Moshe Safdie once said, “The goal of architecture is to create a sense of place, not merely to build structure”.
COVID-19 was not just a virus it changed how citizens act and react in and within their built environments. Even though the perception of urban layouts as roads, buildings, and infrastructure had barely changed, citizens turned out to be self-taught architects during the lockdown. Whether living in cities or villages, new design norms were developed to fulfil needs. Discussing actions and reactions during and after COVID-19 is seen in rural and urban user-based interventions, alongside the social design training of Artickle.
Artickle – The Social Training
Article is a socio-architectural project located in Akkar – one of the most oppressed rural areas in Lebanon. The project was launched in response to several problems caused by Covid 19. As a successful attempt to integrate social approaches in design to solve problems, the design team of Artickle launched a training program between May and June 2024 for design students and fresh grads to create a rural typology for houses that respond to pandemics such as Covid 19. These newly produced prototypes are narrowed in the work of Rasha Shmait and Nour Zaytoun.
Rasha Shmait in her proposal focused on a duality between horizontal and vertical circulation (Shmait, 2024). According to her, “This vertical apartment spans three floors, featuring a pivotal circulation platform. Integrating vertical and horizontal circulation enhances adaptability and spatial flow. The platform serves as a central architectural element, enabling seamless movement and connectivity throughout the apartment. Movable wooden partition walls enhance flexibility, reflecting a sophisticated, forward-thinking approach to contemporary urban living”.
Moreover, Nour Zaytoun interpreted the typology differently. Zaytoun instead of a simple horizontal circulation with central spaces that separate living from studying and working zones (Zaytoun, 2024). In her conceptual brief she mentioned that “Leaning on tradition, this design modernises the Central Hall House: a well-planned layout and a green social space separate living and working areas. Sustainable elements include natural airflow and a climate-regulating garden, all built with durable, local stone”.
The Natural Factors in Urban Layout after Covid 19
In a broader manner, studies and research concluded that actions and reactions are categorised along three different elements: Water cycling, environment, and air quality (National Library of Medicine, 2020).
The National Library of Medicine succeeded in 2020 in collecting numerous studies that were published at the very beginning of COVID-19 and raised main issues. First, the pandemic raised concerns about urban water, especially the polluted one. The water contamination was reduced during the lockdown period, which led to more transparent water in canals, rivers, and streams. The collected studies took in advantage of new planning and policymaking procedures to minimise water pollution in the future.
Second, the pandemic changed the air quality in cities: NO2 and CO2 were reduced in some Chinese Cities for example. These studies also focused and raised high concerns on how reducing air pollution in urban layouts can highly reduce the spread of viruses and diseases.
Thirdly, these studies also focused on the environment during Covid-19. Temperature, humidity, pollution, and wind speed were studied in several countries. For instance, these results were not the same in all cities and regions: for some, low temperature favours the virus transmission. Others argued that higher temperatures lead to more virus spread. Humidity was too controversial a factor in urban layout. While many studies revealed that the humidity in cities plays a major role in the virus spread, other studies showed that there is no relation!
New Concepts In Urban Layout
The Royal Town Planning Institute published in October 2021 a well-detailed analysis leading to three concepts to be introduced in urban layouts. These concepts are addressed consecutively as follows: Inclusivity and fairness, sustainability and restoration, and Resilience and adaptation (Vianello, 2021).
To begin with, boosting inclusivity and fairness is through focusing on how to develop the most oppressed societies, global actions, and planning that favours need and future expansions. Sustainability and restoration combined are a vital parameter for urban recovery. This can be ensured through several aspects such as smart city layout, renewable energy and green economy that reduce carbon emission, and land use management.
Lastly, resilience and adaptation are perceived as follows: multi-functional urban spaces that enhance economic and social life, good infrastructure, safe affordable homes, and special planning for the poor and vulnerable groups.
Healthy Urban Design – A Sustainable Solution to Fight Against Disasters
After the COVID pandemic, design firms started to integrate urban design parameters for a healthy environment namely, morphology, perception, society, visualisation, functionality, and temporality. These 6 dimensions are to be combined to favour nature and health in urban design (Rice, 2023).
According to Rice, “A healthy urban design should be structured on the 6-dimension layout to enhance human health and well-being. These dimensions are to aim to add new design categories, they are rather focusing on productivity and enhancement”.
Reference:
Shmait, R. (July, 2024). A Prototype of A Living, Working, and Studying Unit. Artickle. Volume II. [Instagram]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9M1NGbgh5U/?igsh=dHV5dG5pMDRrZmFl
Zaytoun, N. (July, 2024). A Prototype of A Living, Working, and Studying Unit. Artickle. Volume II. [Instagram]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9M06q8gbnq/?igsh=dzlvdzNjOG5rZTI1
National Library of Medicine. (September 18, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic: Impacts on cities and major lessons for urban planning, design, and management. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7499053/
Vianello, M. (October 26, 2023). Urban Planning After COVID-19. Royal Town Planning Institute. [Online]. Available at: https://www.rtpi.org.uk/research-rtpi/2021/october/urban-planning-after-covid-19/
Rice, L. (November 11, 2020). Urban Design As Spatial Medicine. [Online]. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41289-020-00142-6
List of Images
1_Artickle. Rasha Shmait Prototype. [Illustration]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9M1NGbgh5U/?igsh=dHV5dG5pMDRrZmFl
2_Artickle. Nour Zaytoun Prototype. [Illustration]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9M06q8gbnq/?igsh=dzlvdzNjOG5rZTI1
3_Graphical Abstract. [Illustration]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7499053/
4_ Canal Side House. [Photograph]. Available at: https://www.rtpi.org.uk/research-rtpi/2021/october/urban-planning-after-covid-19
