy or design of a component fitting for all may not be the correct answer. There may be two approaches played by the designer

A)     The designer continues to engage with the space with the inhabitants post occupancy

OR

B)      There are multiple components that are flexible and are designed uniquely based on the needs of the users which offer enough opportunity for multiple and responsive use of living spaces.

Just to take an example, The current scenario of pandemic and lockdowns pushed may people within the four walls of their homes. ‘Work from Home’ or ‘Study from home’ are two such scenarios building up that will affect design of homes. The natural simplistic reaction by developers is to offer additional square feet area in projects instead of offering more ‘Responsive spaces’ within the same smaller spaces. This led to larger home sizes that become more un affordable in most of the larger cities. The recent –‘India Residential Overview – Oct to Dec 2021’ report by ‘Square yards’ puts forth the reality that there were 50 % to 70% people who searched for buying and renting homes respectively that are lower than 1000 square feet or those homes with an affordable category between 30 lakhs to 70 lakhs. Where as the demand for larger homes between 3 BHK  to 4 BHK was lower than 20% in most larger cities.

The lesson here is that complex problems of adaptability cannot be solved by just providing additional spaces. Designing ‘Responsive living environments’ that offer customized and changeable spaces to users may be the answer to these complex questions.

 

Hrishikesh Ashtekar

Architect & Urban designer

The Work from Home corner in our houses.

 The Covid 19 pandemic has given us many things which are soon to become the 'New normal'. One such daily activity is 'Work from Home' or WFH as its acronym. Common earlier to mainly fields related to Information technology , the WFH is now the norm in almost every field to ensure that work continues even though we are confined in our homes. The WFH is also the new norm for even children in form of SFM - School from Home. Every day everyone in the house is transported mentally in the world of work while physically we are omnipresent in our home.

But is it easy for everyone to get adjusted to this new online reality? We cannot take it for granted . The limited physical space in larger cities and poor internet connectivity in small towns or villages gives a relatively different picture in a diverse country in India . India has one of the lowest per capita available housing space in the world. In the USA, the average per capita housing space is about 832 sq ft /per person. In United Kingdom it is around 356 sq. ft./ per person (data from shrinkthatfoorprint.com). Same figure of average per capita residential space India in is just around 117 sq. ft. / person for urban areas and 103 sq ft / person in rural areas ( https://m.timesofindia.com) As per the study by TOI, the average house size in urban India is around 504 sq ft. These statistics emerge from the r 63rd round survey of the National Sample Survey Organization. The data shows 32% of urban houses are 258 sq ft or less in area. Roughly 504 sq ft translates itself as a 1BHK or 3 room house and 258 sq ft translates itself into a 1RK or a 2 room house. Most families in urban areas are 4 to 5 persons competing for the per capita space of around 60 sq ft or even less. This means that at the same working day morning, two adults and two kids are either in WFM or SFM mode , occupying whatever corner they can in a little house . Against this almost everyone in USA will have dedicated work space in the 2500 or more sq. ft. house.

Let's now look at the fact that given the above challenges, where can this formal WFH or SFH corner can be located. Ergonomically, a minium of 4 feet × 4 feet of physical space may be required to accommodate the required desk with laptop / desktop/ tablet / mobile Infrastructure , along with a comfortable seating to sit for long hours. The desk must always locate itself in way that we sit with our back to the wall, thus avoiding our houses being visible in the camera of other participants. This also will give us a secluded undisturbed corner for day long work. The issue of background noises getting mixed during online meetings remains a concern in smaller houses but points of work can get distributed as far as possible from each other. In case of smaller homes with limited size, the WFH corner can be located in following areas:

1) Living room:

An obvious option is to create a corner or even multiple corners in the living room with a work desk. As compared to the bedroom, it is easier to shift the furniture and create the space required. An occasional visit by a colleague or a client can be easily managed in the living room without disturbing the privacy of the remaining house. A standalone wooden / aluminum folding partitions can be wrapped around the work corner to lessen down the visual appearance  or noises from our homes.

The WFH corner in our homes

2) Kitchen & Dining :

The dining table / breakfast table in the kitchen area is one good option for converting into WFH or SFH area for few working hours. Here the required infrastructure of a table and chairs is available. But must be taken to make it sure that we have our back towards a blank wall.

3) Attached terrace:

An unlikely but useful area especially if you have a semi covered terrace , to create your WFH corner. Here one can enjoy the nature around while working. But care should be taken to select a terrace which has minimum external noise.

4) Bedroom :

Working in a corner of your bedroom can create a secluded undisturbed space. Bedroom always have doors which can be closed to create a quiet and noise free environment. One can just turn the study table in our bedroom by 180 degrees so that you can sit with your back to the wall to avoid the view of the bedroom.

5) Half room :

These days many apartments come with a half room located near living or dining.  This is a small room enough to be converted to a small home office. There is a great demand in real estate market today for apartments with these kinds of half rooms.

It is very important to choose the correct location for this day long formal activity which has good natural light as well as good ventilation to keep oneself comfortable. Though above suggestions are general, one can go out of the box to re invent the work space in our home based on the work you do.

I am also sharing a unique idea of WFH pods which could be multifunctional as well in the pandemic to be converted into storage areas, shelving corners. pet cubicles or places to grow food plants. These could be shifted at various locations in the homes as required and may even have a folded variant that can be packed up and kept in a corner after use. The sketch plan accompanied shows possible.

Locating W.F.H movable pods in houses

The future homes will be very different and multifunctional against the rectilinear definition of rooms we see in todays houses. Mostly beyond the four external walls, the rest of the internal spaces will be defined by the people based on their free will and high technology. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to question our present and with WFH becoming a norm in future, the work corner is here to stay in our homes. 

Do connect with me to take these ideas forward or share more ideas like these !

Hrishikesh Ashtekar

Architect