Coronavirus Spatial Design Guides

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Since the emergence of the Coronavirus pandemic significant restrictions on people's movements have been enacted by governments around the world in an effort to limit the spread of infection. Half the world's population -- some 3.9 billion people -- are living under lockdown as of early April. In the UK, shops, cafes, libraries, community centres, offices and other shared spaces have been forced to close indefinitely.Our publicly shared spaces need to be able to return to use, both for the sake of the economy and for our collective wellbeing. According to research published in _Science_, prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022. It is therefore essential that existing buildings and spaces can be temporarily adapted to enable their operation in a way that mitigates the risk of transmission.This project will create a series of free-to-use Coronavirus Spatial Design Guides, that will support the operators of publicly shared spaces to adapt and manage those spaces in a way that mitigates the risk of Coronavirus transmission. The guides will act as clear and straightforward instruction manuals for the effective adaptations of shops, community centres, libraries and other shared facilities, in response to public health requirements.As architects, we have the skills necessary to support and advise on these adaptations. We are experts in spatial design, and in how people occupy and use space. Architectural services are typically bespoke however, and while there are many architects working in the public sector, it is rare for architectural guidance to be offered in a diffuse manner on a micro scale, particularly in response to public health requirements. That is what makes this project both innovative and of potentially wide-ranging social value.The guides will be developed as a series of simple and easy-to-use instruction manuals, with guidelines for differing spatial layouts, enabling people to enact them according to their own specific needs. They will be produced as individual A4 documents for easy download from an online database. This free-to-use web-based dissemination will enable wide access to the design guides, with the potential for them to be of benefit not just within the UK but around the world.As Covid-19 guidelines are updated in the UK (such as the introduction of the local Covid Alert Levels and the NHS Test and Trace App), the guides will be updated to ensure that they remain current and relevant.