Apartments have been an important identity for Indian cities over the past few decades which also has been adopted by small towns and suburban areas. Out of the total housing projects launched in the last 5years across the top 7 cities, over 52% were apartments with ground plus 20 floors structure gated communities. These growths include amenities as per the circumstance like clubhouses, gyms, shopping malls, even schools in some of the walled communities. These features play a prominent role in accommodating the residents.
Can Studio & 1BHK Apartments be affordable anymore?
Among these developments, Studio Apartment and 1BHK apartment which was considered as an affordable idea for housing over the last decade which has been having a considerable emergence. The growing prices of real estate in the city have made the home buying unaffordable to the middle class. However, due to the place advantage of the work and the proximity to the needs, the studio and 1BHK make a worthy choice for almost everyone. Reducing the square footage of the apartment and converting them to a 1 BHK or Studio apartment can satisfy the requirements of such people. It makes them a perfect match in terms of preferred locations to live and budget.
Alas, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, bringing with it the uniquely new Work from home and study at home compulsions requiring larger spaces. In a single year, studio apartments’ new supply share swaybacked to 11% from 18% in the year 2018. People were forced to work from home and not step out as a precaution against the disease. But working in the space where their living makes people more distressed. So the new development suddenly shifted from expensive central locations to the more cost-effective suburbs and peripheries and Indian developers were quick to catch on to that size thing again and the second half of 2020 saw average apartment sizes in the top seven cities increase by close to 10% which will eventually make the housing un-affordable.
Will Combining Co-housing and Co-Working save ourselves?
The co-Housing concept is not new for India. People used to live in group housing and hamlets until the last decade. But we the people of Gen-X, Y, Z. Have been created our own private blank space and controlled us into that for the last 10 years. Of course, our work culture has been created like that. Co-housing sets people to have their full residence but share communal areas such as gardens, laundry, and gathering spaces. Co-housing is not to be compared with Co-living, which is a similar housing practiced in Western countries. Each person has their bedroom and perhaps a bathroom, but shares all other areas of the residence – kitchen, dining room, workspaces, etc. This form in our country might be suitable for students and working people. The co-housing concept will initiate the social interaction between the flat mates through adding spaces like a community kitchen where people could gather and have a meal once in a while.
Co-working is also a concept practiced in almost every city in India. This is an idea of shared workspaces. They offer affordable office space for those looking for alternatives to home offices or coffee shops. These shared workspaces offer a suite of office-like amenities such as desks and private meeting rooms. Occupiers normally are freelancers, industrialists, start-ups, and small teams who want to take the benefit of flexible space. But in the pandemic situation, this space could not be used as expected. So people are finally forced to do their work from home.
The sale of work from home furniture was increased about 5-10 times in the last two years. But clearly, homework may not be the best solution for most people who choose to continue working from home after the pandemic. Around 70% of the people working from home did not have a consecrated space and utilities such as printers, Internet connections. As an alternate, a shared workspace for apartment residents could be an easier choice. These dedicated office furnishings give good physical health for inhabitants, as well as increase social encounters with the neighbors.
Is this collaboration suitable for M and S-sized apartments?
This Collaborative housing concept could be applied to all patterns of apartment housing and the usage of a suitable furniture system could make the space multi-functional. In Capitol Hill Urban, Co-Housing where Architect Grace Kim has been adapted this concept in their living complex which consists of 9 dwelling units.
Hence combining these co-working office spaces would be an outstanding relief for the people who could not able to detach from work and not bind social and personal liveliness. There will be a great demand for working from home spaces than gyms and entertainment areas and importantly these workspaces in living community perhaps rectify the issue of loneliness.
Citations for Newspaper Articles – Print or Online:
https://www.livemint.com/studio apartment supply down post co-vid [Accessed 11march 2020].
https://www.thenewsminute.com/bigger homes WFH option Chennai residents prefer suburbs amid pandemic [Accessed 21 January 2021]
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ Share of high-rise launches at all-time high of 52% in 2019[Accessed 20 January 2020]
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ COVID impact: Share of studio apartments supply in top cities dips for the first time in 7 years [Accessed on 11 March 2021]
Citations for websites:
Housing amid Covid-19: Policy responses and challenges (Last updated 22 July 2020).Available at:
https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/housing-amid-covid-19-policy-responses-and-challenges-cfdc08a8/
Citations for Broadcasts:
Kim, Grace (2017).how cohousing can make us happier [Ted Talks].April 2017.
Available
From: https://www.ted.com/talks/grace_kim_how_cohousing_can_make_us_happier_and_live_longer?language=en
