Eight Key Lessons from the Eye of the Pandemic Storm – Designers Take Note
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As the latest COVID variant currently spreads across Europe like the wildfires did out West this summer, it challenges all of us, fatigued though we are, to respond once again from the eye of this storm. We can begin by asking, what lessons have we learned, as we near two years of pandemic responses with no end in sight. Here I offer you eight observations:
Children playing beside a green roof during the pandemic – access to green space has become more important than ever during the pandemic lockdowns. Photo: Vicki Sando
1. Our fundamental love of nature.
During times of lockdown, the desire to be in natural settings has doubled and even tripled visits to parks and trails. Campgrounds have been overrun and overflowing with people seeking biophilic respite from their four walls. Gardening as a hobby has skyrocketed in popularity as we seek new connections to living things. Those fortunate to have amenity green roofs certainly benefitted greatly from their innate healing benefits. Design professionals please take note, net zero buildings without living architecture elements will ultimately fail the human health test. Biophilic designs are needed and so we’ve increased our courses in this field - see The Living Architecture Academy. The many green infrastructure human health benefits have shone brightly during the pandemic and provided much needed relief for many.
2. Indoor redesign time.
With so much time being spent indoors, there has been greater attention given to the quality of our indoor spaces. Green walls, natural lighting, healing sounds and other features have emerged as key to maintaining more than just our productivity, but also our sanity. Biophilic design to the rescue, as we learn about the importance of diverse plantings, motion, scents and other important green wall features that support human health.
3. My job is everywhere.
The pandemic has forced many of us to work from our homes, changing not only our schedules, but how we relate to each other and the world. Zoom burnout – go for a walk. Working from home has given us the opportunity to get more in touch with our local environments, now that we spend much less time commuting to offices in the downtown core. As a result, the empty downtowns in many cities are in the process of re-inventing themselves, having lost upwards of 67 per cent of daily commuters. Commercial towers have started to revert to residences. It’s also going to take more than free transit passes to lure people back to office environments, particularly now that people can work from just about anywhere – the home office, the balcony, basement, local park or kitchen table.
The pandemic has been good for many urban species. This is biodiversity thriving in downtown Toronto on the Mountain Equipment Co-op green roof. Photo: Steven Peck
4. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Huge cargo ships sway with the tides, moored outside major ports, unable to load their containers due to transportation related supply chain weakness – from the lack of stevedores and truckers to storage and rail capacity. This has impacted everything from children’s toys to waterproof membranes. Shipping prices are also skyrocketing and will soon impact a wide range of consumer goods and food supplies. The pandemic has demonstrated that just in time delivery and global supply chains have proven themselves to be very fragile. Furthermore, in some countries, the lack of domestic manufacturing capacity, of vaccines for example, is now viewed as a national security issue which must be addressed. The continuing supply chain disruptions and cost increases provide a significant boost to the buy local/buy regional movements. For the most part, the elements in green roofs and walls are local and regional in nature.
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Church green roof in downtown Minneapolis provides a quiet environment for reflection and relaxation during stressful pandemic days. Photo: Steven Peck
5. The difference between civilization and anarchy is three days of food supply.
It didn’t take long for people to clear out the shelves during the early days of the pandemic. Pandemic induced scarcity, and the fear of scarcity, particularly when it comes to food, have shone a light on the fragility of our far-flung food systems. The consolidation of corporate power over key aspects of supply, the incredible importance of often poorly paid food processing workers, the great distances that much of our food must travel, including across unreliable borders, are just some of the key issues that have emerged. Furthermore, the climate change crisis will not be kind to our food system; just think droughts, wildfires, floods and hurricanes to name a few impacts. Climate resiliency policy discussions have been very slow to acknowledge that food supply is a key component of resiliency. It’s almost as though the subject of food security is taboo. The pandemic has helped to change that. Watch for way more growth in “agritecture” – the integration of agriculture and architecture in order to grow food in, on and around buildings - in the decade to come, as governments wake up to the need to shore up this critical and neglected aspect of resiliency.
The quiet during lockdown has been a boon for animals in urban areas. These are urban coyote pups in Stanley Park, Vancouver. There are conflicts between coyotes and people, particularly when coyotes lose their fear of humans and associate them with food. Photo: Stanley Park Ecology Society
6. If you stay at home, they will come!
The reduction in the general hustle and bustle of our everyday lives has resulted in the reemergence of wildlife, from the increase presence of bird species in urban areas to significantly more sightings of coyotes, which have adapted to urban life. I have seen at least three coyotes in my local parks this past year, whereas before I had seen none. There have been significant increases in activities such as bird watching, with a new generation discovering the joy and challenges of identifying our feathered friends. Our ability to reconnect to the nature around not only provides us with enhanced quality of life and it is the foundation for action in support of conservation and restoration. Bringing nature back into urban areas and preserving biodiversity through green roof and wall design, is of fundamental importance to many in our industry.
7. The marshalling of enormous resources.
One estimate suggests that governments around the world have spent over 17 trillion US dollars on pandemic relief thus far. This proves we are capable of marshalling enormous resources during a fast moving crisis like the pandemic. Hopefully we’ll be able to learn from this, and begin to marshal the necessary resources to address the slower moving, but far more lethal climate crisis. There are many corporate interests that stand in the way of greater progress but with the unbelievable climate impacts experienced this year their power is waning.
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Scents are an important component of designing green infrastructure for urban life. Photo: Steven Peck
8. One world.
Microscopic organisms don’t care if you’re rich or poor, powerful or weak. Critical workers which support our society are often suffering from the highest rates of affliction. They don’t discriminate on that basis. While some countries have been able to provide free vaccines reaching levels above 80 per cent vaccinated, many other countries lack the same level of resources and haven’t achieved that level of protection. As of August 2021, only 56 per cent of the world has received at least on dose of a vaccine according to Our World in Data. Hence Covid continues to spread widely and continues to mutate. Richer countries need to answer the call, and supply poorer countries with greater access to vaccines. Unless international travel is banned completely, we are all in the same boat when it comes to the future evolution and spread of variants. Although it rarely seems like it, the pandemic has shown us we live on one world, with no real boundaries to stop highly contagious diseases. It’s also one world when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, since they are driving climate change impacts everywhere, regardless of where they originate from.
Some of these are hard lessons perhaps, but each has a silver lining. If these lessons take hold in the public consciousness, they may translate into action, enabling us to build back better and improve our health, the health of our planet and our future resiliency. Living architecture in particular has demonstrated its value during the pandemic. It gives me hope that our young industry has so much unrealized potential to grow and expand, and in so doing prepare for the challenges to come.
Steven W. Peck, GRP is the editor of The Living Architecture Monitor, and the founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, which is dedicated to growing the green roof and wall industry across North America.
