But it could lead to more sustainable buildings, a "renaissance" for urban farming and a "new future" for monorails, says Norman Foster. "Instead of change, it has merely hastened, accelerated trends of change that were already apparent before the pandemic," he continued.
"Each crisis hastened and magnified the inevitable"
Foster compared the current coronavirus pandemic with previous crises that have impacted cities, which led to improvements in building standards and health-driven architecture.
"Take London as an example," he explained. "The Great Fire, 1666,
created Building Codes that led to fireproof brick construction. The
Cholera Epidemic of the mid-nineteenth century cleaned up the Thames
from an open sewer and was the birth of modern sanitisation," he added.
"In its wake came the healthy dimension of public parks. Then
Tuberculosis struck and helped the birth of the modern movement in
architecture – big windows,
sunlight, terraces, white and clean," he continued.
"But every one of those consequences – fireproof construction, sewers, green parks, modernism – would have happened anyway"
"We now have scientific evidence to prove that green buildings with natural ventilation are not only good for your health, but they enable you to perform better," he said. "These kinds of buildings are now the exception. But they could become mainstream. We also have proof that green spaces in cities – however big or small – contribute to health and wellbeing."
For transport, he said that current trends towards electric vehicles will continue as well as a rise in use of e-bikes and scooters, while charging on the move could be introduced and monorails could return. He also said car parks could be obsolete and went on to predict that farming could make a return to cities as one of several ways that urban areas could become greener.
"The cumulative effect of just some of these many trends are transforming city centres and local neighbourhoods, making them quieter, cleaner, safer, healthier, more friendly, walkable, bikeable and, if the opportunity is grasped, to be greener," he said.
The architect was positive that cities will recover from the current health crisis. He recalled the Spanish flu pandemic in the early 20th century as evidence that cities would not have to enforce social-distancing rules in the long term.
"History tells us that the future is not two-metre distancing," said Foster.
"The last major pandemic in 1918-20 claimed more lives and young ones, created deserted city centres, face masks, lockdowns and quarantines," he continued.
"Sounds familiar? It also heralded the social and cultural revolution of the 1920s, with big public gathering spaces, department stores, cinemas and stadia."
The architect concluded that the current crisis could lead to cities being improved to become places that are more appealing to live in and more resilient to future health issues.
