by David P. Pollard AIA LEED AP
The American Home has already been evolving over the last several decades to include expanded functions from home offices all the way to indoor sport courts. In many ways the suburban home has never been more prepared to take on a multi-week isolation. From huge food-storage closets to back-up generators, back-up support systems have become more and more commonplace and accessible. Solar PV and water filtration systems are available to the masses and along with a sustainability culture can allow for a home to be completely off-the-grid and self-sufficient. I have been amazed at how well so many of today’s suburban homes are already equipped to support shelter-in-place.
A deeper understanding of the core purposes of these additional functions should lead to a re-examining of the typology of the future home. At the heart of it these functions support an expanded scope of the basic human needs of safety and variety as they relate to the home. Additionally
Versatility
At the heart of it; the post-pandemic home is going to need to be more versatile than ever. Private yet social. Quiet yet recreational. A single house will need to accommodate all of the daily functions that make our lives move forward on a daily-basis as well as our our typical home and family functions. With this
All of these infrastructure systems sit in the background to an open, inviting, and social floor plan. On the inside the 21st century home is prepped for isolation, but on the outside it is open and welcoming to display a very different and inviting personality. As we begin to focus more and more on the thought of retreating to our homes with our families for weeks on end, does the form and its subsequent relationships to its all-encompassing functions change? Can and should the American home become a shape-shifter of sorts to adjust to its highest and best use at any given time? My hope is that we are not simply shoving more functions into a traditional home typology and adding more rooms and spaces; but instead we are re-visiting what the real function, purpose, and sense of home is in today’s world and then re-inventing what that resultant form is. Le Corbusier said it best nearly 100 years ago in Towards a New Architecture; “The problem of the house is a problem of the epoch. The equilibrium of society today depends upon it. Architecture has for its first duty, in this period of renewal, that of bringing about a revision of values, a revision of the constituent elements of the house.”
I also believe that versatility is more of a plot to the Home than the theme or typology. Versatility and flexibility of uses are merely a program to solve the deeper theme of the basic human need of safety and security. We can provide for the need of safety by designing for those things in today’s world that provide a family with a sense of security. At the heart of it, when the S hits the fan; where are we going to all go – Home.
Safety & Security
Retreat & Privacy
Indoor spaces that bring in the senses and energy that come with being outdoors. Sunlight, fresh air, natural ventilation…
There is no question that our culture and society will walk away from this pandemic singed at the very least. Business plans will change, risk assessment will change, and whether a new pandemic comes through in the next year, decade, or century; we will certainly be more trigger-happy to shut down and prevent this level of fallout again at the earliest sign of pandemic potential. This will fortify the importance of the American Home as a place of safety, refuge, and all-importance.
Beyond the short term, this mentality is now ingrained in the next generation. After weeks or possibly even months of home isolation and e-learning with their baby sister and parents, my second-graders will always recognize home as much more than a house, but as a place of safety; a place of love, fun, work, learning, and pretty much all that matters… 24/7. My hope is that the design and construction community rises to the opportunity to understand this, embrace it, and make the future of the home better for generations to come.
Macro-speaking there will be huge questions about the viability of the density of the city as we know it today. There will potentially be a big push to the suburbs. Or perhaps a new suburban paradigm – ruraburban, or something of the sort? A shift from the freedom of being, doing, and living wherever and whatever you want, to the freedom of having a place to call your own. We are social beings by nature, so we will always gather, but perhaps with a different underlying sensitivity and appreciation.
It’s also possible the share-culture has hit its peak. A culture that celebrated operating and sharing as a society will now also recognize that social circles may have to break up and retreat to video-conferencing and virtual happy-hours from time to time. This isn’t meant to scare, it’s a reality, and the great news is we are better equipped than ever to connect in separation, but still come back to being together. And the secret is… by doing this we are actually acting as a society and community, just in a new and 21st century way.
Micro-speaking; the house has always been a home, we are just now realizing this every minute of every day. As we have the time to ponder what works, doesn’t work, or could be better in our house… please just take a moment to step back, and look at what your house has been able to provide during these times, and with a little gratitude give a big pat on the back and THANK YOU to it for being your Home.
Full Disclosure: I love houses. I have navigated an architectural career always hoping to arrive at being a part of shaping housing for the greater good. My vested interest in this post is that there is an opportunity like never before with “THE HOME” in the spotlight to make something better out of all of this, for the better of the profession, culture, built environment, and most-importantly… family; simply just through re-thinking what the essence of shelter really is.