How can design tackle social isolation and loneliness in a pandemic?

Loneliness is a serious illness. Amongst numerous Covid-19 impacts on both physical and mental health, the pandemic is likely to have escalated the issues of social isolation and loneliness in our communities. It becomes increasingly evident how the lack of daily social connection impacts the mental health of individuals, especially of those who are living alone, social housing tenants, recovering patients, earning low income and elderly.

The Social House is a new prototypical social infrastructure aiming to aid community resilience and recovery without compromising social distancing measures. It offers a platform for people to socialise with strangers, display objects of interest, exchange knowledge and daily news to combat the feeling of loneliness in a pandemic. The design consists of timber modular cabinets to create a series of inwardly facing, flexible and socially engaging spaces. It offers high and low shelving for books, magazines, posters and various scales of objects to be displayed to generate interests. With an aim to create a homey feeling, the main space mimics the ambience of a domestic living room with low and comfortable seating and a round display table. It can also be converted into an open space for small scale pop-up workshops, shops and exhibitions.