Some of the concepts that have influenced the design of residential rental developments and co-living and co-working spaces over the past decade may have to be reconsidered in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
Peter Holden, group development director at Round Hill Capital, has said the real estate sector needs to start thinking about how to reconfigure communal spaces so people can still be “in touch without touching.”
“The assumptions we made about people sharing communal tables, work spaces, lounges, corridors, lifts and stairways where they can bump elbows with fellow residents may need to be challenged,” says Holden. “There is a future for co-living, but how is that done? How do we do it in a way that is safe? There needs to be some thinking done on what that correct development property is.”
An increased use of technology will provide many of the answers in Holden’s view. He says use of voice recognition software could become widespread as a way o
