Visualisation is the key to make sure people feel safe
As we look forward to a COVID normal society, you can’t help but wonder how 2020 has shaped and altered our feelings towards public space. It’s worth examining, in the first instance, who our public spaces are really for and who feels safe to use public space, however it’s now clear that public spaces are contentious (and contagious) for all.
Jeroen Lokerse, a managing director at Cushman & Wakefield has said he believes that “visualisation is the key to make sure people feel safe” after a year of minimal human contact and avoiding public spaces.
We are seeing not only architects and designers but shop and café owners all around the world exemplify this. Using renegade architectural materials like tape, paint and chalk to ensure people know where to safely stand and so they know the person closest to them is definitely 1.5m away.
How does this type of design start to materialise in 3D, will architects need to transition the tape to table? Chalk to wall?
What will the responsibility of the architect be, if any, to ensure that people feel safe?
That our public spaces are utilised?
That people feel comfortable heading into their office for the day or wandering down their apartment corridor?
Is this the new manifestation of form follows function?
