Page 16 - New England Condominium May 2021

and empathy—not terms we usually ascribe
to the work we do,” Mullendore continues,
“yet they have been wonderfully incorpo-
rated into just getting through this period
together.”
Materials & Technology
With today’s emphasis on wellness and
cleanliness, many designers are recommend-
ing fabrics, surfaces, and structures that have
antimicrobial properties or that are easy and
safe to keep clean and free of germs. Simple
adjustments like “not as many throw pillows”
in lobbies and common areas, as recom-
mended by Milazzo Smith, make for fewer
touchable surfaces to clean and fewer pass-
able items that can spread germs. She has
also seen many homeowners who had been
putting off improvements to kitchens and
bathrooms taking this opportunity to do that
work—and to incorporate not only easily
cleanable materials, but also room for stor-
age of more cleaning supplies and other bulk
items.
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-MAY 2021
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panies are giving up some of their big, expen-
sive office spaces. So I have a lot of clients in
that position who are looking to make more
permanent changes to their workspaces. I
have other clients who are not so sure wheth-
er they are going back to an office, and they’re
making more temporary changes so they can
undo those changes quickly.”
The same holds true for common and
amenity spaces in multifamily communi-
ties, say the experts. Predicting that tele-
commuting will remain prevalent in the
city’s workforce, designers at New York
City-based ALine “foresee that there will
be demand for either flexible coworking
spaces or single occupancy pods within
residential buildings.” Knowing that ame-
nity space can be limited in co-op and
condo buildings, ALine suggests in a recent
blog post “to create an amenity space that
has flexibility for many different uses” by
installing convertible furniture or furnish-
ings that are easy to rearrange or to store
away. Some examples they give include
“collapsible conference tables, segmental
seating arrangements, pop-up desks, and
modular wall panels.”
Flexibility is also essential for designers
and clients themselves. Like no other time
before it, the Era of COVID has forced
people to adapt quickly, to put their lives
on hold, and to endure a constantly chang-
ing stream of guidance and regulations
with virtually no warning. While they look
to imbue spaces with flexibility, both de-
signers and their clients also have had to
tap into their own ability to be flexible and
understanding to make these projects suc-
cessful. Architect and interior designer Eric
Mullendore, whose eponymous firm has
reimagined and refreshed interior spaces in
Chicago condos and co-ops for nearly 20
years, tells
New England Condominium
that
during COVID, “I have seen clients displaced
and their routines interrupted, and have seen
great patience in accommodating their proj-
ects being delayed months after they initially
expected it to be completed.
“Patience and understanding, compassion
INTERIOR DESIGN...
continued from page 9
For wellness upgrades in common areas,
ALine studios provides a list of products and
materials that have aesthetic as well as func-
tional appeal. They recommend Type II vinyl
wallcovering for “its durability, cleanability,
and customization options,” noting that there
are yet more wallcovering products that can
be cleaned with harsher chemicals such as
bleach without fading or deteriorating. Such
fabrics can also be considered for furnishings
in common areas, they say.
For countertops and reception desks,
ALine recommends non-porous materials
“I think any time
that you spend time at
your home, you should
be inspired, and you
should be nourished
and you should be
uplifted.”
—Gia Milazzo Smith
like quartz and soapstone for their ease of
cleaning and maintaining. Quartz in par-
ticular is durable, versatile, and attractive,
they say. Without pores or holes, it is easier to
disinfect and is also stain-resistant. “Consid-
ering that quartz may not fit into every build-
ing’s aesthetic or budget,” notes ALine, “there
is the option to apply quartz to the writing
surface of a desk only.”
“For high end buildings that wish to pro-
mote wellness without sacrificing design,”
ALine offers upscale hand sanitizer dispens-
ers that “are available in a variety of colors,
finishes, and materials. Some can even be
customized with room numbers and light-
ing,” they say in their blog. Similarly, they
suggest “upscale partitions that can be used
in place of the ubiquitous plexi-glass divid-
ers” that are in place for COVID protection
at front desks and doorman stations through-
out co-ops and condos nationwide.
Interior designers also mention more
high-tech improvements like touchless eleva-
tors, entries, and lighting, and smart home
controls that provide health and safety en-
hancement while also being “aesthetically
pleasing in their elegance and simplicity,” ac-
cording to Rodriguez. Other health-focused
technology—such as ventilation systems with
UV light or high-efficiency filters—are com-
pletely invisible to the resident, she continues.
Bringing the Outdoors In
Another popular element in post-COVID
design, both for common spaces and indi-
vidual residences, is the installation of natu-
ral elements into the indoor environment.
“In common areas where there’s a need to
enforce separation and distancing,” says Ro-
driguez, “greenery and planters can help ac-
complish this goal in a way that actually en-
hances the space’s aesthetic appeal.” In fact,
Rodriguez continues, the ongoing distancing
and isolation experienced during the COVID
pandemic has reinforced the value of what
the pros call “biophilic design”—elements of
interior design that incorporate and/or mim-
ic aesthetic and sensory characteristics from
the natural world.
“Staying indoors for months on end dur-
ing quarantine has left many of us longing for
some type of connection to nature and the
great outdoors,” reports ALine’s blog. While
biophilia doesn’t kill COVID or other germs,
they say, it has been shown to improve mental
health, boost productivity, and enhance air
quality. Wellness considerations were top of
mind before the pandemic started, but they
have taken on even more importance as the
need to prevent viral spread has become an
existential imperative.
Adds Rodriguez, “In terms of color and
materials, we’ve seen a movement towards
warmer, neutral tones that have a calming
and soothing effect—something that’s espe-
cially important when people are spending so
much time at home. Taking inspiration from
nature, materials and colors are an important
element of biophilic design, which aims to re-
connect people to the natural environment.”
Where possible, multifamily buildings
and communities are using design to make
the most of the literal outdoors by expanding
access to light and air, creating indoor-out-
door entries and lobbies, or installing green
walls and other organic materials. Ground-
up design is putting much more emphasis
on both private outdoor spaces like balconies
and terraces and common outdoor elements
like roof decks and courtyards. “The demand
for apartments with balconies and outdoor
space has surged dramatically,” notes ALine.
Rodriguez agrees. “[The year] 2020 un-
derscored the value of outdoor spaces. A
balcony or a terrace felt essential during the
pandemic, but the sense of serenity and sanc-
tuary that people find in these spaces will
always be important. And as the mental and
physical health benefits of biophilic design
and access to light and air continue to make
themselves known, more people will look for
homes that offer outdoor access.”
Uplifting By Design
By and large, the attitude of interior de-
signers is that home should always be a
place of comfort and sanctuary. According
to them, having more people spending more
time within the walls of their homes than
ever before this past year-plus has forced pro-
fessionals in the field to reexamine both their
use of space and the way the space influences
them. “My experience,” says Mullendore, “is
that this period of COVID has challenged
us all—not only our use of spaces, but it has
tapped deep into our sense of humanity.”
continued on page 17