Apr 10, 2021
Interior Design in 2020 and 2021
Infrastructural and commercial spaces
It is not even necessary to start this article by stating that something has changed. Whoever would disagree, likely is not a Medium member or reader and probably would be super interesting to figure out how is that possible.
So many things have formed and deformed within this one year that we can randomly pick any subject or topic and write a dissertation about this period only.
In this unique situation, let’s pick Interior Design and we will see if we want to continue from there. Interior Design could be deconstructed into many subcategories. We work with infrastructural-public places and commercial environments, analyzing your moves, needs, your psychological state, and structural purposes. We also can create homes and intimate environments aiming for privacy, comfort, and practicality to make your life a bit more easy and relaxed.
As these are very different areas, I believe we have to further deconstruct the topic into residential, commercial, and infrastructural Interior Design. Shall we start with infrastructural and commercial design, as that seems to be elemental for most of us?
Under Infrastructural Places, we mean spaces like Train Stations, Airport, Tunnels, even Streets (though we are well aware that is almost the definition of the exterior). These places occupy a lot of our time and mind without our awareness of their influence. This is a great capitalist platform for companies to sell you everything you don’t need and to occupy your mind, sink your energy, and pressure you into making decisions you wouldn’t make without these hidden campaigns. This area of the profession works alongside psychoanalysis, market research, and technology to ensure the most amount of impulse for you and the highest amount of income for the companies. The influence and importance of Physical retail spaces were already decreasing in the most recent years everywhere.
So, it was not a surprise when these really not good numbers are further fallen-out, of the carts due to the ongoing pandemic. This created a huge financial crisis that is only about to wholeheartedly kick-in in the next months in Europe.
This explained a slice of the 2021 financial crisis. Will this mean the Commercial or Infrastructural Interior Design is going to collapse as well?
Well, it certainly means it will change significantly. In the past decades, commercial spaces have been increasingly changed towards providing the shopper with an experience instead of just exhibiting lots and lots of products. Brands provide us with lifestyle choices and the shops are a representation of the experiences we vote for. Shops will become event and money-oriented ‘art’ installations instead of the Museums.
(To check out the future of the Museum and culture after these events also could be a whole different book. Many of the established London institutions, for example, will likely go into liquidation if they don’t change their strategy significantly. As of now, for example, the RA (Royal Academy) doesn’t seem to do anything other than firing all the 0 hour contracted workers. Not a very smart or sustainable solution at all.)
In-store shopping will be highly replaced with online orders and local products. Markets will be in higher demand, creating a social experience and cleaning our consciousness and hopefully the environment as well.
The design changes of the infrastructural-public areas could go in different ways. One witch highly will be influenced by the governments, using more antibacterial materials that are also easy to keep safe ergonomically and hygienically as well. This most likely will be protocoled in the European Countries especially Northern and Western Europe. Less metal-based materials that you can touch, for example, the Covid19 particle lives longer on those. Smoother more unite-like objects that are easy to disinfect and could also be used to separate spaces and people etc.
Public transport will be likely individualized, more in the less busy areas by separation/partitioner, simple and flexible-multifunctional design solutions. Highlighting locality will be the aim of the first and second world countries. The character of transport will change from going into work to a volunteer afternoon activity to keep in touch with people and visit places.
The design will be more concerned about material choices and functionality again, bringing back to the feel of Post-War Design that was signified by new technologies and accessibility.
