Since we have been stuck inside at home for a very long time, you might have realized how important is our indoors space. Some people have probably never thought about their home in that way ever before right?, because we probably never spend too much time inside of our houses.
In many privilege societies, such as in the United States, people have their own spaces very well defined inside their houses, but what about the other less fortunate people who share one room with 3 other people, sleeping on the floor, unable to stay isolated in their own houses, in case someone gets sick?. Is a difficult time for everyone, specially for the people who are struggling with something that seems to not be a very concerning issue, until you actually start thinking about it.
In the case of Panama, which is where I live, many people are having a very difficult time getting through this crisis by staying at their own houses. For these people, to stay at their homes it would not mean stay safe from the pandemic. The lack of water, and the impossibility to stay clean and isolated at their own houses is almost imposible. In some places, people who live in a building share the same bathroom and the common areas are not properly clean.
How can architecture help us get through this difficult time in a future?
I have been looking online for some ideas in the topic and when I type on google the words: Architecture and Pandemic, it immediately shows results for the way of the city is going to be influenced by it. Is very interesting and important to invest in this ideas, because this is very likely to repeat in history. But Is it going to be posible to create something that can work in future homes to help isolate an individual from the rest of their family? specially for the people who live in this conditions?
We have a long way to go on that matter, is difficult to tell right now, at least for me, how is architecture going to help fight a situation like this in the future. To enable people isolate without having to stay in a adapted facility, as some countries are choosing to do so.
Can a regulation for future homes for people living in this conditions help people be safe in the middle of a pandemic? I want to be enthusiastic, but me as an architect, I do not really see how this can be possible in an existing home. However, the idea of creating a very small space for a person who needs to stay isolated in a crowded home like this, makes me want to invest more time investigating on how can we help to solve this problem.
Is very difficult to me to see how the people are having a hard time living too close to each other, making it nearly impossible to not stay safe at their houses, but I would say that the immediate solution could be to make this situation less tragic, to try to take the people out of their houses while they recover, as crazy as it sounds, I believe this is the best or one of the best and most effective way to prevent people from getting sick. At least it could be a good solution for the people who live under these conditions.
Ana Cristina Caballero 