The Vinson View Picky Nicky on design for the Covid era

Picky Nicky on a radical rethink of our domestic space

Posh apartments used to be designed with separate entrances for residents and tradesmen, as well as a room for a maid, a reflection of how the occupants lived. In the Covid era, as we work from home, work out at home, and shop from home, reality for most of us is less about live-in staff and more about online deliveries; that tradesmen’s lift is more likely to be used by couriers delivering takeaways or packages, while any spare rooms are put to new uses.

There are thousands of new-build apartments completing in London this year. Nina Coulter, director of residential development sales at Savills in London, says second or third bedrooms are already being marketed as offices. Design changes will follow as developers cater for two people working from home. Think built-in desk spaces, and adaptable lighting to take you between work and relaxation modes.

British architect and designer Jonathan Reed has clients who asked for a standalone office building at their home last year, with two bedrooms so assistants can work on site for longer periods without needing to come into the house. The clients found ‘huge efficiency’ in not leaving home to work.

In 2019, Glenn Sestig moved into a 1972 building by Ivan Van Mossevelde, in Deurle, Belgium, making it both his home and architectural studio. Part of his respectful renovation includes sliding doors between spaces, which he has found especially useful for video calls. In his projects, meanwhile, Sestig has been responding to the increased use of e-commerce by adding exterior structures to apartment buildings and offices to facilitate contactless delivery.

Architect Patrick Mcinerney is addressing similar concerns in California, where couriers traditionally leave packages on the front step of a freestanding home, now a magnet for thieves. Mcinerney is interested in the hall as a transitional space. His idea is for a double set of doors and an antechamber between, where packages can be received safely and without intrusion. But his main Covid-era design idea is that we take fitness out of the gym and into the work zone, to counteract the effects of sitting at a desk. For me, it’s also about efficiency – desk to gym without leaving the room. Pop onto your Peleton for 20 minutes or take a 4pm training session and get straight back to work. This calls for an intelligent domestic design solution.

Charlotte Perriand, forever the pioneer, achieved just this in 1935 for La Maison du Jeune Homme, a concept complete with an office, a gym and a giant commissioned painting by Fernand Léger. I am not exactly a jeune homme anymore, but it would suit me nicely, especially if it includes the Léger.∂