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Future of Sustainable Architecture: Rethinking COVID-19 a Pandemic or

turning point?

Research Proposal · June 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33693.74722

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 Future of Sustainable Architecture: Rethinking COVID-19 a Pandemic or turning point? | Ghaid Ateek

Future of Sustainable Architecture:

Rethinking COVID-19 a Pandemic or turning point?

Ghaid Ateek
2020

E-mail address: ghaid.ateek97@gmail.com

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 Future of Sustainable Architecture: Rethinking COVID-19 a Pandemic or turning point? | Ghaid Ateek

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ..................................................................................................... 2

1.Introduction: .............................................................................................................. 3
2.Cities and Governments’ actions under COVID-19
influence: .......................................................................................................................... 4
3.Post-Pandemic Architecture:..................................................................... 5
3.1. Independent Buildings: ............................................ 5
3.2. Flexibility and Modular construction: ....................... 6

4.Conclusion: ................................................................................................................ 8
References: .................................................................................................................... 9

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 Future of Sustainable Architecture: Rethinking COVID-19 a Pandemic or turning point? | Ghaid Ateek

Abstract:
Sustainability as a concept has been known since the recognition of tangible and
intangible needs to survive. It aims at encouraging architects to frame their design
decisions in terms of environmental, social, economic, and cultural impact for the long-
term. taking into consideration the present situation to meet people’s needs, and to
ensure the future for coming generations. Combined, the rapid development of
technologies and consumption branding concept in architectural designs have made
implementing sustainability methods while designing and constructing process a must
to reduce energy consumption and its impact on the environment. Accordingly, the
European Union was planning that by 2020 new buildings will be nearly zero energy
buildings, after the announcement that is accounting buildings for 40% of total energy
consumption. The recent COVID-19 outbreak on that date made architects and urban
planners raise questions about the future of sustainable architecture. Will this
pandemic reshape our built environment to become more sustainable or vice versa?
And what is the role of architecture during epidemics and post-pandemic world? This
paper aims to discuss the future of sustainable architecture taking into consideration
the present situation of Coronavirus pandemic, and how this pandemic could reshape
our cities, buildings and interiors. Finally, the paper will draw on the COVID-19 impact
on people’s daily habits in the built environment.

Keywords: Sustainable Architecture, COVID-19, Future of sustainability, Post-

pandemic architecture, Independent buildings.

1.Introduction:
“Urban planning, architecture and public health were partners in the historic efforts to
prevent epidemics” (Vittori & Guenther, 2008)
The rise of globalization and modernization policies have changed people’s needs
and their understanding of home. We’re all now spending a considerable amount of
our daily life in the built environment, and our daily routine is costing energy. The plans
that European Union made of reducing energy consumption percentage, using
renewable energy (EU, 2010), and the endeavors from environmental organizations to
spread awareness were very promising until the emergence of COVID-19.

Pandemics and traumatic experiences have always had an impact on our

environment. Further, they have long reshaped our built environment, forcing us to
respond and learn from our failure, and as a result adapt new ways. As architecture is
about way of living, new designs will consider the new values, habits, house, and
workspaces’ new requirements. Because architectural practices are going to change
under the influence of the pandemic. Architects and urban planners will become the
new “treaters” who help prevent epidemics (Köksal & Şumnu, 2020), like the
renovation of Paris in 1800’s (figure1) or London’s reconfiguration infrastructure after
Cholera outbreak (Vittori & Guenther, 2008). With this in mind, architecture is believed
to be an essential tool to respond to and even prevent infectious diseases.

During these strange and difficult circumstances, it is hard not to pay attention to the
physical surrounding and rethink our daily habits in the built environment. What actually
helps in this rethinking process is the circulation of information and news more than
ever because of the various social media platforms as well as the boom of traditional
media outlets. As a result, people are aware of contemporary and complicated issues
such as climate change, importance of sustainability, indoor air quality and “good
places mean better health” (figure2). This has forced many governments to respond to
calls in order to change the status quo and respond rapidly to the most recent
development, namely COVID-19. This is discussed in the following section.

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Figure1: Paris before and after Haussmann’s renovation. Source:

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/625930048191642544/

Figure2: a picture that people interact with on social media platforms, show the difference
of Beijing’s sky before and after pandemic’s lockdown .Source:
https://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/04/asia/china-beijing-blue-sky-disappears-after-military-parade/index.html

2.Cities and Governments’ actions under COVID-19 influence:

Architects should know the impact of such pandemic on the economies and
societies worldwide to predict the future of cities, and designs from the present
situation. Coronavirus will have a huge impact on the economies and built
environment. Indeed, it already did. In addition, there is a link between climate change
and public health, in which COVID-19 is a public health issue now. A study was
conducted at Harvard University to investigate the link between air pollution rates and
number of coronavirus patients’ deaths (Wu & Nethery, 2020). The findings of the study
indicate that many of the pre-existing conditions that increase the risk of death in those
with COVID-19 are the same diseases that are affected by long-term exposure to air
pollution. As a result, governments now are taking important decisions towards climate
change.
Milan in Italy is a good example in the sense that its mayor has announced that 35
Km of streets will be for cycling (Laker, 2020) (figure3). That means we may witness a
movement to make cities healthier for inhabitants and more sustainable (Honey-
Roses, 2020). In addition, governments will have to maintain local resources to restore
national economic performance, which is a bright future for sustainable architecture to
integrate local materials with new designs. In Saudi Arabia, they opened the first
construction materials’ debris recycling facility; they said they want “a green circular

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economy”. Moreover, stimulus efforts will be not only to restore the economy, but also
to implement cleaner energy and to avoid inefficient, high emitting technologies (IEA,
2020).

