2021: trends in design and architecture

This year we all understood one thing — life will never be the same as before. And our houses too. Here are our thoughts on what trends the next year will bring for design and architecture.

TREND 1: AUTONOMOUS HOUSE WITH ITS GARDEN AND OFFICE

Gardens on the balconies, smart flower pots, autonomous home farms, and underground plantations — greenery becomes an indispensable part of every home. Of course, you need extra equipment here: artificial phytoactive lighting, water, and air filtration scheme, and soil fertilizer, but it is worth some fresh tomatoes.

The cabinet will now be a must-have for every member of the family. If we already have to work from home, then in a separate room, not at the dining table.

TREND 2: ACCUMULATION AND AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGIES

Leave all routine for machines — spend your time on important things. If now not everyone can buy the Smart Home system, modern technology will become more affordable and will help us with most of the household chores.

TREND 3: CRISIS ARCHITECTURE THAT REACTS INSTANLY

This trend is now just emerging. Crisis architecture will replace an adaptive one that responds to global changes gradually. A great example is the 600,000 stretchers that became fences in London after World War II.

TREND 4: CHANGE IN THE FORM OF HOUSING OWNNERSHIP (classic rent, shared housing, temporary exchange of housing, community housing)

Now it may sound quite unusual, but sharing a home is convenient and quite profitable. You can buy a house for two families and live in it in turn. Or buy land for several families and build your mini-town. Land and real estate sharing is our future.

TREND 5: A NEW LOOK AT ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLINESS

What is environmentally friendly for humans is not always eco-friendly for the planet. Safe paper bags do more harm to the planet than plastic ones. We predict that polymers will be replaced by “ecomers” — artificial substances that are safe for both humans and the planet.

TREND 6: FUNCTIONAD MINIMALISM

It has remained unchanged for several years. Japanese minimalism is also about that. Basic wear-resistant, practical, and simple things will always be in fashion. The function dictates the appearance of products and the interior in general. 

• AXEL VERVOORDT

TREND 7: SELF-EXPRESSION THROGH DECOR AND ART

Against the background of minimalism, people want to show their inner world thanks to modern art, a grandmother’s vase, or a carpet from a flea market. Art will be responsible for the personal accent in the interior.

TREND 8: CUSTOM DESIGN

Hello, again “garage” American style of the 80s. Italian serial design and the Chinese mass market are being replaced by custom products — imperfect items made by hand and in a single copy.

TREND 9: LOCALITY

You buy Ukrainian product designs for your house, put clay on your walls, and wear clothes made by local designers. This is your identification of the family, history, culture, and traditions of the place where you were born. And this is a good reason to be proud.

TREND 10: CHANGE IN THE ORGANIZATION OF CITIES

Cities are overloaded with cars, business centers, and people. Society will try to solve this problem in various ways, including by relocating infrastructure outside large cities. Companies will move their offices to towns near metropolises, thus distributing the load away from the city center.

• FAULKNER ARCHITECTS