Whilst it may be true that Victoria has taken one for the team where the Covid-19 pandemic is concerned, but across Australia, we’ve all been affected. Many of us have seen more of our home and families than ever before, while others no longer value the anonymity that comes with apartments.
We’ve experienced our living spaces in new and challenging ways and some things just can’t be unseen or unexperienced right?
Australian architecture made a dramatic shift to open plan living decades ago, with little sense of how impractical that might be when everyone needed to be on different Zoom calls at the same time. It’s not unreasonable to expect that buyers in the post pandemic world will want more space, more light, and for many - a generally less open plan environment.
Architects will need to be more creative around how to offer communal lifestyle options, as well as privacy and quiet retreats within homes for work, study or just a bit of peace and solitude.
There will inevitably be a shift in how we work, which may mean more of us will work from home. This could make bedroom to study conversions a draw, or the granny flat style studio in the backyard an essential. Though plans for the future are probably not being made around ‘the next time there’s a pandemic’, there’s certainly reason to believe the conflicting yearning for a sense of togetherness in spaces, with multiple opportunities to be apart will drive buyer demand.
Time shall tell, lets see what happens.