Figure3: Millan’s cycling streets schemes. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/21/milan-seeks-to-prevent-

post-crisis-return-of-traffic-pollution

3.Post-Pandemic Architecture:
“As an architect, you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future
which is essentially unknown” Norman Foster
Vernacular architecture is an old common architectural style that depends on local
sources, strategies, and energy taking into consideration people’s needs and traditions
to reflect the region’s values and preserve the environment (Sayigh, 2019). Which is a
good example to reference while thinking of a greener future, since recent sustainable
designs are learning from vernacular architecture principles. People used the sun as
the main resource for daylight and heating, natural ventilation for cooling and local
materials for constructing. Back then, we bonded with the surrounding environment,
which we can consider a healthy relationship for people’s psychology.

Studies have proven the importance of sunlight “UV” and natural ventilation for
killing indoor infectious agents that cause airborne transmissions, they are effective
elements to sterilize and reduce infections in a closed space (Dietz, et al., 2020).
Nowadays, we can witness that people who live in high-rise buildings are terrified of
the number of people that are sharing the same HVAC system with them and touch
the same elevator buttons, high-rise buildings were designed to organize as many
people as possible hygiene and public health were not considered. Recently, people
learned the difference between a suburban house and an apartment. Hence, future
designs will consider sustainability, health, flexibility, and independence principles.
3.1. Independent Buildings:
After Coronavirus pandemic, architectural design will be in stage of “design for an
independent building in case of emergencies”; new buildings will most likely be
designed to be energy and water self-sufficient. However, one question raises here:
how could buildings adapt during electricity and water cuttings? Geothermal wells are
good solution to minimize water and electricity consumption they are gaining popularity
already. It is an attractive option to replace fossil fuels, preserve water and reduce
energy consumption since it uses water pumps to heat the building (Mock, Tester, &
Wright, 1997).

As mentioned earlier, people are more aware about environmental and health
issues nowadays. Clients requirements are changing under house quarantine
influence, they are reducing number of guest rooms and add office, hobby room or a

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garden instead. Hence, we will see wider spread of Human-centered design concept
to fulfill inhabitants’ needs and enhance life quality.

Green open spaces (courtyard, garden, green roofs) will be the new “luxury”.
interaction with living plants and using natural materials within the building would give
a cozier touch, and help improve mental health during house quarantine ; since green
spaces protect against mood disorders, and depression that people could feel during
pandemics (Engemann, Pedersen, Arge, ..., & Svenning, 2019) .Residential and public
buildings will integrate open spaces with the interiors to be more exposed to natural
ventilation and light. (figure 4)

Figure4: modern inner courtyard.

Source: http://www.home-designing.com/2012/03/courtyards

To minimize physical contact and reduce diseases transmissions, advanced

technology could be used, voice-activated elevators, automatic doors and cell phone-
controlled hotel rooms could be implemented. Some designs have already emerged
for social distancing application like for instance, Hyperlocal Micro market (Harrouk,
2020). The Manser practice studio in UK has outlined how post-pandemic hotels may
operate to ensure social distancing and eliminate connections with surfaces
(figure5,6).

Figure5: post-pandemic hotels’ reception figure6: post-pandemic hotel room plan. Source:
https://www.dezeen.com/2020/05/21/ https://www.dezeen.com/2020/05/21/
post-pandemic-hotel-manser-practice/ post-pandemic-hotel-manser-practice/

3.2. Flexibility and Modular construction:

The economy market is dropping during the shutdowns, building construction
sector is affected by the pandemic and it is struggling to adapt with new rules.

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Nevertheless, modular construction played an important role in building new hospitals,

and care units for coronavirus patients in limited time and with less embodied energy
than on-site construction. It involves less transportation of materials and staff ,
buildings components are prefabricated in factories which means fewer construction
materials wastes (Kim, 2008).In Wuhan, China, they used modular construction to
build two new hospitals in about two weeks (Huoshenshan facility and Leishenshan
Hospital). This type of construction was also used in USA (Lubell, 2020). Modular
construction, depends on flexible movable components that could be used and
rearranged for different use and different places rather than build new ones
(Kronenburg, 1996).

Reusing buildings and components is part of architectural flexibility and one of

sustainability principles. Two Italian architects (Carlo Ratti and Italo Rota) have
designed intensive care units from shipping containers to be connected to hospitals
(Ranvenscorft, 2020) (figure7). In USA they are reusing existing buildings to create
emergency facilities, for instance in New York Javits center was converted to become
a 3000 beds hospital (figure8).

