In space I trust
By: Vaijayanthi Iyengar
Tags: Quarantine, Post Covid 19, Smart Cities, Urban Planning, Human Centered Design

Just before this surreal but unfortunate reality of COVID quarantine had struck, I was writing my ‘breakthrough’ blog. I am talking about the 1st week of March 2020. Some thoughts I had collated over years, conversations with peers, some academic reading… some soul searching. It was about Space and Technology. How compatible and symbiotic they are…etc.

Here’s that article, however in retrospection parts of it doesn’t seem so accurate right now. You see this was Pre COVID. I had over-glorified the power that Space held over people in that article. Much of it was inspired by the ‘Behaviorism’ of the ’60s and ’70s and spoke about gaps between planners and residents. I had written how seamlessly technology will support the spaces to exert an underlying yet strong influence on how people will react to digital modules in physical space.

No, that doesn’t seem right now, does it?

Because now the question is, how do we trust a space again? Are we not plagued by the constant fear if space has been sanitized enough, have people occupying it got sick, have they been following safe distancing, has the air been circulated, and so on.

“It is more important to release the right response than to send the right message.”

— Edward T Hall

A language is a tool for communication. Messages via social media have a very personal flavor of reporting. I am not entirely confident that safety should rely on one’s interpretation of syntax. The other day I was watching the news about the Salon owner from Texas who decided to open her business because she felt it was the appropriate thing to do — personally and economically. Some thought this message to be bold, some arrogant. There was a lot of debate in News, social media, and communities and overall largely divided opinion. Of course, having different opinions on political matters is not new, but I wondered why the news was so much about a person. Shouldn’t it also talk about the salon? Is it safe to venture inside or not? Is the concerned space worth driving into, parking, and spending an hour or more?Light bulb moment — Could technology be sending the right responses here? Through those responses can we establish trust?

The sensors don’t choose, they are unbiased.

Before making purchase decisions online, I check out the rating and reviews. There is an unspoken comradery between buyers that let’s look out for each other by posting honest reviews. Similarly, can I make an informed choice about visiting and spending time in a space-based on an unbiased( earnestly) Trust metric? The inputs from sensors, transparency of real-time feedback combined with the user-generated input can provide critical information that can help bolster people’s trust in space.

This proposed trust quotient of space ( let’s call it TQ) can be a derivative of tangible and intangible inputs. Aspects like air quality, contact tracing, adherence (or not) to social distancing, and other health and safety reporting tools. This can be a dynamic system of inputs that is self informing. Data analytics of this quotient can help to identify drivers that enable trust in a space. So tomorrow when the time comes and the school starts, offices reopen, and pool parties are ok, I don’t have to be the negative Nancy who is constantly fretting about safety ( Ah, now we see the deep underlying psychological battle that troubles the author). This perception of safety will also reassure us to step out of our bubble and revive meaningful interactions in spaces. It will be interesting to see how this perception and/or TQ of a space redefines how people interact within themselves or with objects around them. Taking a little academic detour here, Hall described the interpersonal distances of people in four distinct zones — intimate space, personal space, social space, and public space. While the first two zones have a strong personal flavor to it, the social and public spaces will bear the brunt of the psychological and sociological impact of COVID quarantine.

Think of a movie hall for a moment. Just last year, I remember my enthusiasm while going into a dark, air-conditioned Imax experience to watch Avengers, End Game. The movie hall was clamoring with Marvel fans. My perception of the same space has changed from cozy and relaxing to something that gives me eerie chills. This may not be the case with everybody but again this is to do with intangible perceptions.

“Form follows function “ — Louis Sullivan

This famous maxim has been highly influential to generations of modern architects and some contemporary design thinkers. The circumstances when this was coined are vastly different than today’s situation primarily because ‘function’ of space might slowly acquire a new meaning post quarantine era. Perspectivism encourages me to believe that it is this trust that will play a pivotal role in how people accept the role space or venue will play. With aid of technology the functions in a space can be fluid As long as there is a trust of safety in an environment it can be a school by day and bar by night, or something less drastically poetic. If we think of space as fluid and flexible, technology can help us alter it based on our needs. This strategy where sensors, projections, big data, and cloud infrastructure can be employed to create adaptive spaces. In his amazing blog series Dark Matter and Trojan horses, Dan Hill addresses this eloquently about adaptive strategies in London’s high street. Extrapolating those strategies with emerging technology gives us a platform to define dynamic functionality to spaces.

“Swap on the River” by Carlos Zarco, Zuhal Kol, Sara Palomar, and Jose Luis Hidalgo. This illustrates concept of adaptive spaces

Projections and lighting controls have reached a reasonable maturity that they can be used for sensory experiences. Beacons can help maintain physical distances between entities, urban mobility can enable getting to point A to B and manage parking loads, HVAC controls can monitor air quality, micro-mobility options enable haven while on move, and our collective behavior and opinions can be fodder to data analytics associated with space. Technology can help transform the space organically based on need — to enable us to eat, work, play, read, and relax.

Projections or Kiosks that serve the closest contextual function

With advanced communication channels, online grocery, web schooling, remote healthcare assistance — we have fared well in this pandemic than we could have otherwise. Technology has become so intertwined in our homes that it hasn’t earned a special call-out for its contribution. Communities still hangout in social pages, kids can play on virtual playdates, teachers are having extended lessons through video conferences. But when the time has come to step into the ‘outside’ world, technology can still help us with the reassurance that we are not acting out of impulse or boredom. At the risk of romanticizing this article, the thought of creating a ‘trust’ quotient will redefine our perception of spaces and interpersonal proxemics. This metadata can help us build resilience that will be required to step out with confidence.