IN SEARCH OF BALANCE BETWEEN HOME AND WORK

IN SEARCH OF BALANCE BETWEEN HOME AND WORK

Aldo Cingolani reflects on the need to find new balance between home and work and the consequent necessity to modify the real estate market proposal and the hotel offer

Aldo Cingolani reflects on the need to find a new balance between home and work and the consequent modification of the real estate market proposal and the hotel offer.

Architect Cingolani, in your opinion, how has Covid-19 changed the emotional and functional perception of domestic spaces?

Working from home is changing the way we conceive domestic environments, which have suddenly found themselves at the center of the turbulence and problems purely related to professional activities. The new routine inevitably leads to a combination of personal and work commitments that is unbalanced and so feared by psychologists, turning the home space, originally meant to be a “refuge” from external worries, into a place devoid of privacy and exposed to greater tension. The solution to this change would lie in the transformation of the hotel industry and real estate market offerings.

The new lifestyle—which will continue indefinitely—has reduced the need to frequent large urban centers. With the opportunity to forgo the hustle and bustle of cities, more and more people are moving to nearby countryside areas or even to other regions: in the last four months alone, Milan has lost 12,000 residents.

However, the change is not limited to relocation: larger homes are preferred, possibly including outdoor spaces such as private gardens or terraces, which provide areas dedicated to work needs and allow for outdoor living as well as respect for one’s privacy.

It should not be forgotten that the home should promote physical and psychological well-being through the functional arrangement of spaces, the use of smart systems, and natural materials. Because true luxury lies in the small things used daily, in the comfort that accompanies our habits, in the pleasure of interacting with objects we find beautiful and comfortable.

In what terms will this crisis change the culture of hospitality and its ceremonies? In particular, is it possible that hotel industry operators will be forced to explore alternative solutions to Leisure and Business?

Those who, for various reasons, cannot leave the cities are seeking alternative solutions. Indeed, the reality we are experiencing opens the door to a somewhat different logic of hospitality than before. The hotel offer, which until the beginning of this year was exclusively divided between business and leisure, will likely be reconsidered by managers: co-working in common areas, rooms set up as offices, relaxation services available to visitors as well.

Already today, several establishments worldwide offer their rooms for office use, with the possibility of using services generally offered to guests. People who can no longer access the traditional workplace or do not feel safe doing so need a quiet and clean place to work without distractions, and hotels whose occupancy rates plummeted when the coronavirus pandemic hit the world need to generate revenue.