Figure 7: shipping containers are used as intensive care units in Italy. Source:
https://www.dezeen.com/2020/03/24/shipping-container-intensive-care-units-coronavirus-covid-19-carlo-ratti/

Figure8: Javits centre became a hospital for coronavirus patients with nearly 3000 beds. Source:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/army-helps-make-temporary-hospital-yorks-javits-center

From the previous context, we can see that architects, designers and people are
adapting new ways during the pandemic. Which makes us more optimistic about
sustainable architecture future because people are dealing with the situation in a

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positive way. Moreover, they are now more aware of climatic, health, architecture, and
environmental issues and how they are influenced by each other.

4.Conclusion:
Having discussed the way COVID-19 is changing our lives, economies and societies,
the role of advanced technologies, and the increased people’s awareness about
climate change, it could be deduced that the future of sustainable architecture will be
bright after coronavirus pandemic. Sustainability will help reshaping cities, societies
and buildings in a healthier greener way, since sustainability reduce the impact of built
environment on climate change and it also helps preventing infectious diseases.
People will raise more questions about environmental issues in rection of climate
change and air pollution dropping rates in coronavirus shutdowns time. Cities and
buildings will arouse more regional sense and integrate local materials, strategies and
renewable energy with new buildings and city planning. Moreover, social distancing
will be achieved in public spaces by implementing plants pots and green spaces. We
have learned that we can make bold decisions and adapt with hard times for the
collective good. Hence, rather than wishing things get back to normal we will act to
shape our sustainable future before it is too late.

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References:
Dietz, L., Horve, P., Coil, D., Fretz, M., ..., & Wymelenberg, K. (2020). 2019 Novel Coronavirus
(COVID-19) Pandemic: Built Environment Considerations To Reduce Transmission.
Retrieved from American Society for Microbiology:
https://msystems.asm.org/content/5/2/e00245-20

Engemann, K., Pedersen, C., Arge, L., ..., & Svenning, J.-C. (2019). Residential green space in
childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into
adulthood. Retrieved from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:
https://www.pnas.org/content/116/11/5188

EU. (2010). DIRECTIVE 2010/31/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings.

Harrouk, C. (2020). Shift Architecture Urbanism Creates Hyperlocal Micro Markets that
Operate During COVID-19 Shutdowns. Retrieved from Archdaily:
https://www.archdaily.com/936856/shift-architecture-urbanism-creates-hyperlocal-
micro-markets-that-operate-during-covid-19-shutdowns

Honey-Roses, J. A. (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 on Public Space: A Review of the

Emerging Questions. https://www.academia.edu/42955741/The_Impact_of_COVID-
19_on_Public_Space_A_Review_of_the_Emerging_Questions.

IEA. (2020). The Covid-19 Crisis and Clean Energy Progress,Impact on sectors and
technologies. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-covid-19-crisis-and-clean-energy-
progress/buildings.

Kim, D. (2008). PRELIMINARY LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS OF MODULAR AND CONVENTIONAL

HOUSING IN BENTON HARBOR, MI. Retrieved from Center of Sustainable systems
university of Michigan: http://css.umich.edu/publication/preliminary-life-cycle-
analysis-modular-and-conventional-housing-benton-harbor-mi

Köksal, T., & Şumnu, U. (2020). DOSYA YENİ BİR DÖNÜŞÜM SÜRECİ: COVID-19/ Mimarlığın
COVID-19 Küresel Salgınına Karşı Toplumsal Reaksiyonları Üzerinden ‘Devrimi
Yeniden İcat Etme’* Olasılığımız/ Hayat Eve Sığar Mı? COVID-19 ve Mimarlığın
Bağışıklık Sistemi. (Turkish). Retrieved from Mimarlik.no 413:
http://bproxy.bahcesehir.edu.tr:2080/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=077e8
afe-106c-4852-bd35-e4427c8ad338%40pdc-v-sessmgr02#

Kronenburg, R. (1996). Portable Architecture.

Laker, L. (2020). Milan announces ambitious scheme to reduce car use after lockdown. The
Guardian.

Lubell, S. (2020). Commentary: Past pandemics changed the design of cities. Six ways COVID-
19 could do the same. Los Angles Times. Retrieved from The planning report.

Mock, J., Tester, J., & Wright, P. (1997). GEOTHERMAL ENERGY FROM THE EARTH: Its
Potential Impact as an Environmentally Sustainable Resource. Retrieved from Annual
Review of Energy and the Environment :
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/citedby/10.1146/annurev.energy.22.1.305

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Ranvenscorft, T. (2020). Carlo Ratti Associati designs shipping-container intensive care units
for coronavirus treatment. Dazeen.

Sayigh, A. (2019). Sustainable Vernacular Architecture: How the Past Can Enrich the Future.

Vittori, G., & Guenther, R. (2008). Sustainable Healthcare Architecture.

Wu, X., & Nethery, R. (2020). A national study on long-term exposure to air pollution and
COVID-19 mortality in the United States. Retrieved from HARVARD.EDU:
https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/covid-pm

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