In the last 3-5 weeks the nation has been locked down as essential to curbing the rapid spread of the world “famous” Corona Virus, fondly called Miss Rona by many who are light hearted. Of course, it should not be treated as child's play as hundreds of thousands have died across the world and many more estimated fatalities are expected as the medical workers & governments grapple with the spread. I am optimistic about a possible solution in the nearest future.

In this period people have been forced to stay indoors every day and as we saw in the initial memes, they began to pay close attention to detail. Some claimed to count grains of cereal, others counted ceiling slates and went to the garden to talk to plants (thankfully the plants never talked back). Many have been forced to actually know their neighbours, and in many houses, as people are forced either to bond with or isolate from family and co-tenants, they have begun to appreciate the defects and merits of their homes. The idea of remote working has overnight become vogue, plus so many people now need to make live recordings as they get interviewed by TV channels or some live streams and for some the desire is to participate in the various trends and challenges. So the common question has been, “where will I do this thing in this house now?”

In a conversation with Mrs L this week, she told me she felt imprisoned in the house – this feeling isn’t uncommon if you live in a place conceptualized and built by the average Lagos developer. Another friend Mr U, complained how his apartment lacked air and light he lamented on his whatsapp status how he now valued balconies (well I have 2 in my apartment and I am not willing to share), Miss E talked about how limited storage space has been such that those residences with large families cannot adequately store and preserve their food as we all of course have had to stock up.

In all, we cannot deny that this lockdown has taught people many lessons on key considerations in residential design and key things to look out for as prospective tenants. We all saw the Italians gathered for lockdown parties off their balconies with DJs on one balcony and each other person’s balcony served as dance floor; lamentably we were unable to replicate such experiences here, we rather went to do fitfam on federal highways and well, that is beside the point…

There are significant psychological and functional requirements which homes lack here and we now know we must begin to seriously pay attention to, I have outlined them for us here.

BALCONIES: People have now been forced to learn due to the need for space to keep perishable food, or for a semi private space with a view and perhaps to separate themselves from all the noise inside without necessarily getting out. Not many would have cared much for balconies considering their routines but staying alone at home has opened their eyes. Developers and Landlords should begin to look into possible renovations along this line while new buildings should begin to mainstream these.
LIBRARIES: The study, library, home office is where many people now grant press interviews or go to hold their Teleconference meetings and Live stream as the case may be. For many middle income earners their homes have provided for this, however, a few people have now learnt and determined they require bigger libraries where spouses can work remotely while children can learn and the sanctity of the bedrooms remain preserved(for those who avoid taking work into the room). An interior design scheme with good furniture can help functionality, it could also help if dining rooms are more flexible in design such that they an effectively double as study. I think even in rental homes, there must now be consideration for remote work stations in the scale of the apartment.
HOME GARDENS: Private space for shared activity especially for the extroverted people is definitely something everyone has learnt is a big requirement. Even as we keep social distancing regulations we cannot deny that there is the discomfort which comes from being indoors without getting out there to take clean air into your lungs. You don’t want to feel imprisoned in your home after this ends any longer.
GYMS: In the beginning of the lockdowns people who knew better still went to the Federal Highways to exercise while putting their lives at risk. Some genuinely had regulated workout schedules that would’ve been badly affected but they lacked this facility in their premises. I think developers can begin to look into this even in regular blocks of flats. (those can be easily sterilized in situations like COVID-19).
STORE/PANTRY: In the event of another lockdown in future, responsive designs would have to provide for extra storage. This is because as we know with typical Lagos residences there is hardly any provision for storage, not to speak of the distinction between dry and wet storage in residences. This may not work for typical rental apartments but for those who own their own homes they now know why they require such storage facilities…
If a cure is not found to Corona Virus we may need to begin to use our entrance porches and ante rooms as decontamination areas where you may be splashed with bromine and water or some hyprochlorite. Lol. Anyway, now we know better let us make demands and seek the adjustments as much as we can.

https://hubpages.com/living/5spacesyounowneed