This puts greater focus on the home: what qualities does living space need if it is to do more than just fulfill its everyday function—if it is also to offer relaxation, variety, and living space? Today, this is called a “staycation,” but behind this term lies a serious question that we as an architectural firm deal with every day: what does a home need to be like so that it can not only be lived in, but also experienced?

The experiences of the pandemic have fundamentally changed our relationship to living. Rooms that were previously only used occasionally suddenly had to fulfill several functions at once on a permanent basis. Work, leisure, retreat, and social interaction became intertwined within the same spatial framework. Even after the acute phase, this complexity has remained—not only due to home office regulations, but also due to a changed attitude toward life. This simultaneity has led to growing demands on living space – both in terms of functionality and atmosphere. An apartment that used to serve as a place of retreat in the evenings is now the center of life. This also changes the architectural scale: zoning, lighting, transitions, and materiality are becoming more important. We understand living space not only as physical volume, but as a resource that must be precisely designed and versatile in its use. For us, quality of living arises from floor plans that are adaptable, from details that make everyday life easier, and from spatial structures that allow for permanence without creating a feeling of confinement. Not everything has to be visible, but everything has to be tangible.

Those who see their own home as a place to live have different requirements: in terms of floor plans, neighbourhoods and the city. For us, living does not end at the front door, but continues in the courtyard, the neighbourhood and public spaces. Especially in densely populated areas, the quality of the environment is crucial: short distances, usable open spaces, open ground floor areas. It is often places such as a bench in the shade, a lively courtyard or a shared garden that make the quality of everyday life tangible. We plan communal courtyards, shared gardens, accessible roof areas and path networks that not only connect but also encourage people to linger.

In our work, we design living structures that adapt to changing realities of life – both in the course of an individual's life and in social developments. Not through openness for openness' sake, but through clear settings that enable diverse uses without losing spatial quality. This includes floor plans with convertible rooms that can be used temporarily as studies, children's rooms, or retreats. We also focus on shared spaces, such as guest rooms, workshops, or roof terraces, which not everyone needs to have individually. Relieving the burden on private life through clever communal offerings increases the quality of living, not through more space, but through better use of space.

We do not see these typologies as special solutions, but as an integral part of our architectural approach: diversity in use, clarity in structure. This results in spatial concepts that remain sustainable in the long term because they can change with life.

Architecture can create such qualities – not through staging, but through substance. With concepts that are changeable. With spaces that evolve with life. And with urban building blocks that connect rather than divide. For the obvious. For what sustains. That is what we design for.