Building Renotopia
“The utopian art of our time is the kitchen or bathroom renovation—renotopia. Renotopia is the dream that if we could just rip everything out and start again, the perfect world might indeed come into being—if one could just get the appliances and the finishes right. Renotopia is a small but perfect world.”
This historic year has metamorphosed our concept of “home”, into a shelter which indeed has protected many from the madness of Covid-19. How we work, learn, live and mourn has become a virtual reality, our sense of community is now found at the kitchen table, our makeshift desks and workspaces where we see each other’s unobstructed faces. As renovators, we’ve also seen firsthand how our client’s wants and needs reflect the looming prospect of more time spent at home.
When Mckenzie Wark wrote about this satirical idea of Renotopia in 2015, they couldn’t have known just how consolatory home improvement would be in the midst of a pandemic. According to the NYT, professionals who list their services on Houzz reported a 58 percent increase in requests from homeowners compared to 2019, with queries about home extensions and additions up 52 percent.
The pandemic has not only changed the way we think of space, but also our relationship to the outside world. Wark points out that the core trait of renotopia “…is a denial of the necessity for large, infrastructural utopias as foundations for the private ones of kitchen and bathroom. Renotopia is the dream of a civilization in retreat.”
However that doesn’t mean we can’t be thoughtful about home improvement and how our choices might leave things outside our door better than we found it. Consider the following improvements when planning a renovation or new construction project which can achieve an idealized version of your home; both for your purposes and in consideration of its larger impact.
+ Microbial / Antiviral Products
HEPA filters and UVC lights are standard issue in hospitals and other hyper clean environments. We’ve seen an uptick in requests for these materials from homeowners and businesses looking to filter and disarm viruses and other airborne particles.
+ Efficient Energy
The best way to lower your homes ecological footprint also happens to drastically lower your utilities. Passive houses can be retrofit to an existing home or provide a standard for energy efficiency in a new build. These insulation upgrades to your home result in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling.
+ Durable Upgrades
Affordable, compressed ply kitchens will always be the go to for renovators for the sole purpose of cost. We’ve torn out our fair share of Ikea cabinets which are rarely in a condition to be donated or repurposed. On a global scale, these mass production companies are a leading contributor to deforestation. Greta Thunberg would want you to build custom because fine millwork lasts generations.
We face historic changes every day to our health, our environment, our economy, our government… yet it can be bliss to set the outside world aside for a moment to add a fresh coat of paint.
-AK
