Multigenerational Covid Living
2021 November
One of the things we have all experienced during this Covid Pandemic is missing family and loved ones, and working, socialising, parenting, and living all within the confines of our homes. Many workers were seen setting up makeshift barriers between their zoom cameras and their living room, children would be hunched over their school laptops on the couch, and the elderly had reduced interaction with people because visitors weren’t allowed. Lockdowns have shown us that we may have to adjust to completely different social behaviours such as staying within our local suburbs for all our needs and working from home rather than spending half an hour in traffic every day to get to work. This means that our homes need to be set up properly for multigenerational living and covid life with passive house design principle living pods.
Multigenerational living can be found in many cultures across the world, and as a multicultural country with changing family values, this concept is also becoming more commonly seen in Australia. Children are staying at home for longer, and grandparents are living within their communities rather than going to old people’s homes. The Living Pods design provides different living “pod” areas that make it easier for separate activities and usage of different family members. There is a variety of combinations of multigenerational living, such as simple homes for single-families, additional granny flats for parents and adult children, or property for three-generation families with grandparents, parents, and grandchildren. With housing prices on a steep rise, the other benefit of these homes are the affordability and shared financial pressures.
Living Pods designed with passive house principles and solar passive principles can mean less reliance on heating and cooling appliances and can help people save money on bills. With climate change resulting in extreme weather and temperatures, homes that are not designed sustainably will be even more uncomfortable in the future. Waterharvesting in the landscaping of homes increase the speed of natural growth and keep moisture underneath the earth. This also lowers the temperature of the dry and hot summers of Australia, and money can be saved from not having to water your garden. For times during Covid when you have to be in your home for long periods of time, you want it to be comfortable and affordable.
Director Paul Barnett Lectures on Living Pods
PBDG’s living pods designs are perfect for multigenerational living that is sustainable, can save you money, vital to mental wellbeing. Watch the two videos below to hear Paul Barnett’s Lectures about the Living Pod Concepts of the Projects Turner Microvillage and Carwoola House.
See more of PBDG’s Videos on our Youtube Channel here.