Innovations in the architecture and design fraternity are being created in response to the current situation due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These responses encourage social distancing, sanitisation, and aiding communication while abiding by the necessary norms. Architecture Discipline, an architecture and design firm based in New Delhi, India, has launched an initiative to look into the post-pandemic emergent space and a future proxemics by proposing a series of prototypical creations that intend to ease our re-habitation into the new normal. “As the world is grappling with ways to control and deal with the pandemic, the lessons of this time also lead us to deliberate on more ‘humane’ and ecological technologies to lay the foundations of an emergent future,” says Akshat Bhatt, director of Architecture Discipline.

While we will slowly and steadily move out of the lockdown phase into a partial lockdown and then into business as usual, design solutions can help ease our progression into the new normal. Travel, an important aspect in our lives, will have to be a cautious exercise. While carpooling and public transport would be risky, the best way would be to have individual vehicles that would help contain the spread of the coronavirus and maintain physical distancing.

As a part of the series, Architecture Discipline has designed a Capsule for Automated Travel (CAT) that aims to offset the inefficiencies of the current public mobility vehicles and to address the post pandemic emergent proxemics. Few of the features of this proposed vehicle include - distanced mobility, flexibility of choosing a singular travel and compartmentalised as well as segregated multi-user travel. The moving pod has been created as a sustainable and sanitisation facilitated vehicle.

The Capsule for Automated Travel has been designed as an electrically operated vehicle fitted with economical, zero-energy and ecologically sensitive technology. These pods have also been developed to generate zero emissions and silent, no-noise travel with rapid movement. The design also assures minimal time lags due to congestion, jam factors and therefore a precisely and fast-paced travel to the destination.

Another product as part of the series, which can aid communication and keep people safe is the sChoker. It is designed as a social distancing neck brace, inspired by a necklace, which makes use of simple thermal sensors (PIS sensors) to detect close animate presence and informs the host through visual or audio indicators such that one can ‘distance’ appropriately.

Efforts from across the globe in the design and architecture industry are seen to make use of the technological advancement to aid an easy life to create solutions post-pandemic, which we are soon to face as we learn to live with COVID-19.