The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the loss of more than a million lives globally, shifted the white-collar world to remote working and students to remote learning, and triggered the worst peacetime recession in 100 years.1
History reveals that societal crises have the power to instigate major changes. World War II drew women into the workforce out of necessity. After the war, the shift persisted, accelerating women’s participation in the workforce. The 9/11 terrorist attacks reshaped attitudes to surveillance and personal privacy and during the 2003 SARS outbreak in China, people were afraid to leave the house, triggering a rise in e-commerce that paved the way for digital giants such as Alibaba.2
Architecture has been similarly impacted. Material shortages during World War II drove innovation in building technology, advancing the modernist movement as cities were rebuilt in the aftermath. Perhaps more pertinent, modernist architecture can also be understood as a consequence of the fear of disease. Tuberculosis was one of the most pressing health concerns of the early twentieth century. Dark rooms and dusty corners where bacteria lurk were replaced with expansive windows and terraces. Finnish architect Alvar
