Design strategies for residential buildings in the post pandemic era

Abstract

During and after the pandemic the home became the epicenter for many people. Everything happened at home: work, school, exercise, play, and everything in between. Families’ priorities and needs have changed in many ways, and how they use their homes is at the top of their list. An emerging priority among homeowners is health and wellness. People now not only want their homes to protect their health with great indoor air quality, but they also want adequate space to attend to their daily life activities at home. Furthermore, homeowners now realize their homes must fill many roles. No longer are homes mainly a place to gather and rest, but they must also serve as schools, offices with dedicated workspaces, gyms, outdoor living, and many other spaces. For this, are suggested modular interiors, with more segmented approaches than open floor plans. This paper will present design strategies for residential buildings, in three scenarios, with different terrain conditions (flat terrain, slightly sloppy terrain, and very sloppy terrain) and low construction intensity, according to the “General Local Plan and Territorial Strategy”, in the city of Lezha. Three different building design typologies (Linear Typologies, Box Massing Typology, Unit House Typology) are chosen as the more suitable to be applied to the different terrain conditions. For each, it is going to be presented a conceptual project, based on modular volumes, which integrate into alternative ways, in terms of different crisis conditions such as the pandemic situation. The environmental conditions which have an impact on buildings are variable, but these design strategies are chosen to reduce the negative environmental impact of a built environment by using modular adaptive and repetitive typologies Also, to enhance indoor environmental quality is used natural ventilation. The three different building typologies are going to be applied in three different terrain conditions: A - The first scenario is the “Linear typology” in flat terrain; B - The second scenario is the “Box massing typology” in a slightly sloping ground near a hill; C - The third scenario is a “Unit house typology” in very sloping ground. This study aims to propose new adaptive typologies and establish a set of design standards, taking into account the impact of the pandemic. By examining these strategies, we, designers and architects can understand the defects of the design products in the pre-epidemic period and make good design decisions in the post-epidemic era. The purpose of the study is to propose new residential communities, rather than a single multi-unit house appearing in the city.