The new year is just around the corner, so it’s time to think projectively about the coming 2021 trends for architecture. 2020 had a lot of adaptation to cope with social distancing and health precautions due to the pandemic and there’s no doubt some of those trends will carry into 2021. There are also a few innovations to be on the lookout for in the coming year.
Prioritizing health via design
The first trend probably does not come as a trend, but in the coming year, we will see people prioritizing health through their design. The coronavirus pandemic made people more aware of how their interior environment affects their health. At the onset of quarantine, many people made adaptations to provide the necessary space required for social distancing and adjusted the sanitation processes. However, there is now demand for long-term solutions built right into the design of the structures and spaces we use.
Crises have mitigated change before and even now, architects will rise to the occasion. Some features that we will see in the coming years are sanitation checkpoints, natural ventilation, anti-microbial materials, transparent separation panels, and social-distance-incentivizing layouts. Many companies are adapting to a partially remote partially in-person way of work and so, interior design and corporate architecture will evolve to reflect this.
Industrial style
People continue to require affordable housing, meanwhile, commercial spaces like malls are in a state of decline. Architects will begin to turn to industrial/commercial locations to renovate and create liveable and work environments.
Meeting the growing demand for affordable housing will require architects to look for opportunities in the most surprising places. Thanks to recent economic shifts, there are going to be plentiful options for development among commercial properties. The industrial style in architecture originated in the 40s of the last century among American metropolises, in which abandoned and deserted industrial buildings were increasingly given away for rental housing. People adapted to incorporate that industrial feel into their living environment and design adapted alongside them.
We will see a trend of bringing the outdoors in, with biophilic design, warm earthy tones, abundant light, and using natural materials. Combining the industrial style with the human desire to be one with their natural environment will create unique and innovative architectural concepts.
Collaborative Work
Multifunctional spaces are on the rise. People are urging collaboration and teamwork and our living and working spaces reflect this. Architects work to develop innovative environments through open and transparent spaces. The space in which we live and work will be able to shift depending on the task and to accommodate few or many people. Some of these spaces are transformed by glass walls, semi-transparent dividers, or transformative furnishings.
Partly influenced by the pandemic of 2020, spaces that can naturally accommodate the occupants to be spaced out while not feeling isolated will be a huge trend in 2021. Also creating intuitive rooms that clearly allow for the flow of people and activity from space to space without causing crowds or clutter.
