Six feet apart, this is the reference measure that will regulate our private life and our social interactions in the public spaces for quite some time, or perhaps permanently. 

This new regulation, which will become even more operational when commercial activities and entertainment places will be allowed to reopen, force us to totally rethink the public spaces configuration, but not only that, this same need will emerge also in the private sector.

With that said, the good old entrance may be back in fashion and with a similar function of the past: both in the public and in the private it will be used to store clothes and objects that must be sanitized, here we will also have to wash our hands and wear what you need to preserve yourself from possible infections.

Let's consider some data. The virus resists:

72 hours on plastic

48 hours on stainless steel

24 hours on paper, cardboard and clothing

4 hours on copper

In light of this, it is easy to understand how even the mere choice of surfaces we will come into contact with, will be crucial, starting from the floors. But not only floors, this new reality will drastically affect the entire environment that surrounds us: from surfaces, to furnishings, to the division of spaces. It will also be very important to install forced ventilation systems for air purification.

Other fundamental changes will then be applied in the furnishing organization of public spaces: restaurant tables, access to sales counters, changing rooms, hairdressers and beauticians' stations, schools, etc.

But it will not be only the strict hygiene measures adopted to change the world we know today. The change in mentality, as already anticipated by people like Giorgio Armani, will be more far-reaching. In fact, enough with the practice of "hit and run", "first use it and then throw it" and "nothing is fixable"! "Things" in fact will become goods that must be preserved and that take on a value that can be handed down.

Hopefully, the art of conservation will pave the way for a better world, a better world will be one in which people will try to build a better future: better a small house with a very small garden, rather than getting stuck in an apartment! Who knows if, with these premises, urbanization will reverse its trend!

This pics represents a group of workers of the Honda factory in Wuhan, China during their lunch break. A grid, drawn on the ground, highlights the safety distances imposed. Very sad isn't it?
In this case, an appropriate interior design intervention would certainly have had the ability to recreate a more pleasant environment full of positive spirit, especially after the feeling of "desert" and solitude experienced due to the Corona virus.

This is the first post in a series dedicated to the changes that the health emergency from Covid-19 has imposed us in the way we will conceive public and private spaces. Keep following us to find out more.
See you next post!