Designing Outdoor Spaces

for a Post-COVID World

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Outdoor public spaces have undergone a transformation as of late. With citizens staying indoors and

everyone keeping their distance, post-COVID public space design is on every landscape architect’s

mind. Design philosophy has changed, and architects are now embracing creativity in adapting during a

pandemic and in a post-pandemic world.

Mark K. Morrison is the President and CEO of MKM, a landscape architecture firm based in Rochelle,

NY. He has over forty years of professional design experience as a landscape architect, and recently sat

down with our team to discuss public space design post-COVID and beyond.

Design Philosophy From March 2021 and Beyond

According to Mr. Morrison, his core design philosophy hasn’t changed. While his firm is certainly paying

closer attention to social distancing, both commercial and residential projects for younger populations

remain unchanged.

But for older populations, distance is key. These clients may still be socializing but it’s at a safe distance

from others — even if it’s their own children. For this demographic, moveable furniture and larger

terraces are key. The idea of portability when it comes to outdoor spaces is more important than it’s

ever been.

According to the National Association of Homeowners, more and more homeowners are looking to

add (or have access to) outdoor spaces= — especially since they may not feel safe leaving their homes

but still want to enjoy outdoor food and company. Access to outdoor living spaces improves biophilia,

which describes how people feel good when they are connected to nature. Many homeowners now

want to embrace nature right into their own backyard.

Moving forward, ample outdoor space with movable elements is likely to be a key attraction for both

residential and multifamily properties.

Mr. Morrison is, unsurprisingly, also seeing a larger demand for flexible spaces in education, recently

outfitting a school project with additional spaces for socially distanced learning. Features like picnic

tables for outdoor classrooms and amphitheaters with widely spaced seating, shady groves and

synthetic turf fields that can be used for athletic OR social events or are now requirements instead of

just nice-to-haves.

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Mr. Morrison and his team have incorporated outdoor blackboards, but outdoor electronics have been

hard to push with education clients because of limited budgets, potential vandalism or theft. In order

to still provide outdoor learning without the risk, they have incorporated outdoor screens that allow

teachers to bring projection equipment outside for learning and movie capabilities. Teaching outdoors

provides more ability to social distance, along with the safety and benefits of fresh air.

A major focus for MKM has been the implementation of community gardens where plant beds and

the spaces between them are large enough to accommodate groups. While small herb and vegetable

gardens have been trending for years, with COVID, there has been an even larger uptick.

More people are now searching for more ways to be sustainable, save money and improve health —

along with looking for a reason to leave their homes in a safe way — and urban community gardens

check all those boxes.

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Creative Ways Companies Adapted

During the Pandemic

More than anything, COVID has exacerbated the need for more green space as public spaces have

become some of the few sources of leisure outside of the home. Sam Lubell, of the Los Angeles Times,

predicts that “we will eventually devote more resources to help us congregate and to strengthen our

frayed community bonds, be it through parks, plazas, promenades, community centers or streets

turned over to pedestrians.”

To encourage social distancing in Domino Park, a popular park in Brooklyn, New York, designers drew

white circles six feet apart to designate places to sit and stand for visitors. They applied chalk paint

on artificial grass in symmetrical rows to create functional accommodation while still providing an

organized aesthetic for the park.

According to Metropolis Magazine, at the peak of the pandemic, Oakland, Seattle, Los Angeles and

Milwaukee all announced new open street programs to create more recreational space that allows for

more social distancing.

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How COVID Will Change Public Space Design

The biggest challenge in designing for COVID in urban environments is space, which is always at a

premium. Developers don’t want to give up square footage, so sites are getting smaller and smaller but

with larger price tags.

Portable furniture is a potential solution, but it can be hard to implement as it is easier to vandalize

and steal, and it can add extra maintenance. After all, everything in landscaping design comes down to:

“Who is going to maintain this space?”

Some landscape architects have deferred to more of a “rewilding” concept of urban green spaces

because many maintenance budgets and capabilities are in limbo now. The idea of rewilding is

implementing different landscape techniques and plant materials to allow property owners to just kind

of back away and let nature do its own thing.

When Mr. Morrison’s firm chooses plants for civic projects, they are careful to choose low-maintenance

species. They also make sure there’s sufficient room between plants during initial planting, so when

they grow over the first few months to a year, they don’t overcrowd and don’t need to be cut back

frequently.

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Landscape architects also have the opportunity to consider outdoor workspaces, as some companies

are moving forward with plans to create office designs that include permanent exterior office space.

Christopher McCartin, managing director of design and construction at real estate developer

Tishman Speyer said, “The benefits of light and fresh are pretty self-evident, and the pandemic only

reinforces that.” Accordingly, the team at MKM is planning for more significant outdoor space in their

upcoming projects.

MKM isn’t the only firm looking to create safe, enticing, outdoor public spaces. Stoss Landscape

Urbanism, a design firm founded in Boston, as reported by Metropolis Magazine, started embedding

social-distancing guidelines as design innovation. On one of their projects, a 2.5 mile stretch of

waterfront in Canada, they experimented with designs that created differing levels of linear pathways:

two or three tracks of different width and size so they could accommodate multiple streams of people

simultaneously and safely.

It’s this out-of-the-box creative thinking that will continue to push our industry forward in order to meet

the evolving social and safety needs of the communities we serve in North America.

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Advice for Designers in a Post-COVID World

Mr. Morrison has a lot of advice for designers and architects that are just starting out, especially during

COVID times:

“Try and learn as much as you possibly can on your own time and your own terms. Visit local gardens,

local public spaces, nurseries, botanical gardens and travel as much as you safely can. Most public places

are open. Get out. Socialize. Relax. Think good thoughts in natural environments as much as possible.”

He continues, “In COVID times, a lot of firms are working remotely and that is okay up to a point but it’s

rough once you get into initial design. It’s a very interactive profession. It’s demanding and you need to

know a lot, so take this time and expand your mind and knowledge to the absolute best of your ability

during these trying times. Make yourself valuable.”

Designing during a pandemic can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. At Techo-Bloc, it’s our mission

to empower architects and landscape architects with the tools and resources to create whatever look

and configuration are best for their communities.

Looking for ways that we can help you? Visit Techo-Bloc’s page and find out more about ideas and

solutions for landscape design in a post-COVID world, or contact us for any additional information.

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