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Post-pandemic multifunctional homes

Text: Gauri Gore, Project Head: Developer Spaces, Edifice Consultants Pvt Ltd., Bengaluru

Text: Gauri Gore, Project Head: Developer Spaces, Edifice Consultants Pvt Ltd., Bengaluru

As we live through the pandemic, we see that people are invested in buying or renting large homes. We see a change in the migration patterns to the metropolitan cities due to the transition in work style. As a result, we see more homes being bought in tier-II cities.

As people spend more time at home, offices allow hybrid work options to employees. As a result, people look for comfortable and functional homes that accommodate residential, commercial and institutional requirements as well. We have seen a multifunctional and flexible residence design that includes small office space, a grocery store, a laundry, daycare and more as compared to standalone residential complexes. These different typologies must be designed to operate independently, yet ensure proximity.

Multifunctional homes allow flexibility to the user through multiple furniture layouts or transforming furniture pieces in the same space. Examples include moveable partition walls between rooms, which can be pulled or removed as needed. A couple of rooms function as offices or studio spaces, which can be rented out separately. Adjacent rooms are designed to merge into one large apartment, which allows the kitchens to be converted into multipurpose rooms.

Biophilia and access to open areas, including the bay windows, terraces and balconies are in high demand in the pandemic. As people are stuck indoors, these spaces are used as gardens, breakfast zones, workspaces and yoga and meditation spaces. The trend remained a luxury before the pandemic, but customised multifunctional homes have become an important part of modern home layouts. In large residential complexes, buyers find variety in the number of bedrooms, apartment sizes and layouts depending on the project’s locality and market trend. Home buying trends are influenced by the lower interest rates in bank home loans, which promotes positive homebuying decisions.

At Mumbai-based Edifice Consultants, the developer market has matured over the years with bylaws becoming more stringent. Agencies such as RERA have come into implementation, streamlining the project and providing incentives to large developers and homebuyers. As standardisation is followed, this ensures quality services and timely deliveries while the landscape and masterplan design respond to the climatic context and cultural context.