The Architectural Planning Strategies for Multifamily Housing in a Post-Pandemic World

The rapid spread of COVID-19 not only created a global public health crisis, but also affected almost every aspect of our lives. After investigating the fundamental impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on housing needs, this study envisions what multifamily housing will look like in a post-pandemic world. Through the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, the design of residential architecture should incorporate preventive and mitigating measures to cope with any future epidemics. After factoring this new reality, this study aims to develop architectural planning strategies for multifamily housing, particularly mid to high-rise apartment housing as a predominant housing typology in Korea. An in-depth multi-disciplinary literature review was carried out to examine previous outbreaks and their impacts, assess the transmission of viruses in built environments, and observe the emerging lifestyles that resulted in the new approach of living, working, and interacting. Comparative analyses of existing guidelines for multifamily housing in response to COVID-19 were also conducted to develop a conceptual framework of architectural planning more suitable for multifamily housing in Korea. As a result of this study, a set of architectural strategies that accommodated new lifestyles while promoting quality of life through an occupant’s health and well-being were established. This strategy set is intended to provide a foundation for further research to generate more detailed design considerations for future residential developments.