2015 could be another great year for each architect in London and throughout the world, and should see further work in terms of making properties more eco-friendly. It is also likely that a re-evaluation of external spaces will take place, particularly with the limitations on space in the world’s biggest cities. Here are some of the biggest trends we can expect to see for the year ahead.
- Relaxing designs. For many years architects and designers have considered the impact that properties have on the health and wellbeing of the people that reside in them. The right designs enrich the lives of residents and provide important relaxation benefits. To this end, the coming year could see the size of bathrooms start to increase as people look for open plan spaces complete with luxurious fixtures like walk in showers and large baths.
- Outdoor spaces. Exterior spaces are already being re-evaluated to make them far more valuable and useful to property owners. Gardens are now being used as functional extensions of the property and places where people can grow their own food. Some designers are even taking the step to plan landscape gardens that can double as outdoor kitchens complete with a grill and fire pit. On top of this green roofs are also set to get more attention, particularly with the beautiful new Jean-Philippe Pargade designed research and civil engineering campus outside of Paris. This stunning property completely revolutionises how we look at functional green roofs.
- Passive homes. Energy efficiency has been at the top of the agenda for every skilled architect in London and the UK for several years. This will continue this year with even more efforts to make sure properties are as self sufficient as possible. There is also a push to ensure that homes work well with their climate, taking advantage of the natural heat and cooling properties of their locations to reduce energy consumption.
- Health conscious designs. More and more architects are looking at the long term impact that certain materials have on the health of people residing in properties. There are countless natural products to choose from as alternatives to potentially harmful paints, insulation and upholstery.
- Flexible rooms. In the modern world there is less need to have clearly defined rooms. Instead, the trend is to have flexible spaces that can fill multiple purposes. This provides space savings and means there is potential to do more with homes as a result.