Ar. Pavitra Sri Prakash & Ar. Sheila Sri Prakash, the Chief Designer & the Chief Architect of Shilpa Architects are featured sharing their views on trending futuristic architecture – 17th Anniversary Edition MGS Architecture.

What can be done to improve the quality of our built environment (through design, choice of building materials etc.) ?

The built environment can be improved by attention to detail in design as well as by meticulous specification of materials. Though there was a temporary change in the space requirements based on minimized occupancies and density, this trend seems to have reversed almost two years after the first lockdown. Space-wise occupancies are returning to pre-pandemic levels since most people are vaccinated. Also, with the understanding of how the virus travels (surface vs airborne) there is less emphasis on touch-free surfaces and movement. There will, however, continue to be some lasting effect on HVAC and air-filtration systems.

Design details for improved environments that allow natural inclusions like daylight, air, vegetation etc additions have been found to vastly improve the quality of the space – visually as well as qualitatively.

As far as materiality goes, good quality material which is low on VOC and other harmful substances help keep the built environment healthy. Natural materials continue to remain timeless choices for great aesthetics in any designer’s toolkit.

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