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Spoke & Hube_2020

Graduate Studio

2020

HUB & SPOKE
RE-IMAGINING OFFICE SPACE+ POST-PANDEMIC with Amber Bartosh

A century ago, “Modernist architecture was a consequence of the fear of disease, a desire to eradicate dark rooms and dusty corners where bacteria lurk. Le Corbusier lifted his houses off the humid ground to avoid contamination, Adolf Loos’s Villa Müller...included a separate space in which to quarantine sick children. In recent months, we have arrived at a new juncture of disease and architecture, where fear of contamination again controls what kinds of spaces we want to be in. As tuberculosis shaped modernism, so will covid-19 and our collective experience of staying inside for months on end will influence architecture’s near future.”

Due to social distancing, businesses need to reconsider their physical workplaces to provide healthier and safer environments. Workspaces are uniquely positioned to be more adaptable and flexible to help get people back to work safely and quickly. The question is whether there has been a temporary or permanent change in the way businesses, workers, and customers think of the workplace. And at any time, we may face another pandemic in the future and should be prepared. What does adaptability mean in terms of an architectural response to the covid-19 crisis? What new programs emerge to respond to short term needs of health and safety but provide long term benefits to our livelihoods and well-being?

Student Names:

Jiameng Liu, Mengyao Liu, Tianche Liu, Ruohan Zou, Gabriel Octavio Zhagui, Maureen Yue, Zhenyi Yuan, Ting Yang, Zicheng Wang, Songyun Shi, Kae Schwalber, Haerim Park, Bomyeong Noh, Syed Mustafa, Yufei Jin, Deen Ikharo, Rebecca Hsu, Isaac Howland, Eden Duan, Yan Chen, Darrelle Tyrone Butler Jr, Krystol Austin, Monisha Arnold

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