Unusual Business

Fig: 1 - The CBD is the financial district in large metropolitan cities where all businesses are accumulated in high density land use.

POST PANDEMIC WORK 

Merely a year ago, as the pandemic first swept across the world, researchers and designers began speculating the future of the public world.

One reiterated train of thought from this speculation was the impending exodus and the subsequent death of the city as we know it. Intriguingly, cities seem to have proven otherwise and they slowly crawl back to life as normal, before the pandemic. In fact, the popularity of the public realm and the urgency of the citizen to return to the recreational realm is a quaint force that reflects on urban motivations. 

On the other hand, there is one realm of the urban environment that has seen a more lasting effect - the central business districts. As the world shifts to remote work, we begin to challenge the historic role of the Central Business Districts. Through research can we explore the future of work and propose possibilities to reimagine these mammoth business spaces in our urban future?    

The competition brief focuses on re-imagining Central Business Districts after the Pandemic. 

Study on the internet, use interviews and observations to build your research and answer the questions below in an essay of about 1000-1500 words and 3 images or less.

Fig: 2 - The CBD has the highest concentration of population during daytime and generates massive traffic.

QUESTIONS

In your research, you should particularly reflect on the presently revealed urban motivations related to social public life and juxtapose it with the historic precedence given to business districts in our urban worlds. 

The views are expected to be analytical, instead of a purely utopian/dystopian approach across the subject. 

• How has work and Central Business districts shaped urban environments around them throughout human history?
• What insights can one garner from the present urban behaviour and motivations as the world slowly emerges from isolation? 
• How does the city of the past support these new motivations of the urban population? 
• How can we map these observed urban behaviours to create/recreate our cities and repurpose existing business hubs to be more relevant to the changing needs of both work and citizens? 

DELIVERABLES

Participants shall deliver an essay of about 1000 - 1500 words and less than 3 images, in a cohesive piece that answers the above questions and arguments based on them. The images need to be ensured that they are copyright free or you own their rights.