5 architecture trends for 2020

Words by BSBG Media Team, Sunday 05 January 2020

Architecture’s impact on the wellbeing of people is a theme that runs through almost all of our architecture trends for 2020. Health and wellness is now a commodity. It has become a political chess piece, a commercial treasure trove, and it is very much front and centre in the general consciousness - for now at least. How is architecture responding? Read our 5 architecture trends for 2020 to find out.

1. Renewed spaces

With the increased attention on reducing the environmental footprint when designing and
building architecture, many architects are now focusing on the concept of reinventing existing spaces, and not only because of the environmental implications of building something new.

We have written before about flexible design, and the need to take into account the potential change in use of building years down the line. As trends shift, architecture must be prepared to adapt, and this applies to existing buildings as well as new builds. Historically significant buildings continue to find new life through regeneration and a change in use, and many disused cultural icons, such as Battersea Power Station for example, are places where the potential for success and widespread appeal is unquestionable if the right approach is adopted.

Renovation has also become a politically charged measure, with many nations imposing long-term climate and energy targets that existing buildings in their current guise are unable to meet. Sustainable energy renovation and incorporation of renewable materials in existing buildings will scale up, as the world looks towards achieving a decarbonised building stock by 2050.

2. A surge for placemaking

Placemaking is certainly not a new concept, it’s an urban design trend with roots in the late sixties, when city planners and architects explored the notion of creating socially beneficial places within industrialised cities. Designers started to focus on creating pockets within these sprawling new metropoles, in which the community could gather and interact – with the place itself and with each other.

Placemaking is all about developing areas to become vibrant, activated spaces that cater to a variety of needs, encouraging people to engage with them. Common interpretations of successful placemaking involve incorporating art installations, interesting activities, local markets, live music and pop-up events to bring people together.

BSBG’s international headquarters is located in Dubai, and here we see numerous attempts at creating diverse use of space to attract footfall; Al Quoz has risen to become the arts district, with new installations and events throughout the calendar year, and many of the areas around the Burj Khalifa now too feature art installations, pop-up markets and events. In the Middle East it can be challenging to maintain footfall throughout the year, due to the extreme climate, but people still need places to go, regardless of the temperature outside.

Architects here are constantly exploring methods to keep attractions busy throughout the year, particularly focusing on the value of shading solutions that work. It’s an ongoing process, but there is now heightened awareness among developers in Dubai of the value of bringing life and soul to outdoor spaces 24/7, 365 days a year. Expect to see more Instagrammable, pedestrianised places springing up throughout Dubai over the course of the next year, as well as already established urban developments trying to adapt to meet the demands of people in search of authentic and unique outdoor experiences across the emirate.

3. Health architecture

Among historic civilisations long since departed, the concept of creating architecture for health was far more considered and advanced than the sterile environments we must, in modern times, enter to ‘get well’. The Ancient Greeks would build centres of wellness comprised of clinics, temples, houses dedicated to sleeping and dreaming, athletics stadiums (naturally) and theatres. The idea of health and wellbeing was founded in spirituality, with a measure of physical and cultural enterprise. The Romans understood the connection between health and light, water, nature, and the need for buildings to integrate with the landscape rather than become an imposition.

Traditional Asian philosophies and principles, such as vastu shastra and feng shui provided the blueprint of building for health and wealth. Somewere along the line, these concepts were forgotten. Over the course of the last century, architecture for health was derived from mainstream construction philosophies. Sterile, aseptic, clinical - hospitals for the masses.

Health clinics are not supposed to follow that narrative. They should blur the line between health and home; less surgical precision and more welcoming comfort. Wellness clinics, which are now on the rise as we search for self/health improvement and betterment, must be soothing spaces that repair the broken definition of what architecture for health should be; using light, art and nature to create a sanctuary for the mind as well as the body.

We are already witnessing the move away from the functional aesthetic of medicalised architecture, and into a celebration of health, of comfort and conviviality, to re-engage us with the beauty that surrounds us - something we so often take for granted, or fail to notice entirely. The understanding of what it is to create health architecture has changed radically, as our understanding of psychological wellbeing has advanced.

Wellness in architecture is of huge significance to the BSBG proposition. Already this year we have announced the involvement of BSBG's +studio design hub as the design architect for the exclusive SHA Wellness Rosort & Clinic in the UAE. More projects of this kind are sure to follow...

4. Generative design

In late 2019, BSBG attended a workshop hosted by CAD Gulf and Autodesk on generative design. The software, currently in the beta phase, is called Project Refinery, and it enables limitless design options to be generated based on key parameters set by the designer.

A user can set high level goals or specific constraints for the project in question, before being presented with hundreds, or thousands, of viable design options to explore and consider. The impact this could have on design timeframes is immense, as the process of option refinement is fast tracked, and options that may not have originally been conceived are also presented.

5. More elements of nature in design

By including elements of nature in design, science has proven that cognitive performance, air quality, stress levels, and the number of toxins present are all substantially improved. Much like the second item on our list, this is not a new discovery, but incorporation of nature in design is being explored in evermore creative and interesting ways.

Designers are now exploring ways in which architecture can incorporate horticulture or microbiology within its very fabric, so as buildings become living, breathing entities. Furthermore, the way plants are used in building design is constantly progressing, with vertical gardens and organic materials becoming more prevalent in design work. This trend serves to further promote the notion of wellbeing within developments, and in the contemporary real estate market, buyers are generally now drawn to investments that have stronger affiliations to all that is natural, sustainable and good.

BSBG Media Team

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