CallisonRTKL (CRTKL) announces results of research report ‘Post-Covid Housing Demands’ on how domestic spaces are changing.
Since the pandemic, what we want from our domestic spaces have changed considerably. With more fresh food deliveries, higher numbers of pet owners and exercising at home increasing. The results are revealed in a new report by global architecture firm, CallisonRTKL, surveyed 920 apartment dwellers. These are from London and Manchester regarding the way they use their homes and their motivations for choosing a home.
Pre-pandemic, 21% of respondents report being happy with access to a shared garden. While now 61% of respondents say they now demand private outside space, especially those households with three or more people. Working from home in lockdowns was the norm, as things opened up 84% of respondents were still working from home. This was for three to five days per week, up from 10%. Most people were using their living rooms (37%) to carry out home working. This is followed by the main bedroom and spare bedroom at 21% and 12% respectively. Meanwhile, 82% were juggling working from home with home schooling.
Survey results also revealed that more people began exercising indoors, with those who worked out once a week or more in their homes increasing by four percent, while those using a gym decreased by seven percent. Weights (46%), yoga mats (44%) and exercise bikes (30%) where the most common home equipment used with a third of those surveyed saying they had purchased their exercise equipment in the last 12 months.
The number of online shopping deliveries rose from 58% to 64% over the last year with 59% of those surveyed opting to receive fresh food and home cooking boxes, showing more people were looking after their health. Pets also became popular with 55% owning a pet and 61% of those saying they were allowed to keep an animal in their building.
Rachel Bruce, Associate at CRTKL, comments:
“There’s been notable changes in people’s habits with more activities taking place inside the home. Even now, as ‘normal life’ is resuming, these changes remain. It will be interesting to see if this shift will inform a more permanent change in our relationship with our homes. Alongside what we now expect from them; understanding this will help to inform future home designs.
“Following the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic in New York, The Sunshine Movement had a strong influence on modernist design. Now we could say we have the Post-Covid Movement, with such a change to lifestyle brought about by the pandemic. We will almost certainly see a strong influence on domestic spaces, reflecting the wider change in social attitudes triggered by the pandemic.”
“Although it is difficult for us to predict changes in the longer term. Changes in people’s behaviour and attitudes now, give us indicators towards more permanent changes in the future design of housing. With residents looking for larger floorplates and more private outside space.”
For those who did decide to move, space was a big driver. Having extra space for home working and outdoor space were the reason most people surveyed had moved in the last 12 months. This was influenced by changes in their lifestyle bought on by the pandemic.
Tayra Pinto, Senior Architect at CRTKL, adds. “It was clear from our research that the large number of people who moved due to the pandemic did so to suit their changing lifestyle that outgrew their current space.
“These findings will inform our future designs of the residential sector and help us ensure that residents will have the appropriate space to carry out the increasingly varied activities in their homes. Provisions of considered adaptable designs allows us to deliver more future-proofed homes. These will make buildings more resilient to future lifestyle trends. ”
CRTKL hope to repeat the research in two years’ time. This is to see if any changes are reversing or will be more permanent.
